The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

16
In Other Subjects
"The children seem to realize that
to receive recognition in writing,
there must be a decided similarity
in the work of the writing- classes
and that of the other subjects. Spelling
papers are quite often compared
with the writing specimens. In the
spelling notebooks, legibility and correct
spelling are important. If the
pupil has done exceptional work in
the notebook, the word 'NEAT' is
.stamped on the page."
Miss Neff's Project
The third project was submitted by
Miss Ethel L. Neff, a teacher in the
west Newton Schools.
"What do pupils gain in penmanship
from penmanship drills? What
is their attitude toward such drills?
How can penmanship drills be made
an interesting part of the classroom
procedure? These are a few of the
questions often asked of, and sometimes
by, penmanship teachers.
Utilizing Your Hobby
"Every teacher, I believe, has a
classroom hobby. My belief that
practically all children respond to the
beautiful, and that color plays a
paramount part in their likes and
dislikes, has caused me to believe
that penmanship is much more easily
taught, and results are better, if the
student can use his knowledge of
penmanship to satisfy his artistic
sense. My schoolroom hobby is my
attempt to produce projects, artistic
in their nature, that require the use
of all the penmanship skills.
Colored Inks Help
"Most children are not particularly
impressed by our oratorical discussions
on the values of systematically
conducted movement drills as good
limbering up exercises to get wrists
and arms relaxed for the free-flowing
writing we hope will follow. But
when these same children are given a
bottle of brightly colored ink and an
example of the various combinations
of movement drills arranged into
flower designs, geometric designs,
and even their favorite funny paper
and story book characters, then one
wishes the writing period were an
hour long or that one's schedule included
only art and penmanship. The
child's enthusiasm is unbounded. He
knows then and there that he can do
a piece of work as good or perhaps
better.
"Of course, teachers of penmanship
know that not all children are physically
able to do all their enthusiasm
tells them they can do. Their nervous
make-up prevents their making
a piece of work equal to that of their
more relaxed and calm fellow students,
but it is surprising what progress
they can make in that direction,
when given the opportunity.
"Being the teacher of four diffei-ent
grades in penmanship, I have always
been accustomed to showing the projects
made by the upper grade classes
The Educator
to the lower grade classes. I have
found it to be universally true that
the first question to be asked is,
'When can we make a project like
that?' This is sufficient motivation.
Every child knows that when his
writing reaches such proportions, he.
too, will be given the opportunity to
produce such a piece of work. Children
often plan for months what they
think would be a project that would
be unique, original, and possible of
achievement.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"When our project was decided upon,
we selected the characters to be
pictured and appointed three students
to condense the story to a length to
comply with the ten characters to be
portrayed. Each student, who had a
character to design, selected the color
and type of drill best suited to his
character. He had to have a clear
mental picture of what his completed
product would be before he put one
Make handwriting interesting
by correlating it with
other school subjects.
stroke on paper because no design
was to be re-done and no design was
to be practiced in its picture form.
This entire booklet with the exception
of the last two pages of handwriting
was done in the class period over a
period of two weeks and no page was
re-done. May I here say that of the
fourteen pupils who took part in this
project, four were left-handed and
the only left-handed pupils in the
room. I have never found a lefthanded
student inferior in this respect
to the right-handed student.
In fact, the writing of the entire
story was done by a left-handed
pupil.
Silent Challenge
"And now, to answer the question
of the attitude of the child once he
has entered upon the project. There
are few students who when shown
the work done by the same class of
a previous year, do not feel the challenge
to do something as good or
better. It would be a falsity to say
that all students do such projects
with the same degree of enthusiasm
or for some reason. Some, of course,
do not want to be out-skilled by previous
classes; others do it and do
their best because the teacher has
asked them to cooperate in the project,
and still others desire to test
their skill over such a large unit of
work. Regardless of the reason, all,
at the conclusion of the work feel a
sense of pride when praise is given,
and all feel definitely pleased that
they have done a good piece of work
with no repetition and with the least
l)ossible error.
"I have been, at times, amazed at
the type of pupil who attains a high
degree of accuracy and skill in penmanship
drills. When a sixteenyear-old
eighth grade pupil, otherwise
a poor student, turns in a design
so uniformly beautiful and expresses
a desire to take it home to
show his mother before it is handed
to the supervisor, then all doubt I
may have as to the possible value of
such work vanishes. When the supervising
principal, viewing such
projects, exclaims 'Did student "A"
really do this?'
"Most teachers, I believe, feel that
boys are a little less inclined to see
the value of good writing in the same
light as girls. When the writing period
features project work occasionally,
and when supplementary work
of the pupil's own choice and planning
is given several periods a month,
then I feel that the interest in penmanship
is just as keenly felt by the
boys as by the girls. Some of the
most proficient penmanship drills I
have ever supervised have come from
the pens of boys, and they are always
just as eager for a superior product
in this respect. Most boys, I believe,
make more perfect designs than do
girls, once they are convinced of their
talents. Their desire for a neat, wellplanned
piece of work, and their patience
in materializing what they
have in mind, always lead to work of
which they can be justly proud."
In Conclusion
May I state that the teacher is always
the determining factor in the
development of attitudes. For several
years, my duties required that I
visit the classes of a certain teacher.
Upon entering the room, I was always
greeted thus, "Here are our
specimens. They're simply awful!
etc., etc." And they were! Then her
place was taken by a teacher with
far less experience in terms of years,
but whose desire to help her pupils
was both enthusiastic and delightful.
Imagine my great pleasure when upon
my first visit to her room, she
said, "Here are our specimens. I
think the pupils did very well." And
they did!
When one of m-y own childi-en
comes to me and says, "Daddy, in
this arithmetic problem, am I supposed
to multiply or divide?", I
must not immediately assume that
her teacher is at fault or that the
current method is wrong. It is then
my turn to help in the process of
teaching the application of arithmetical
knowledge. Pedro T. Orato
says "We must realize that transfer
of training is never automatic unless
accidentally so. For maximum transfer
to take place, at least three processes
should be provided: namely,
experience, continuity, and reconstruction."
Therefore, let those who
are so prone to say that our handwriting
doesn't function under certain
conditions and in certain situations
first examine themselves, asking,
"What am I doing to help?
(Continued on Page 25)