The herald., 1897-08-08
TRAINING FOR
THE LEFT HAND.
English Boys Being Taught
to Write With Either
Hand.

An English writing master of repute
named Frederick Falconer had long
puzzled over the question of how to
provide a remedy for the distressing
trouble known as writer's cramp, which
lays hold of the wrist and hand of man
who is compelled to do much writing
and forces him to stop work and rest
until the cramp departs. Now nature
does not usually provide an intiiction
for which there is no remedy, so argued
Falconer.
Like a flash came the solution of the
problem; and now all the teachers of
writing. bookkeepers and clerks in
England are saying to each other
why did we not think of that before?''
Falconer's line of reasoning was SIM
ply this: Nature has provided man with
two hands When he insists on using
only one for some particular purpose,
such as writing, nature steps in and
raps him over the knuckes for his fool
ishness. In the case specified, the rap
over the knuckles administered by
Dame Nature is called writers
cramp." Since writing first became an
art men, with the exception of few
persons naturally left-handed, have
written with the right hand only. Fal-
coner's proposition is to have the pu-
pills at the English public schools taught
to write with either hand. Provided
their education in this direction is be-
gun early enough, there is no reason
why the left hand should not be used to
guide the pen as well as the right. Then
goodbye to writer's cramp. When the
right hand becomes stiff with too much
handling of the pen, the writer only
needs to shift the pen to the left hand
what folly" says Mr.. Falconer, Ito
train boys and girls to use but one
hand. No wonder that the left is al
most losing it's usefulness. Why are not
carpenters trained to saw with the left
hand as well as the right ball players to
throw with either arm, and soldiers to
shoot from either shoulder? Fancy
training a child to walk with one leg
only. Yet this is just as sensible as to
allow him to grow up using only one
arm"
The idea of teaching pupils to write
with both hands has been received so
favorably by the educational magnates
of England that it has been put into
practical operation in some of the Lon
the pothook and hanger stage of their
educational career, it is almost as easy
to teach the use of the pen with one
hand as with the other. 1t is with older
pupils that the difficulty is experienced.
In order to accustom the beginner to
use the left hand freely, Mr.. Falconer
has constructed an apparatus consist
ing of a series of sings suspended from
frame The pen is supported in this
sling, and thus much of the strain on
the nerves of a pupil learning to write
with the left hand is said to be over
come 1t is trying work at first, but
facility soon comes with practice, and
the benefit derived is practically the
adding of new hand to the writer's
stock in trade.
The question of extending this new
style of teaching writing to all the pub
lie schools of London will come up for
consideration at an early meeting of
the School Board. 1t is believed that it
will be generally adopted. and it may
eventually find it's way to the schools
in this country.
Copyright, 1897, by Bacheller Syndicate.