Board of the News: The Supposed Death of Handwriting

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/parents-struggle-to-ensure-children-learn-handwriting-and-not-just-typing-20151224-glunb3.html

Today's article was a bit of a toss-up between two childcare/school-related ones I'd come across: this one and another one which related to the decision of a daycare provider to not ban unimmunised children in Qld. As that one's more Qld specific, I thought this one was more relevant across the country and opted to focus on this instead.

First off, the article itself seems to imply that handwriting is no longer taught in schools. This is in fact not the case, especially if the school is using the Australian Curriculum or attends a Steiner or Montessori school (most schools should be using the Australian Curriculum). More specifically, for the Australian Curriculum, both typing and handwriting are readily acknowledged, with the outcomes for handwriting skills as follows:

Foundation:
Produce some Lower Case and Upper Case letters using learned formations (ACELY1653)
Know how to read and write some high-frequency (1) words and other familiar words (ACELA1817)

Year 1:
Write using unjoined lower case and upper case letters (ACELY1663)
Use visual memory to read and write high-frequency words (ACELA1821)

Year 2:
Write legibly, and with growing fluency using unjoined upper and lower case letters (ACELY1673)
Use knowledge of letter patterns and morphemes to read and write high-frequency words and words whose spelling is not predictable from their sounds (i.e. knife) (ACELA1823).

Year 3:
Write using joined letters that are clearly formed and consistent in size (ACELY1684)
Recognise and know how to write most high frequency words including some homophones (ACELA1486)

Year 4:
Write using clearly-formed joined letters and develop increased fluency and automaticity (ACELY1686)
Read and write a large core of high frequency words including homophones and know how to use context to identify correct spelling (ACELA1780)

Year 5:
Develop a handwriting style that is becoming legible, fluent and automatic (ACELY1706)

Year 6:
Develop a handwriting style that is legible, fluent and automatic and varies according to audience and purpose (4) (ACELY1716)

Year 7:
Consolidate a personal handwriting style that is legible, fluent and automatic and supports writing for extended periods (ACELY1727)

For comparative purposes, the outcomes that are relating to typing skills specifically are as follows:

Foundation:
Construct texts using software including word processing programs (ACELY1654)

Year 1:
Construct texts that incorporate supporting images using software including word processing programs (ACELY1664)

Year 2:
Construct texts featuring print, audio and visual elements using software, including word processing programs (ACELY1674)

Year 3:
Use software including word processing programs with growing speed and efficiency to construct and edit texts featuring visual, print and audio elements (ACELY1685)

Year 4:
Use a range of software including word processing programs to construct, edit and publish written text and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements (2) (ACELY1697)

Year 5:
Use a range of software including word processing programs with fluency (3) to construct, edit and publish written text and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements (ACELY1697)

Year 6:
Use a range of software, including word processing programs, learning new functions as required to create written texts (ACELY1717)

Year 7:
Use a range of software, including word processing programs, to confidently create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts (5) (ACELY1728)

So looking at these, one does have to wonder where exactly this idea that students are not getting enough practice with handwriting is coming from. The article seems to rely mostly on the experience of one family, with not enough evidence that the girl in the family is doing "better" simply because she writes more, or that the older boy is refusing to write for extended periods simply because he is not getting enough practice. There are also a few surveys there that are conducted for what appear to be marketing purposes, rather than for any actual genuine research. They are also entirely based on parent perceptions, rather than any actual testing of children.

The article also mentions "pen licences." I'm a little mixed on the concept, partially from personal experience and also partially because it holds no meaning beyond Year 5. It's a cute incentive to help develop handwriting, but beyond that, it's not a huge deal. Steiner schools take the concept one step further by studying the entire history of handwriting from scratching into wax with a stylus to using a fountain pen nowadays, coupled with cross-stitching a pen holder for that pen. (Some Steiner teachers may instead swap the fountain pen nib for a rollerball one, the brand that is used in most schools has interchangable heads for this purpose) Arguably, this one has a little more benefit in that the children all progress at the same time and children are not left out due to factors beyond their control.

While I have no doubt that yes, we are using technology more and more in schools, I do have to wonder if the article is more another attack on the education system as a whole, or even simply playing on the fears of parents that their child is "inadequate" because they aren't spending every waking moment writing and will thus not score highly on the NAPLAN (again, NAPLAN is NOT a "ranking" system and should not be treated as such-it's a way to compare how well your child is doing to others objectively).

It would also help if we are able to separate difficulty with handwriting based on the legibility or fluency with handwriting itself, and difficulty with handwriting simply based on spelling. A child who may, for example misspell "Chronicle" as "Kronikull" is not necessarily struggling with handwriting in and of itself (Spellcheck on computers is not a reliable way to fix this either).

So if you are concerned about your child's handwriting, what should you do?

1. Talk to your child's teacher. And I don't mean call or email, I mean actually visiting the teacher and asking for samples of your child's work. Ask for any literature as well backing up their decision to use (or not use) cursive in the classroom if your child is in Years 3-5 (by Year 6, cursive may still be used, but it's not compulsory). Also ask your child's teacher for anything that can be done at home.
2. Recognise that handwriting does not mean writing letters all day long. If your child is writing cards, memos or doing other practical tasks that involve writing, then they are still practicing their handwriting even if it's not immediately obvious.
3.. Have a look at activities to help develop fine motor skills that aren't specifically related to handwriting. Some good activities for this that are age-appropriate include Qixels/Beados (6), Hama Beads (7), Loom Bands (8), Lego (or any model-building), Spirograph (9) or even any craft activity that requires you to be able to pick up small things with your hands.
4. If it hasn't been picked up already, have a look to see if they're in fact left-handed or ambidextrous. Some teachers unfortunately have a tendency to discourage left-handedness either out of tradition or a perception that the child will struggle in the modern world. Your child being left-handed or ambidextrous will have no other bearing in their modern life except needing to purchase items specifically for their needs (and some manufacturers are catching on with ambidextrous options)
5. If there are still issues, consider having your child evaluated both by a GP and by a psychologist for a disability (take work samples and observations from the school with you when you do visit them). There are a wide variety of issues that can cause difficulties with handwriting and some of them are not nearly as obvious at first glance (for example, one may assume that dyslexia simply means difficulty with reading, when it can also affect handwriting). The earlier any of those issues are picked up, the easier it becomes for the teacher to adjust their methods in the classroom. It is also very important to note that if your child does get diagnosed with a disability of any description, schools by law cannot refuse enrolment to your child. Yes, this includes private schools.