06-11-2016, 10:26 PM
Penmanship used to be taught in schools. "Dictionary.Com" defines it simply as " the art of handwriting".
It was called "cursive" writing, and people practiced to develop a "fine" hand. In the 19th century people especially perfected their signatures.
Cursive is no longer taught in many schools, printing will do, and in fact it will, and does. Penmanship was an effort at refinement, of character, of style. Certainly we can get along without it, just as we can do without "art' and "music" classes. But, all those losses chip away at the culture.
I was recently filling out papers at a notary office. Got to the spot that appears on lots of forms that says, "Print Name Here, and Sign Below".
I asked the notary public lady, "What do you do with the younger people who don't know how to write, how to write their signature?"
She smiled and said it was happening more and more. "I just have them print their name twice" she admitted.
the Spanster
It was called "cursive" writing, and people practiced to develop a "fine" hand. In the 19th century people especially perfected their signatures.
Cursive is no longer taught in many schools, printing will do, and in fact it will, and does. Penmanship was an effort at refinement, of character, of style. Certainly we can get along without it, just as we can do without "art' and "music" classes. But, all those losses chip away at the culture.
I was recently filling out papers at a notary office. Got to the spot that appears on lots of forms that says, "Print Name Here, and Sign Below".
I asked the notary public lady, "What do you do with the younger people who don't know how to write, how to write their signature?"
She smiled and said it was happening more and more. "I just have them print their name twice" she admitted.
the Spanster
