[SENco-forum] Handwriting

My son's writing is so slow (< bottom 10%) and poor that it looks

> My son's writing is so slow (< bottom 10%) and poor that it looks
> like a 6 year olds whereas he is 11 with a 130+ IQ & dyslexia.  He would
> love to be able to use a computer all the time, but schools do not allow it.

That's terrible!  It's like saying he uses a wheelchair but the school
wouldn't let him use it because "we all walk around here".  If using a
computer helps him overcome his dyslexia then not letting him use one is
discriminating against his disability which I thought was illegal.

But in general, what the replies I've seen so far seem to be saying is that
it is wrong and unfair but we all have to put up with it and just carry on
in the way we've always done it.  So how do we change it?

As an employer, I doubt if I've ever seen any of my staff's handwriting and
whether or not they could write cursive script would not exactly be high on
my list of expected skills.  Yes, I have heard of large employers asking for
handwritten applications so they can use graphology to get information on
the writer, but this has largely been discredited.  Here's a quote from a UK
job finding website:

"Unless otherwise requested, always type your covering letter.  Even if you
have the most exquisite handwriting, employers much prefer to see a word
processed letter which is legible and clear to read.  It is quite rare these
days for employers to ask for a handwritten letter - handwriting is usually
irrelevant to a job, and graphology (the study of handwriting) has been
shown to be a poor predictor of someone¹s suitability for a job."

However as an employer I see IT skills as critical.  Without some generic IT
skills (the ability to use a word processor, an email program, a
spreadsheet, access the internet, etc.) I would not even consider someone
for employment, however neat their handwriting.

Jamie

> From: <SEN at tringham.net>
> Reply-To: <SEN at tringham.net>
> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:27:20 +0100
> To: Becta Senco <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] Handwriting
> 
> Human beings are...human and individually we are attracted to things that
> are like ourselves.
> 
>  If we have nice writing and use extended expressive language we respond
> more positively to those who do the same.  However fair or liberal the views
> we express research shows it is hard to shake of preconceptions and
> stereotypes and gender or stereotypical behaviour and as teachers our
> responses to student's written work is the same.  Even Ruth puts the worst
> ones to last and grits her teeth and I would say she is one of the good
> ones.
> 
> Believe me I would rather the news were otherwise.   I have a scrawl that I
> find hard to decipher if I go back and try to read it after any length of
> time.  My son's writing is so slow (< bottom 10%) and poor that it looks
> like a 6 year olds whereas he is 11 with a 130+ IQ & dyslexia.  He would
> love to be able to use a computer all the time, but schools do not allow it.
> Likewise may employers are now asking for hand written applications to help
> them whittle the list down.  Grossly unfair?  Discriminatory?
> 
> I have recently heard that teachers have now overtaken doctors as having the
> most illegible writing!  Perhaps I am aiming the Speed Up & cursive lessons
> at the wrong people!
> 
> Sharon
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk]On Behalf Of Jamie Munro
> Sent: 23 July 2007 10:26
> To: SEN at tringham.net; Sharon Fawcitt; Becta Senco
> Subject: Re: [SENco-forum] Handwriting
> 
> 
> I feel I've wandered into a discussion from a previous century.  It's 2007
> not 1897 (or even 1987), why are we placing so much emphasis on handwriting
> when a lot of us not in school simply don't do it at all any more.  The only
> handwriting I ever do is writing cheques, and chip and pin have seen to most
> of that.  Oh, maybe the odd shopping list that only I will read.
> 
> I'm communicating this by email, over the weekend I communicated with my
> local council via their web site, wrote a letter to my local newspaper via
> email.  In meetings I take notes using a laptop, I write appointments in my
> electronic diary on my mobile phone/PDA.
> 
> An essay in flowing cursive deserves an exam grade better than one in print?
> Bizarre and grossly unfair!
> 
> Jamie
> 
> 
>> From: <SEN at tringham.net>
>> Reply-To: <SEN at tringham.net>
>> Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:30:33 +0100
>> To: Sharon Fawcitt <sfawcitt at dsl.pipex.com>, Becta Senco
>> <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
>> Subject: RE: [SENco-forum] Handwriting
>> 
>> Those who are adamant they do not need to change - style or speed are the
>> most resistant so it has to be student choice.  I tell them the facts -
>> print essays while equal in speed are likely to be marked down by one exam
>> grade.  Untidy writing (2 comparable essays) was marked down 2 grades C as
>> opposed to A.  My  11 year olds are not to worried by this as GCSE's are
> not
>> for another 5 years.  As teachers we should be really worried.  For the
>> students I am dealing with this is going to be the difference between a
> GSCE
>> pass and fail and this needs addressing.  The biggest question for me is
>> when is the best time to tackle the current handwriting problems -
> Reception
>> or  KS2.  Secondary students are going to have acquired habits that are
>> really hard to influence positively.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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