The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

20
Causes of Good and Poor Left-handed Writing
1. General Teaching of Handwriting.
Some schools get good handwriting
from their left-handed students,
while others experience some difficulties.
If the conditions are right
you should not have any serious lefthanded
problems.
A teacher should be trained to
teach handwriting equally well as
she is trained to teach other subjects.
Many schools require their new
teachers to meet certain requirements
or to take special training in handwriting.
It is a splendid plan for the
teacher to prepare her daily handwriting
lessons as carefully as she
prepares other subjects. This means
trying to improve her own writing so
that she can demonstrate it in a clear
and inspiring way both at the blackboard
and on paper.
It requires much perseverance to
successfully teach handwriting, especially
left-handed writers. Most
teachers appreciate the value of good
handwriting both as a tool for students
while in school and later in
life. Penmanship training has some
value as a good habit builder.
2. Understanding the Left-handers'
Requirements.
Where teachers take pride in their
handwriting classes and give the
necessary attention to method of
teaching both right and left-handers,
good results can be expected. Some
teachers even practice with their left
hands to get the viewpoint of the
left-handed students and see their
difficulties.
Where left-handed students are
permitted to write in any manner regardless
of how awkward or impractical
they become very grave problems.
As a result bad habits are established
which may never be
changed, causing the child to go
through life handicapped with a
handwriting which he despises and
can do only with real effort and
which other people cannot read and
business dislikes or penalizes.
3. Encouragement Is Necessary.
Where left-handed students have
not received individual or special instruction
you will usually find poor
writing. Teachers who have succeeded
with left-handed students do
not give up but give much time,
effort, and encouragement to the lefthanders.
They know from the thousands
who have succeeded that there
is hope and that it is false to think
By E. A. Lupfer
Zanerian College,
Columbus, Ohio
that because one is left-handed that
he can't learn to write well.
4. Teach Correct Position
In teaching left-handed students,
the most important thing in the beginning
is to teach a sensible position.
Think of your left-handed students
when teaching position and
show them that their paper should
be held to suit them, which is different
from that of the right-handed
students. Lay the paper in front of
the students with tiie top pointing to
the upper left side of the desk. This
is just the opposite of that of righthanded
students. See that the angle
of the paper is not too great or too
nearly vertical. If left-handed students
attempt to hold the paper in
the same position as right-handed
students, they find it impossible and
will naturally twist their hands
around and write from the top down,
which is a very awkward way of
writing.
The penholder should point to the
left elbow, rather than towards the
shoulder as with right-handed students.
The weight of the hand
should be supported on the third and
fourth fingers to get free movement.
Sit well back in the seat, leaning
slightly forward, bending at the hips
and not at the waist. The body
should not rest on the desk. The feet
should be flat on the floor to balance
the body. Face the desks squarely.
The elbows should be near the corner
of the desk. The shoulders
should be kept straight. Avoid twisting
the body by throwing one elbow
away off the desk.
Avoid freakish and cramped positions.
The position of the paper
should be so that the writer can at
all times see his writing. His hand
should never shadow his writing or
obstruct his view. Too much emphasis
on correct position for lefthanded
students can not be overestimated.
5. Correct Attitude Helps the
Left-Hander
Get a good start by believing that
you are going to succeed and get the
students to feel the same way.
Avoid an indifferent attitude.
Some school officials are interested
in handwriting and are exerting their
influence to encourage good general
writing throughout the schools. They
find that good general handwriting
produces better left-handed writers
and parents praise the school for their
good work. Good penmanship is a
good advertisement for schools and
school officials, but poor penmanship
will bring deserved criticism.
Some schools employ special
teachers or supervisors and require
teachers to secure special certificates
or credits. Where there is cooperation
from all, good results are cer-
tain.
Newspapers publish many articles
which help handwriting. Occasionally
some articles are published
which create false impressions. Not
having given the subject much attention,
they exaggerate the possibility
of speech and other defects
caused to left-handed students who
have been changed to wi-ite with
their right hands, or where much
drill is required of them.
Left-handers are not generally
changed as was the custom years
ago. Then everyone was supposed to
be taught to write with the right
hand. Today educators believe it is
better to teach the left-handers the
proper way to use their left hands.
Some who are not decidedly lefthanded
can no doubt be successfully
changed but each case should be
given very careful thought.
Parents should help the teacher in
determining the handedness of the
children. Some parents will not cooperate
with teachers or permit them
to use their own judgment. As an
example, one boy was successfully
changed from left to right hand in
the first grade. When the boy reached
the second grade, the mother reading
an editorial in a newspaper about
stammering went to the principal and
insisted that her boy be taught to
write with his left hand. He did not
have any speech trouble and was doing
excellent, large plain first gi'ade
writing. Today this boy is a very
poor right-handed writer. Because
of the confusion among school officials,
teachers and parents, and because
it looks like quite a task to
learn to write, some left-handers are
licked before they start.
6.
Lighting Conditions.
Proper lighting and arrangement
of desks may help or hinder handwriting.
Wrong lighting conditions j
often cause the left-handed student ,