Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-03-18

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which they must do rapidly probably
exceeds both. The difficulty Of teach
ing grown man to write decently is
almost inconceivable--he seems never
to see what is wanted-and something
of that difficulty attaches to vast pro-
portion of children. Still, all persons
not deformed or crippled in the hand,
or deficient in eyesight, can be taught
to write, and the reason why they are
not taught properly must be some in-
berent defect in the system. We be-
lieVe it to be the one we mentioned, the
effort to enforce q certain method, in
stead of trying to secure a certain re-
suit. The unhappy child, who is almost
always, we admit necessarily, taught
too early, is instructed to hold himself
orherself in particular attitude, which
is sure to be the wrong one for five
sights in ten, the proper attitude de-
pending on the length of the child's
vision; to hold the pen at particular
angle, which is also wrong, the fitting
angle depending on the character Of
the pen and holder, and to grasp the
pen at a certain distance from the nib,
which is arbitrarily fixed, whereas the
distance must be governed by the for
nation and strength of the child's fin
gers, and would be infinitely better left
to his or her own instinct. Above all,
there is a perpetual worry about the
"resting" of the hand, though the
easiest position varies with every child,
and though no two men with much
writing to do rest the fingers quite
alike. The pupil is then taught to
make lines in a certain direction, and
to copy characters so large that they
have no resemblance to writing at all,
and to care particularly about up
strokes and down strokes, and all man
ner Of minuti@, which, if they are of
any value at all, will soon come of
themselves. So strong, in spite of CEN
turies of experience, is the belief in this
method, that machines for controlling
the fingers while writing have repeat
edly been invented; and the author of
book before us, professional, is in
clined to tie them up in some fashion
with ribbon.
We believe that the whole of this
method is mistake, that there is no
single system Of naecGnsqme for writing,
and that child belonging to the edu-
Gated classes would be taught much
better and more easily if, after being
once able to make and recognize writ
ten letters, it were let alone, and
praised or chidden, not for its method,
but for the result. Let the boy hold
his pen as he likes, and make his
strokes as he likes, and write at the
pace he likes-hurry, of course,
being discouraged-but insist strenu-
ouslY and persistentIy that his copy
shall be legible, shall be clean, and |
shall approach the good copy set be- |
fore him namely, a well.written let
ter, not a rubbishy text on single line,
written as nobody but a writing-mas-
ter ever did orwill write till the worlds |
end. He will make a muddle at first,
but he will soon make passable imi-
tation of his copy, and ultimately de- |
velope characteristic and strong hand,
which may be good or bad, but will not
be either meaningless, undecided or IL
legible. This hand will alter, of course,
very greatly as he grows older. It may
alter at eleven, because it is at that age |
that the range of the eyes is fixed, and !
the short-sight betrays itself; and It will
alter at seventeen, because then the
system of taking notes at lecture,
which ruins most hands, will have |
Cramped and temporarily spoiled the |
writing; but the character will form it.
self again, and will be never be deficient |
in clearness or decision. The idea that |
it is to be clear win have stamped it.
self, andlconidence will not have been
destroyed by worrying little rules about
attitude, angle and slope, which the
very irritation of the pupils ought to
convince the teachers are, from some
personal peculiarities, inapplioable,
The lad will write, as he does anything
else that he cares to do, as well as he
can and with q certain efficiency and
speed. Almost every letter he gets
will give him some assistance, and
the masters remOnstrance on his IL
will be attended to, like any
other caution given in the curriculum.
AS it is, he simply thinks that he does
not write well, instead of thinking that
not to write well is to fall short in a
very useful accomplishment and to be
pro tGst0 failure.
We are not quite sure that another
process ought not to be gone through
before writing is taught at all. Sup
pose our boys and girls were taught to
read manuscript q littleP They are
5aught to read print, but manuscript is
lot print, or very like it, and they are
eft to pick up the power of reading
hat the best way they can; they never
levote half an hour a day for six
months TO manuscriptreading. If they
lid, it would be easier to them all their
ives, and they would learn to believe
n legibility as the greatest, or, at any
ate, the most useful, quality that writ
ng can display-an immense improve
nent, if our experience can be trusted
n the usual youthful ideal on the sub
ect. The business of life, no doubt,
oon teaches children to read manu-
cript; but many Of them never read it
asily, and retain through life an un-
aversion to the work, from
he fatigue and vexation which it
auses them. We have known men so
onscious of this defect that they al
Ways have important letters read aloud
0 them, and others who would refuse s