Janoschka magazine_Linked_V2_2017

issue #2 © l i n k e d
41
The pages have four lines per row and a learning
house at the beginning and end of each row.
This helps first graders, in Germany, to assimilate
the ascenders, mid lengths and descenders of letters.
swg-online.de/lineaturen
france
The most popular and widely used format for lines in
France is the “grands carreaux” (large squares) or “réglure
Seyès”. It originated from the paper trader, Jean-Alexandre
Seyès, who developed this system of lines in 1892,
and even had its design registered at a court in Pontoise.
With its large number of horizontal and vertical reference
points, the “réglure Seyès” simplified the teachers’ work
enormously. That is to say that they could now give clear
guidance as to the lengths of the ascenders and descenders,
the size of the letters as well as the right positioning
of the accents, without moving from their own desk. With
the introduction of compulsory schooling in 1882, the
classes had increased up to 50 pupils. It was, therefore, no
longer possible for teachers to check individually how their
pupils were learning to write nor to make adjustments by
guiding their pupils’ hands.
This distinctive arrangement of lines is still used in France
and in North Africa by all grades today. It is only supplemented
by small squares for mathematical subjects. In the
1980s the “grands carreaux” made advances in Germany,
becoming a trendy product with students and yuppies.
germany
Unlike France, German pupils have a total of 34 sets of
lines available to them – not counting the ones for the first
writing and maths exercises. The reason may be that primary
school pupils in Germany learn the 26 letters of the
Roman alphabet in four different writing styles. In the East
German states, the style of writing that is still often taught
is the one that was introduced by the GDR in 1968. In the
West however, many primary schools start with block lettering,
progressing then to cursive script in the second and
third grade. Depending on the teacher’s personal preference,
this is either the Lateinische Ausgangsschrift (LA)
style of writing or the simplified version, Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift
(VA).
There are exercise books available in all sorts of variations
to make learning and practising easier: there is the extralarge
or seven-line system, exercise books with a colourcontrasted
background, a pronounced middle field or
dotted lines in the middle, ones for left-handed and righthanded
people, punched on both sides, with a margin on
the left or the right or on both sides. The shopping lists at
the beginning of a school year are elaborate and tricky –
regardless of the colour and quality of the cover, which can
also be specified by the teacher.