I have worked with children in the 10 to 12 year-old range on and off over the last 20 years and have come upon a remarkable observation. Kids with bad handwriting tend to be poor academic performers. The worse the handwriting the lower the academic performance level. I devised a system to deal with it from the first time I came upon it but did not immediately make the connection. More experience over time made the connection between handwriting and performance clear, but the reason for the connection, so far as I have been able to determine, was surprising, to say the least!
(This article deals with average, normal students and does not apply to children with mental or other serious defects, or anything that would result in a child not being considered normal.)
My first time dealing with this was when I was teaching grade 5 many years ago. It was my first formal job as a (pre-trained) teacher and I was handed the slow grade five class at a primary school. I can recall, as clearly as if it was yesterday, the result of the first in-class exercise that required handwriting. I took the books to mark and discovered that I could not read the handwriting of most of the kids. In fact, of the group of over thirty students I was able to read only about five! So there I was. I picked up a book, looked at the handwriting and put it aside if I could not read it, then picked up the next one. Pretty soon nearly all the books were in the unreadable pile! I was completely amazed because I were wondering how the previous teachers read their handwriting since I was having such a serious difficulty with what I saw in the kids' books. I decided that I was not even going to try whatever they did and that the kids had to learn to write legibly - like immediately.
I decided on the spot that this problem had to be addressed as a matter of urgency (otherwise I would not be able to mark their work). The whole class went back to handwriting practice - in script (as opposed to cursive or 'join-up' as it was also called). Needless to say, the Principal was not amused but allowed me to continue - much to her credit.
I made it clear to the class that their general handwriting quality was not where it should be, that it was largely unreadable and that I would not accept it -period! They probably never took me seriously. After all, nobody else seemed to have had a problem with their handwriting before. Sure enough, the next handwriting assignment the following day looked very much like the one the day before. So I handed the books back and told them that they had to do it over. Now I had their undivided and very puzzled attention. And so the process began. The redo was noticeably better in most cases, but for those who still didn't get it, there were a few more rewrites and a lot of groaning, complaining and tears.
I must tell you that in a few short weeks even I was amazed at the quality of their handwriting! Now I had to be careful about my own handwriting as some of the kids' penmanship rivaled my own - which is pretty good I am told. There was, in the end, only one boy who still was struggling. He also attended rather badly so there was no real surprise there. So, one day I sat down with him, held his hand and helped him form letters that he was having trouble with. I then gave him a writing assignment for homework. What I saw in his book the next day will remain in my mind for the rest of my life! The text was so well written that I could not believe he had done it himself. But he insisted that he had done it himself. So, I gave him another one on the spot. True enough, he did it again! To this day its the best handwriting I have ever seen by a child that age -and he kept it up. I also noticed that he began to attend classes more often.
In more recent times I have taken this same approach to kids with bad penmanship and the result has been consistent. So has the initial groaning, complaining and tears! But it became clear to me that all these kids were very capable of really good handwriting. So it was not a matter of ability, they were writing badly because they didn't have to do any better. But once they found they could write well, they also began doing better in other areas too.
The same is true for adult students. I have found it necessary to get a student to develop the internal discipline to write properly before I can help them to improve their maths, English, IT, or any other skill. Poor handwriting, it appears, is a symptom of the mindset that results in poor academic performance - not a reflection of the child's ability.
As a teacher, parent or guardian you can do this to the benefit of your child if they have poor handwriting.
1. Let them know that you know they can do better and that you will not accept that poor output from them. Do this calmly and firmly, no shouting, screaming or other dramatics are needed. Where they need help or guidance provide it.
2. Do not accept the poor handwriting and have them do over any work they present that is poorly written (and I mean the whole assignment -not just the bad part), without exception and with no special concession either.
3. Have them redo the same assignment until it is properly done.
4. Congratulate them when they have written the assignment properly. However, if the assignment is late because of this and there are penalties, the penalties still apply.
As I pointed out before you will have to put up with the initial groaning, complaining, tears, tantrums, or whatever your child is inclined to do. Do not loose your temper and have a meltdown - although it might be a little difficult. If you calmly and firmly hold your ground, unless there are other factors, they will comply and you will be pleased with the result.
2GNEC Training Team
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