Ex Sedda - from the chair » Handwriting

The Champion Method of Practical Business Writing

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:46:13 +0000

After some search for a method of instruction in basic penmanship I’ve settled on the following book:

The Champion Method of Practical Business Writing by Mary L. Champion

The book is freely available at:

http://www.iampeth.com/books/champion/the_champion_method_index.html (image version)

http://www.iampeth.com/ADOBE_PDFs/Champion%20Method%20of%20Practical%20Business%20Writing.pdf (pdf version)

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:05:37 +0000

I’ve found this resource most useful:

http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/

Lessons in Calligraphy and Penmanship

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:02:58 +0000

Here is a worthy resource dealing with calligraphy and penmanship:

http://www.iampeth.com/lessons.php

Italic Handwriting

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:01:05 +0000

For those who prefer italic over looped letters here is a excellent resource for learning italic handwriting:

http://briem.ismennt.is/4/4.1.1a/4.1.1.1.quick.htm

The Writing On The Wall

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:19:30 +0000

Good penmanship is more than just a quaint skill. A new study shows that it’s a key part of learning.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/67956

I’ve found this while searching to handwriting materials.

Cursive Handwriting

admin — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:06:04 +0000

I am looking a resource or a system that will teach our son a solid cursive handwriting. It seems that most experts are pushing cursive italic as the best way to improve one’s handwriting. Italic certainly has an advantage in legibility but I have hard time believing it can compete in speed with old fashioned looped cursive handwriting. I wonder if anyone knows of an affordable resource that teaches the more traditional ‘looped’ lettering methods. I am not looking for any fancy calligraphy, just a simple lettering system that flows better than italic does.

It seems to me that general deterioration in handwriting skills in modern society is an integral part of the general dumbing down of our population by mandatory schooling. The modern educational philosophy appears to be rooted in beliefs that our children are either inherently incapable of mastering certain skills, or such skills are just not worth learning. Perhaps we don’t need to go back to years of penmanship but we can certainly do better than we are. People with elementary level education used to write eloquently in a beautiful handwriting. Typewriters and word processors have added value but in the bargain we have, in aggregate, become dumber, less eloquent and incapable of legible handwriting. What a bargain!