The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

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The Educator
The B is the same as P with the additional oval. Get both ovals the same in size. Are your rounding parts ovals
or are they too wide? Get about 14 letters on a line. Give the pen a free swing on the ovals. Stop at the angle
before making the final stroke.
Practice the exercises giving most of your attention to movement. Get a free push-pull movement on both capital
and small b. The oval movement in the capital is made with a free swing. Stop on retrace before making the final
swing. Also stop on retrace of the small b.
The b is a combination of 1 and v. Start on the base line and get a good curved swinging stroke. The loop is full
and plain. Cross at the head line. The bottom part of b should not be so wide that it resembles le, nor should the
retrace touch the body of the letter. Finish high along the head line. Glide out freely with the pen in motion. You
may use a slight finger action on the loops, but do not develop a slow cramped movement.
Make connecting strokes freely with the arm. The down strokes should be pulled down straight towards the body.
The s is similar to the r. The beginning stroke comes out of the base line, not through it. The body is an oval
swing. The s and r extend slightly higher than n. Close the s at the bottom and get a round turn at the bottom of
r. Use a rolling rocking motion. Stop at the bottom if it helps you.
Count: 1, 2, 3. Do not count to excess. Avoid breaking the round turn at the base line. Some come down too straight
to the base line, then cut up too suddenly. This has a tendency to produce an angle in place of a turn.
These are good exercises. Study them until you can do them well. Get a light down stroke and a free swing.
Shift the elbow between words when the movement becomes cramped. See that all turns at the base line are the
same in roundness. Always make a clear distinction between turns and angles, and loops and retraces.
Remember that the way to learn to write is to practice writing, just the same as the way to learn to play ball, is to
practice ball playing. And on the same principle that it takes study as well as practice to throw and curve a ball effectively,
so it also takes study and practice to acquire the art of skillful penmanship.