Page images
PDF
EPUB

teach it acceptably. It is better to know something of the analysis of letters, but the requirements in this respect are not beyond what the majority possess.

He should, of course, understand from the start that he is to teach writing, not drawing; and the scholar should be made to realize that he is to learn to form the letters with the whole arm instead of with the fingers.

Whole-arm, as here used, should not be confounded with off-hand or free-arm movement; for although the entire arm is used, the fore-arm rest on the desk is maintained, and the sleeve is kept from sliding. Next, and in this connection most important of all, teacher and scholar should each know that but move- the best way to improve his penmanship is to stop writing entirely, so far as imitation of letters is concerned, and to give all attention to the cultivation or development of movement through practice on properly arranged exercises.

Not imitation

ment.

It is evident that if a scholar has already acquired a false position of the hand in learning to form letters on the slate or otherwise, this form and position are to a degree inseparable, and continued practice on the letters with pen and ink will serve merely to confirm bad habits, and to prevent the establishment of correct

ones.

Exercise

ovals.

New forms of exercises must necessarily be associated with the new movements; and that the moshould be on tive for practice may not be uncertain, the hand and arm under the impulse of an augmented power must be drilled to do something definite, having always for its object the application of the movements acquired to the construction of letters: hence all

exercises of muscular drill should be based upon the standard forms of ovals, separately, and associated with straight lines.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

A natural

best.

There is so much variety in the shape and size of school desks that definite instruction for the position of the body, and the placing of the position the right arm so as to secure the best results in all cases, cannot be given; but it will generally be found that if a scholar is given a start in arm movement, and is made to understand clearly what is expected of him, he will usually adjust himself to existing conditions and work out both problems in a satisfactory manner. It is the constant, persistent repetition of a single movement which tells in forming an exercise, and this part of a beginner's work cannot a single well be overdone.

Repetition of

movement.

Drill a scholar in this manner for a few months and you will have given him a degree of facility with the pen which he can no more forget than the knack of skating or swimming, and in addition you will enable him to lay the only true foundation for future successful practice in penmanship.

In telegraphy the character, or the sound representing it, is not produced by the operator through any mental recognition of the number or arrangement of the dots and dashes employed, but by an unconscious action of the fingers, which through long practice has come to personate that special character. And the business penman, although forming characters with perfect uniformity, gives no thought to the matter of right,

left or double curves; a definite movement has been established for each letter, and the hand trained by practice does the work without mental effort.

That which in practice is true of telegraphy or rapid business writing is equally true in applying acquired movements in learning to write. The letters are so constructed that by learning the strokes which form the principal types-five in number-the letters themselves may be formed without especial effort; and if the stroke fails to produce a correct type, the error will be found. to result from an imperfect movement rather than from any lack of knowledge in formation, and want of character in any letter may be directly traced to lack of firmness and precision in the arm action.

Individuality

ship.

Very much of this fine theorizing about the necessity for developing the artistic and cultivating in penman- the beautiful in conception of form, as applied to teaching school children to write is mere nonsense, and may easily become a hindrance rather than a help to practical work.

It is a well understood fact that no two persons ever did or ever will write exactly alike; in learning, each one will be certain to develop characteristics peculiar to himself, and there is little use or reason in attempting to force all hands into any specific mould.

Study the

arm.

Make a careful study of the right arm; ascertain by practice which muscles and joints come most prominently into use by the act of writing, and then introduce such calisthenic exercises as will discipline these into subjection to the will; now, basing your pen drills upon properly arranged exercises, put scholars in the way of securing this faculty or knack of

movement as applied to the different classes of letters, and the mere matter of form, although of equal importance, will require but little special attention.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS MAY MAKE GOOD PENMEN.

Many teachers get the idea that as good work cannot be done in public schools as in those organized for special instruction in commercial branches, but experience shows that the better work in almost every respect can and should be done in the former.

Force of or

and discipline.

The organization and force of discipline behind a teacher in a well regulated public school is a powerful lever, which rightly applied may ganization be made a means for producing results not easily attainable in any other way. In addition to this, the fact that children may be kept under a systematic course of training for several years, and the habits of correct position, movement and formation so firmly established as to assure continued improvement after leaving school, renders the public school instruction in many respects more valuable than tuition under other conditions.

II. PRACTICAL EXERCISES

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

The lessons given on the following pages are intended to assist you in acquiring the ARM MOVEMENT Learn to do in writing, as distinguished from the use of by doing. the thumb and finger joints. If you will merely take the time to demonstrate its value in your own case you cannot very well fail in teaching it successfully to others. But this is a case where for a certainty you must learn

to do by doing, and the measure of your own success will determine the degree of confidence with which you will impart it unto others. You need not necessarily wait for its accomplishment before beginning to teach it. As soon as you have learned to place the arm and hand properly, as directed on page 71, and can make the direct muscular movement as illustrated hereafter (but without the pen), put your class under the same drill, and by thus applying the theory in practice you will add materially to the value of your own training. When the work outlined in this lesson has been ac

Position of the pupil.

complished, when you can not only make the movement exercises fairly well (this does not refer to a perfect formation, as that is merely a result and not a means) but can also teach others to make them, then you will be prepared to continue the application of the method by the use of properly arranged exercise books. For position you will probably obtain the best results by having the pupil turn the right side to the desk, placing the right fore-arm entirely on it (the elbow joint will not interfere if the arm is perfectly flat), and with left hand brought to the edge to hold the paper or book. The body should not touch the edge of the desk. Do not allow the pupil to lean on the right arm; be careful that a light rest is maintained in all movements.

The four ends to be attained.

In practising to improve your penmanship, legibility and uniformity are the primary, and freedom in movement and rapid execution, the ultimate results to be attained. These, taken together, constitute the essentials of good writing. The motive for practice should not be uncertain; the

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »