The teaching of handwriting

Contents

Editor's Introduction . , vii

I. The Nature of the Problem . . . . i II. The Constitution and Development of the

Writing Process 8

II The Constitution And Development Of The Writing Process

The writing act is complex

When an educated adult writes a letter the process appears to be a perfectly easy and natural one. The connection between the words which express the ideas in his mind and the hand movements by which the words are written seems to be a direct and matter-of-course connection. In the same way all actions in which we have attained proficiency appear simple. But this simplicity is something which has been achieved through a long course of practice. The outward act remains as complex as ever, but the actor has ceased to pay attention to all of its details, as we shall see more particularly.

In order to convince ourselves of the fact that the complexity of the writing movement is reflected much more completely in the mind of the child than in our own, we have only to regard our experience in an activity in which we are relatively imskilled. We can reproduce in a measure 8 in our own experience the condition under which the child writes by endeavoring to trace an outline which is seen in a mirror. Under these conditions the pencil goes off in all sorts of unexpected directions, and the attention is drawn to each separate adjustment which it is necessary to make in order to bring the pencil back from its erratic course, and to the movements of the hand and fingers by which these adjustments are made. A still closer analogy exists between the child's writing and the attempts of an adult to write with the toes. This is not at all a fantastic illustration. Anybody can learn to write with the toes who will expend the same amount of time and effort which the child expends in learning to write with his fingers. A little experimentation with some such unusual kind of writing will be more efficacious than a large amount of mere discussion in making one realize that the writing habit is not instinctive, that it must be developed gradually and by much practice, and that it is very complex.

The movement is composed of a variety of elementary movements

If we consider merely the muscles and joints which are involved in the writing movement we gain some notion of its complexity. Professor

Judd ^ has furnished us with a method of distinguishing some of the elementary movements

in writing by the use of his "hand tracer," shown in Fig. I. This instrument is fastened by a spring about the hand at the base of the little finger, and records the movements of the hand and arm. In some experiments which

Figure i

Reproduced from Genetic Psychology for Teachers, by Charles Hubbard Judd. Copyright, 1903, by D. Appleton and Company.

were made with this instrument it was foimd that in the writing of most individuals both the arm and fingers play an essential part in the writing movement. This is made evident by Fig. 2, which is copied from Professor Judd's report. Whether or not it is best to move the fingers as well as the arm in writing is a question to be discussed more fully in the chapter on pedagogy, but the fact that most persons write in this way is significant. Some persons write with more and some with less finger movement, but only a very few, who have had special training beyond that 1 C. H. Judd, Genetic Psychology for Teachers, chap. vi. 10 which is given in the ordinary school course, are able to exclude finger movements entirely. In the case of the majority of persons, then, lo

I

I

I

'2

Reproduced from ' Genetic Psychology for Teachers, by Charles ' Hubbard Judd. Copyright, 1903, by D. Appleton and Company.

there is division of labor between the arm and the fingers. One function of the arm is clearly to carry the hand along the line from the left to the right side of the paper. This may be done either by swinging the forearm about on a pivot formed II by the elbow or by the muscle pad just below the elbow, or by lifting the forearm and shifting it along. When the desk is low, these sideward movements are made chiefly at the shoulder joint, and therefore by muscles at the shoulder. When the desk is high so that the elbow is held some distance from the body, they are due in considerable measure to rotation at the elbow. It is evident that as compared with shifting the position of the elbow the rotation of the forearm about a pivot is the more economical, since in this latter movement time is not taken to interrupt the movement by lifting the arm. If this is true it has a bearing on the relation between the position of the paper and that of the arm. The best relation is one in which the forearm is at right angles to the line of writing. If we assume that the arm carries the hand along the Kne while the fingers form the letters, the finger and arm movements may still work together in one of two ways. Either the one may alternate with the other or the two may go on simultaneously. The alternating relation is one frequently seen in the writing of young children, but it is by no means confined to them. One frequently sees children and older people write with the hand in a given position until the fingers become so cramped that they can progress no further, when the arm is lifted and the hand is carried to a new position. According to the other method the hand and arm progress along the line during the formation of the letters, and it is not necessary to readjust the relation between them at frequent intervals.

In the writing movement of some persons another movement cooperates to carry the hand along the line. This is a side-to-side movement about the wrist joint. Such a movement is indicated in the tracer record when the line of the record slants downward sharply while the word or group of letters is being written, and then takes a backward and upward course in the readjustment preparatory to writing the next word. The downward slant is produced by the rotation of the wrist to right and the upward slant by its return to the original position at the beginning of the word.

The arm not only carries the hand along the line, but also, in the arm-movement writing, has a share in the formation of the letters. The movement of the arm in this case is made chiefly by a rotation in the ball and socket joint at the shoulder, and is produced by the shoulder muscles. The terms which are sometimes used to describe this type of movement convey a false impression. Both the terms "forearm movement" and ''mus-

n cular movement" make it appear that the movement is produced by muscles in the forearm, but a little examination will show that, in the arm movement, these muscles merely serve as a passive rest for the arm, and that thsy are active only in producing movements of the wrist and fingers. It is clear, if we examine the work of the fingers, that there is division of labor among them also. The pen is not grasped by all the fingers, but by the first two fingers and the thumb. This is not the way the child naturally grasps it. The earliest /and most fundamental method of grasping such /an object is to fold the fingers about it without using the thumb. The infant and the monkey grasp in this way. The next most natural method is to bring the tips of all the fingers together in opposition to the thtmib. Monkeys and young infants never handle things in this way. To bring two of the fingers in opposition to the thumb and to use the others to support the hand is a still more difficult and complex thing to do. It has been foimd by experiment that young children do not readily move one finger in isolation from the others, as, tor example, in striking successively the notes of a piano. They tend rather to tap with all at once. The use of a pen or pencil in the ordinary way is difficult, then, because it involves separating 14 the action of some of the fingers from that of the others and because it involves the united action of these fingers and the thumb. This conclusion is supported also by the anatomy of the muscle and nerve groups which govern the movements of the fingers and thumb. The chief muscles which move the fingers and thumb are located in the forearm — not in the fingers as is often assumed. The nerve cells which control the fingers form a group which are naturally associated in their action, and the nerve cells which control the thumb form another group. This fact explains why the coordination between fingers and thumb is so difficult.

Whether or not the letters are formed by the movements of the fingers, then, they have a distinct function to perform since two of them have the office of supporting the hand while the other two, with the thumb, grasp the pen. When these latter also contribute a large share toward the formation of the letters, the adjustment of the movements to one another becomes delicate and complicated. The matter has been studied by an Italian investigator, Obici,^ who invented

an instmment which he calls a ^'graphograph." The de\dce consists in a pen to which are attached three levers against which the thumb and first two fingers press. The pressure which they exert is transmitted pneumatically to delicately adjusted pointers. By means of this instrument we can measure exactly the actions of the fingers which are presented to ordinary observ^ation less precisely.

A succession of strokes of various kinds — upward and downward, oblique and upright, curved to the right or left or straight — presents the different combinations of movements in continually changing order. Each component movement must be made at the proper time and with the proper amount of force or the stroke will be distorted. For example, a downward stroke is made mainly by the pressure of the first finger against the pen, while the thumb and second finger guide. If additional pressure is exerted by the second finger the line will deviate to the left. To produce a cur\'e such as that of the downward stroke of the c there must be an excess pressure exerted first by the second finger and then by the thumb. \Mien the stroke reaches the bottom the first finger must relinquish the chief role, which then passes to the thumb. If the next upi6 ward stroke forms the first stroke of an e, for example, the middle finger first gives way and then presses against the thumb to form the loop at the top. On the other hand, if the next letter is the m, the second finger exerts a somewhat stronger pressure during the upward stroke and then releases it at the top. Such is the evershifting balance of forces by which the apparently simple writing movement proceeds. It is not to be wondered at that the child's pen runs off the track, and the precision of the adult writer is only to be ascribed to the wonderful efficiency of an act which has become a habit through long practice.

This analysis of the manner in which the component finger movements are coordinated in producing the letters furnishes the explanation of the fact that arm-movement writing always tends toward an angular style. The upward and downward movements can very well be made by the oscillation of the arm, but the complex curves which compose the letter forms are more easily produced by the fingers.

The movements which have been described are sufficient to produce a succession of letters and words. An additional movement is often employed, however, as a corrective. As the hand 17 moves across the page with the elbow as center of rotation, the direction in which the fingers point is constantly changing. At the right end of the line they point much more toward the right than at the left end. The effect of this is to make the letters slant more toward the right as the hand progresses along the line. This error may be compensated for in more than one way, but, as Professor Judd has pointed out, some writers make the correction by means of an additional movement. It may be easily determined by the reader for himself that if a series of strokes are made with the hand turned over toward the right side and then another series are made with the hand turned with the palm down, the second series is more nearly vertical then the first. This turning of the hand toward the left so that the palm faces downward is called pronation, and it will be readily seen that it is suited to correct the overslant of the letters at the right at the end of the line.

We have completed the list of the movements which combine directly to form the writing coordination, but it is evident, on a moment's consideration, that we have not exhausted the list of bodily adjustments which are necessary to the activity. The body is held erect to furnish i8 support to the arm. The left hand holds the paper and moves it from time to time and the left arm steadies and supports the body. Finally, the eyes and head are adjusted to the perception of the characters which are being formed. We shall see that many important practical questions are concerned with the maintenance of a healthful posture and the avoidance of eye-strain.

The fact that the eyes are adjusted to the perception of what is being written calls attention to the fact that there are other elements in writing beside the mere muscular movements. These are the sensations and perceptions which serve as a guide and standard for the movement.

Writing also involves control sensations and language ideas

The guidance or control of the writing movement by vision is particularly prominent in the early stages of learning. The adult can write blindfolded nearly as well as with his eyes open. The only features of the writing which suffer noticeably are the size, spacing, and alinement. The child, however, is largely dependent upon his sense of sight for the correct formation of the letters as well as for the control of the writing in 19 regard to these more general aspects. In the adult the immediate control of the details of the activity has been largely assumed by the sensations of movement and the pressure sensations. The importance of these latter may be very well demonstrated by writing with a pen which is so constructed that the pressure of the pen against the paper is not perceptible. Under such conditions the writing suffers not only in alinement and spacing, but also in the formation of the letters. This is particularly true when the eyes are closed. When the eyes are open the adult writer can in a measure compensate for the loss of the sensations of pressure by making a closer inspection than usual of the movement of the pen.

We may conceive of the pressure and movement sensations in writing as being not yet organized in the experience of the young child. That is, he does not yet know with any assurance how it feels to write a certain letter or word, but must rely upon his eye to inform him whether or not he is doing as he intends. As he writes more, these sensations become organized. Certain of them, following each other in certain order, come to represent particular letters or words. This seems always to occur when writing becomes fluent and easy. The practical application of this fact is that the child must write a great deal and at a sufficient speed for the successive sensations of movement and pressure to become associated with one another, and with the visual forms which they represent.

But writing is not merely the production on paper of certain forms. These forms have a meaning, and writing is for the purpose of expressing this meaning. In writing, as in reading, one says over more or less completely to himself the words which are being written, and the word images are the symbols of ideas. The writer starts out with an idea which he wishes to express. This idea is represented by groups of words imaged more or less clearly as heard or spoken, or both. These word images then call into being the appropriate writing movements.

Eow the mental process becomes simplified through practice In the manner of the connection between the idea and the movements of writing, there are important changes in the course of development. As^ has been said, to the practiced writer the writing movement seems to follow perfectly naturally upon the idea to be expressed, but in the experience of the child there is a chain of intermediate processes. One may get some idea of the process through which the child must go by examining his own experience in using a typewriter. Even if one is proficient in the use of this machine, the learning process is recent enough so that it can probably be recalled. Starting with the idea, one in the early stages of practice has to form definitely in his mind the words which express the idea. The phraseology is thought out more clearly in advance than in the more familiar processes of speaking or writing. The case is like that of a person who learns a foreign language as an adult, but who, instead of putting his thought directly into the foreign words, thinks them in his own tongue and then translates.

The next step after clearly formulating our ideas in words is to spell the words out. One does not realize how automatic the process of spelling becomes in ordinary handwriting until he tries to write by the less familiar process. He has to think out the sequence of the letters as seen on the printed page, or as pronounced orally, and then follow this sequence in the letters on the keyboard. Then each movement which must be made in order to write the successive letters must be thought and made separately. Finally, after the movement is made, it is given a parting thought to make sure it was the one which was intended.

It is not surprising that by the time these processes have been gone through, the thought connection has been lost. So it must be with the child who is in the early stages of learning to write. He must go through the same stages of anticipating the words he is to write, the spelling of these words, and something of the details of the form of the letters and of the position of the hand, the movements, etc., by which the letters are produced. Hence the well-known fact that young children cannot express their thoughts fluently by writing. The mechanics of the writing process stand in the forefront of the attention and interrupt the flow of thought. As practice proceeds, these steps follow one another more rapidly and more closely so that they interrupt the thought process less. The writing process becomes more nearly automatic — that is, it becomes capable of being carried on without the direction of attention. The attention can then be occupied more fully with the meaning which is to be expressed.

There is a certain time when the child must be 23

THE TEACHING OF Hx\NDWRITING

thinking chiefly of the formation of the letters

and the mechanics of the process, but this stage in learning may be prolonged beyond the time when it is necessary or desirable. A person may have J the mechanics of writing highly developed, but "^ not be able to use it efficiently in the expression of his thought. It sometimes occurs that a person can write very excellently when it is purely a formal matter, but uses an inferior "hand" when he is writing a letter. On the other hand, it sometimes happens that a person with a halting, uncertain movement develops fluency and case when he grows accustomed to the use of writing to express his thoughts.

The opposite danger of releasing attention too early from the mechanics of writing or the details of form is also present. Generally speaking, improvements in the character of the movement or the form of the letters cease when one no longer exercises a critical super^'ision over the process. Mere practice does not bring improvement. The pupil should early begin to use writing as a means of expression of meaning, but there should also be practice periods when the attention is directed to the improvement of the habit until the habit has reached the degree of perfection which is thought desirable. 24

The movement becomes organized with practice

From the point of view of the thought or meaning side of writing then, we have fomid that writing becomes increasiagly automatic with practice. The attention is freed from the details of the movement. From the point of view of the movement, this process consists in a more thorough organization of the elements of the coordination. In the first place, excess movements become eliminated. When the child begins to write, the nervous energy is diffused throughout a large part of the body. The face is contorted, the feet are twisted about, the left hand is tightly clasped, and the body is bent. The same phenomenon may be observed in the learning of the adult, as, for example, when in learning to ride a bicycle he grips the handlebar with unnecessary force. Out of the excess supply of movements, the child must learn to use only such as produce the desired movements of the pen.

The elimination of useless movements, or the selection of appropriate ones, is one of the fundamental processes in motor learning. A practical question which may be raised concerning it is whether the result can best be reached by emphasizing the movements which are to be selected or 25

THE TEACHING OF H.\XDWRITING

those which are to be eliminated. In general, it is much better to fix attention on the movements which are to be made, and allow the superfluous movements to drop out of themselves. It is a familiar fact that the bicycle rider avoids the ditch best by keeping his attention on the path. The nen'ous energ}' is automatically withdrawn from the channels leading to the muscles not concerned when the nen'ous channels to the appropriate muscles become more open. Directions should be positive, then, rather than negative. The pupil should be shown what to do rather than what not to do. The only exception to this rule appears when the pupil ha^ fallen into bad habits which need to be broken up. Then it may be necessar}* to call attention to the thing to be avoided.

The appropriate movements become selected from among the great number of superfluous movements as they become organized into modes of action which produce the desired result. The ners'ous energ}* is at first widely diflused because the ner\-e cells which control the groups of muscles which are associated successively and simultaneously in the writing movement have not become so connected that the ners'ous energy- finds free outlet through them. The organization of these nerve centers can proceed only through practice — that is, through trying to make the movement which will produce the forms set before the child as a model. There is no royal road to this end. The child must learn by the slow method of trial and success. He knows roughly what form he desires to make, but does not know how to go about it to make it, except in a general way. He has no recourse but to make the attempt. He succeeds partly because he has learned to make movements somewhat similar in the past, but his success is not complete. He now tries to improve on his first attempt. If he fails, he tries again. If he succeeds, he may be able to repeat his performance. But he is not able to anticipate the method by which success is reached. He can only retain the measure of success he has attained by blind trial until further trials bring him nearer his goal. Practice or drill, therefore, is the only means of learning to write. The essentials of good drill will be discussed in the chapter on pedagogy.

As the movement becomes organized the attention

comes to comprehend larger units

When the child first essays to write the letters

which are before him (and which compose the words which he uses in his spoken language), his attention is absorbed, as we have seen, in reproducing the forms. In striving to copy the forms of the letters, he keeps their appearance in mind as well as he can and watches the letter which he is making in order to see when it deviates from the model and to bring back the stroke when it goes astray. He follows the stroke bit by bit with the eye, and it is his eye which seems mainly to "control" the stroke. After he has made the various letters over and over he gradually learns how it feels to make them, as has already been said, and he finds it no longer necessary to follow the stroke minutely.

Now is the time when the child can hold in mind several strokes or letters at a time. He can safely assume that the motor habit under the control of the sensations of movement and pressiure will execute the details of the letters. As the child thus holds in mind several letters or a word at a time, it comes about that the individual strokes are subordinated to the more general features of the writing. Thus he can pay more attention to the uniformity in size, slant, etc., of the letters. It may be seen, by comparing the writing of children with that of adults, that children commonly form the letters more carefully, 28 but that the writing as a whole is more uneven or ragged.

Another result of this broadening of the scope of the attention concerns the movement. The movement becomes more uniform, or, in other words, it acquires greater rhythm. The successive strokes tend to be made at equal intervals of time as though to music. This undoubtedly explains much of the deviation from correct form in the writing of adults. Parts of letters which would take more time if made correctly are hurried over to avoid breaking the regular beat of the strokes. At the same time, rhythmic movement has a great advantage on the score of ease and rapidity. We shall consider its practical importance again in the chapter on pedagogy.

Learning to write is conditioned partly by the stages of development at diferent ages

We have been considering those features of the formation of the writing habit which are inherent in the learning process itself and which are the same whatever the age or the degree of maturity of the learner. Certain questions regarding the time and manner of teaching writing, however, require for their solution a knowledge of the capacity of the child at different ages for complex 29

THE TEACHING OF H.\NDWRITING

and delicately adjusted movement. Systems of teaching which are found to be suitable to youths or adults in business colleges are often applied without sufficient modihcation to children in the primary grades. Such procedure results in a waste of energ}- and effort.

The child's ability to make precise, complex, and rapid movements increases continuously from the first year at least to youth. For practical purposes, however, certain di%ision points may be designated which mark changes in the child's attitude toward his movements and an increase in capacity more rapid than at other times. One such point is of particular significance for the teaching of writing because it falls witlnn the period of the grades.

~ Students of the child from difierent points of \-iew have iudependently fixed on the age of nine or thereabouts as a time when the child becomes willing and able to apply to his movements some outward 5:-r,i.::d. In his play, for example, the child now sets an aim to his movements. Before this, they were free, and enjoyed merely for themselves: or they were dramatic or sjinbolic in character. Xow. the child not only runs because he enjoys the experience or pretends that he is an Indian or what not, but he runs to excel some- 30.

body else or even to make a record. So also in drawing he ceases to make merely rough sketches which represent but do not resemble objects, and makes an effort to portray more accurately their form and spatial relations. A brief study made by the author indicates also that the faciHty of movement in making simple upward and downward strokes with a pencil increases more rapidly at this time than during the rest of the child's school life.

The methods and aims of training should take account of these facts and require more of the child in the intermediate than in the primary grades. A system which sets the same standard of speed or accuracy before children in the different stages is fundamentally wrong. The application of this principle, and of the others which have been set forth in this chapter, is a matter to be discussed more particularly in the following pages. .

Ill

THE PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE OF WRITING