The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-09-11
Vertical Writing.

ed to perceive that this vertical writ
ing is all tommy rot.
This is the remark Prof. Coler, Of
the Concord, N. c., graded school, is
reported to have addressed to the au-
dience of teachers at summer school
after two others had wrestled with
him to exhaustion and used up pounds
of chalk in an effort to convince him
that vertical writing is the real thing.
We are not sure about the exact mean
ing of tommy-rot, but if it means a
fake that has caught whole communi
ties of people, we heartily agree with
him. At one time we were favorably
enough impressed with it to think it
deserved a trial; now we think we
ought to have known better at the
first. It is unnatural. There are a
few persons who naturally write left
handed, and so it seems easy for few
persons to learn to write a compare
lively vertical hand quite rapidly, but
these are exceptions, and they would
doubtless be exceptions in any style Of
writing. AS a rule, however, the
writer will slant his letters, as natu-
rally as man leans forward when he
walks.
For the first few months, vertical
writing seems to be the very thing,
and up to about the end of the first
year the child writes better than in
the slant system, but there it reaches
Just about the zenith of its proficiency.
The resons are plain. At first every
stroke is made so slowly that the for
ward motion does not affect the direc-
tion of the pen, and it is easier for
the child to make vertical lines nearly
parallel, until it has some practice,
but when it has acquired sufficient use
of the pen to enable it to move with
out dwelling studiously on every part
of every letter, natural movement
takes the place of studied strokes,
the lines will incline to slant with for
ward, movement, the practiced hand
learns to measure off equal angles
without thought, and the writing
will be at its best when all lines are al
lowed to take a natural slant forward.
If there is an effort to hold the pupil
to the vertical lines there is sure to
be very unattractive mixture OF the
studied vertical lines and the natural
slant lines. Whenever the child begins
to write for a purpose other than that
of learning to write, he is going to
slant one way or the other, and the
chances are more than ten to one that
the child that has been taught to
write vertically will then incline his
letters in all directions and his writ
ing will resemble brier patch after
II has heen visited by a cvclone
Another reason why vertical writing
is at its best with beginners is that
the letters are more like the printed
letters, both in angle and shape.
There is temptation to teachers to
adopt the style of writing that will
tell most in immediate results, and
this pleases the parents also, who like
to see their little tots write leglbly IN
short time.
The vertical fad is very injurious to
the cause of penmanship and We
should rejoice to see it wiped Oft the
face of the earth. We have been pay
ing some definite attention to pupils
taught in this system, and we have
seen no good results. We know none
of them that writes a neat vertical
hand with speed that can be tole-
rated in business.
..Oh, teachers, dear, if you have
not adopted vertical writing don't co
it. If YOU have. follow the example
of New York city and abandon It, and
the sooner you do SO the less injustice
YOU will do to your pupils.-Chester
Lantern.