Something interesting I've found here is handwriting. American handwriting is so incredibly varied, both in print and cursive form. Even my own dang handwriting varies so much that one letter from me can look as if several different people wrote it as I switch from cursive to print, then to some weird hybrid, and so on! (Is that creepy? I will even write the individual letters differently)
Friends and I have noticed that most German cursive writing looks very identical, no matter who wrote it. I find this so interesting.
It raises these questions:
-Is the teaching of German penmanship so standard that everyone's looks the same afterward?
-Even though it's usually quite neatly written, why am I such a dumbkopf and can't make out some of the letters at times?
-Will German educators continue to teach cursive handwriting?
I've heard that in American schools, some are phasing it out because people type so much. I can understand that on one hand, but on the other, I find it crazy. After all, if one has to take handwritten notes quickly for some reason, wouldn't cursive writing be advantageous? Or will there never be a need for anything handwritten again? Oh, the questions that exist!
... ;)
hi - yep it's uniform. Both my kids attend German schools (17 & 12 now). They are taught the Latin Schrift in Grade 1 on the special 3-tiered Nr. 1 paper (take a look in the school supply section at a stationary store or supermarket). In that first year they are allowed to use a thick pencil but by the second grade both their teachers required that they use a nib point (caligraphy) pen. This way they learnt about pressure and constant flow....tough eh. My eldest also learned the regular print style (Druckschrift) though my son didn't. Though it sounds cool and all, most kids get lazy about writing as they are hardly ever assigned much once out of the primary schools...also in America at least, kids write a lot of book reports, essays and are given regular reports to do, they just don't do much of that here. The schools seem to be more about what is learnt while at the schools and like the Kindergarten, aimed towards more team work and less individual work. Hope that shines some light on the mystery. :)
ReplyDeleteWhoa, that's intense that they use calligraphy pens! Thanks for the super interesting info. My mom was just telling me that a teacher in the US told her that they don't teach cursive any more because there just isn't any time (my inner snark mistress says "oh, that would take away from having to teach to standardized testing as teachers are being forced"). It dawned on me: I wonder if the kids will be able to read cursive down the road? In the last part of your comment, which school system seems more geared toward what one learns vs. teamwork?
ReplyDelete