Kathmandu – When was the last time you did not write anything? Can’t think of a moment, can you? This is how handwriting has always been a part of our daily lives. But isn’t knowing how to write enough? Why are there disparities about good and bad handwriting, isn’t handwriting being legible adequate? Perhaps these were not even questions one would deal with given there is so much in everybody’s plate already. But let’s explore and get some answers.
Good or bad
The first thing that crosses one’s mind when you mention handwriting is — examination. Time and again we have been emphasised in schools on good handwriting. It reaches to a level where we are warned ‘good handwriting fetches good marks’.
“Teachers give good marks to the children if they have good handwriting. It helps children understand things they have written. It later helps them become confident,” is what Jaya Dhakal Guragain, Principal at Ratna Shiksha Sadan School, Koteshwor has to say.
Handwriting shouldn’t be an indication of somebody’s competency or intelligence though. They are used to express someone’s thoughts.
“Handwriting must not be the most important thing to judge a student’s intelligence. But in Nepal handwriting is given priority by many teachers. Teachers even feel relieved looking at beautiful handwriting when they are correcting papers and it is true that students with good handwriting often get more marks than those with bad handwriting,” informed Gyanu Adhikari, Lecturer at Koteshwor Multiple Campus, Koteshwor.
Even a student Angela Dahal of Class X at Ratna Shiksha admits getting good grades due to handwriting. “I have gotten good marks, at times, in exams because of my good handwriting,” Dahal shared. She found this out when she compared her answer with her friends, those who wrote the same answer did not score as much marks as she did.
If this is the scenario what will those students do who do not have ‘good handwriting’? Perhaps for many the situation is similar to that of Anish Giri, a Class IV student in Modern Indian School, Chobhar. He felt bad for his handwriting. He was often suggested to improve his writing. “I really felt bad looking at my handwriting and my father enrolled me to handwriting classes. I am feeling the change now and my teachers and friends at school have started talking about the improvement,” shared Giri.
Another student, who feels the need to improve handwriting is Dipen Subba, Class IX student in Ratna Shiksha. “I have bad handwriting and it is difficult for me to understand what I write. My teachers have been telling me to bring balance in my handwriting and I am improving,” shared Subba. Both of them feel bad when they are told about their handwriting and wish it was better seeing other students’ good handwriting.
“Whatever technologies have been developed or will be invented, handwriting can’t ever be out
shown. Written tests won’t be extinct, this is why I feel that handwriting must be improved,” shared Kumar Thapa, Principal of John Dewey School, Baluwatar.
Learning an art
Think about it — it is ingrained to have a good handwriting, but there is an art that does not need ‘good handwriting’, it’s called calligraphy. Calligraphy is an art of producing decorative handwriting. It is not everyone’s cup of tea, but “it can be learned with little practice,” says Bal Gopal Kapali. Kapali left designer’s job at Janak Shiksha Samagri Kendra Limited to teach the students the art of writing.
Been trained by Frank Ellotta, an American Calligrapher, he felt the “need” to make a change in the art of writing as there was no one teaching about writing. “Students were
scolded by teachers, but there was no one to teach them how to improve their handwriting. This is why I started teaching students. I taught my son and my friend’s children initially,” said Kapali who now teaches 85 students.
Even Abhiskeh Kapali has diligently shouldered his father Bal Gopal’s artistic profession and is teaching in different schools in the Valley along with Calligraphy Centre in Thamel.
Ways to improve
Everyone’s handwriting isn’t artistic and doesn’t necessarily need to be. But they are at least similar patterns in writing. There are four types of handwriting — straight, right slant, left slant and all direction. Hand pressure and kind of pen too impact handwriting. Speed of writing too is one of the factors for making your writing good or bad.
“To make the writing good people must use quality pen. It also depends on pen’s nib. If the nib is worn out, it won’t help in writing well. They should use ink pen without a fat nib to write good,” suggests Abhisekh.
Teachers must help students learn to write in four line copies to achieve balance in writing. People write both in printed and in cursive forms.
It is easy to help children improve handwriting at a tender age as they can be easily moulded, but they should not be coaxed. Till Class I children can understand letters and when they go to Class II it is the right time to help them improve in writing as per Abhisekh.
Rather than tearing the copies of the children, beating and humiliating them, it is advised to teach the right way of writing.
“If the student is dedicated then s/he can change his/her handwriting in five to six hours,” revealed Abhisekh.
“People can look at others’ handwriting and even copy it when they find it beautiful,” added Adhikari. Teachers/parents also should not force children to change their natural pattern of writing such as using right or left hand and handling the pen/pencils. If one really wants to improve his/her handwriting then one needs to practise.
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