Reading & Literacy

An A for Penmanship

March 20, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Few report cards these days include a line to mark achievement in an age-old skill that our parents and grandparents toiled over in school. Even when I was a kid, a good grade in penmanship or handwriting was enough to elicit pride and boastfulness in both parent and student, not to mention the teacher who forced us to practice perfect little curves and carefully crossed ‘T’ s.

Now with computer keyboarding and text messaging taking on greater importance than legible cursive, many a curmudgeon have decried the state of children’s handwriting.

There’s even a new book that chronicles the history of this phenomenon. Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, is reviewed by Michael Dirda in this Washington Post Book World piece from last month.

Thousands of schoolchildren around the country, however, put their best pencil forward recently when they were asked to write, in their own hand, a letter to President Obama. On Wednesday, more than 34,000 of the letters were delivered to Washington filled with advice for how Mr. Obama should wield his influence to improve the nation’s schools. The project was sponsored by the publisher of the “Handwriting Without Tears” curriculum.

Here are some of their requests:

“I would like you to let teachers have more money to buy school supplies. My teacher had to use her money to buy supplies. It makes me unhappy.”
Ian
Grade 6
Florida

“I think you should make schools better by keeping kids safer, having more field trips and having more than one teacher in a classroom.”
Savannah
California

“Next year nearly 500 to 700 schools will be closing because of budget cuts.
I think that when we end the war in Iraq you should try to fund schools.”
Krissy
Grade 5
Washington

“As a student, I would like you to cut back on all the tests we take and let the teachers teach more.”
Nicholas
Grade 5
New York

In this exercise, penmanship counts. But I think the students’ sentiments might be what gets them the extra credit.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.

Events

School Climate & Safety Webinar Engaging Every Student: How to Address Absenteeism and Build Belonging
Gain valuable insights and practical solutions to address absenteeism and build a more welcoming and supportive school environment.
Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices
Join this free virtual event to learn about SEL strategies, skills, and to hear from experts on the use and expansion of SEL programs.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Reading & Literacy 5 Ways Teachers Can Get Boys to Love Reading
Students' reading scores have hit record lows, with boys' scores falling furthest. Pleasure reading could help.
5 min read
An elementary student reads on his own in class.
An elementary student reads on his own in class.
Allison Shelley/EDUimages
Reading & Literacy Researchers Created a Phonics Program With ‘Dramatic’ Results. How It Works
Consistent implementation of the 30-minute-a-day program fueled the results.
4 min read
Teacher holding up a card with the letters "sh" and a young elementary student writing with pencil on paper. The desk shows other cards with letters and a tablet device.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Spotlight Spotlight on the Early Learning Success: Literacy and Math Foundations
This Spotlight will help you explore phonemic awareness instruction, developing math fluency through problem-solving, and more.
Reading & Literacy Letter to the Editor Who Makes the Call About Curricula?
The recent lawsuit filed by parents against literacy curricula developers is a reminder of the true meaning of the “reading wars."
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week