The Beauty in Penmanship
When I started third grade, I remember vividly how excited I was to learn to write in cursive. I took so much care in my penmanship, and couldn’t wait to show my mother my schoolwork when I got home. She encouraged me and showed me how to make each letter, and she would practice with me often.
My entire life, my mother had beautiful penmanship, even when writing a grocery list. Her handwriting was a work of art, as was her grasp of the English language, spelling, and grammar. These were her favorite things – writing and grammar. She helped me and my older brothers through every stage of our education. She helped edit our papers and then would type them up on her manual typewriter. Even after computers became the preferred way to type, she still preferred to use her old manual typewriter.
When it came to penmanship, she attempted to teach all my children and my grandson, how to write well and be proud of our penmanship. My children were not as interested in learning as I was when I was young, but at least I taught them how to write in cursive. Our schools no longer teach cursive handwriting and penmanship, and I think it is a shame.
Sure, we have laptops and computers and don’t have to type at all really. Many of us just speak into the microphone on our computer and it transcribes everything we say. But what about all the important documents of generations past? If we do not teach our children how to write in cursive, how will they be able to read the important documents that are our history?
I have been a long time member of Ancestry.com and have gathered a mountain of information on my ancestors going back to the 1400s. The documents that I find and save in my profile are primarily written in cursive. I know what my ancestors did for work, most were farmers, and their stories are important to me. This is the death certificate for my maternal grandfather, who passed away when I was 4 years old.
I have letters that my father wrote to his parents when he was serving in WWII in the US Army. I have letters from my grandfather Mason VanFossen, who served in WWI and was enlisted in the Army working with the Red Cross. How would I understand all of this if not for my ability to read the documents of my heritage? Future generations will have lost a great deal if they are unable to read and decipher the handwriting of their ancestors.
Handwriting and learning to read and write in cursive, I believe, is very important for every generation. Learning these skills opens up more than just the ability to read old documents, or sign their name. Cursive penmanship is a skill, a creative skill, and one that involves hand coordination. After learning cursive, and using it repetitively throughout my schooling, I developed my own cursive signature, and I think of my mother every time I sign my name to a document, a card, or letter.
My daughter, Sarah, is now the keeper of her paternal grandmother’s (Geneva Newman Vaughn) Recipe Boxes. Hundreds of handwritten recipes on 3×5 cards. What a treasure.
As I have gotten older, handwriting has become more important to me – for reasons I cannot begin to explain. Well, for one, I love to write. I love to tell stories, and I enjoy journaling. And, if you think about it, a handwritten letter, or a card with a handwritten note inside is far more valuable than a digital card, note, message, or email. For all the wonders that are at our fingertips thanks to advances in technology, there is nothing that a digital card, note, message, or email can do to achieve the same personal touch as a handwritten card, letter, or note … sent snail mail.
There are a number of applications that you can use on your iPad to learn calligraphy. As an artist, I enjoy learning new things on the app “ProCreate” but, there is also an app that I am going to try called “Calligraphy Penmanship” that is supposed to be very good.
Whether you want to improve your penmanship the traditional way, or through online applications for your iPad, learning cursive and good penmanship is a valuable gift to give yourself. As for me, I certainly hope that our school system brings the lessons of penmanship and cursive handwriting back to the classroom.
What are your thoughts?
Comments (1)
BigBear
February 16, 2024 at 3:16 am
Your post made me wonder if other languages incorporated “cursive” penmanship? I presume that it could apply to all the languages using the latin / roman alphabet…. What about the others?