Handwriting?

[Night Elf]

Do any of you have your high schoolers write any assignments by hand? My ds14 writes out math problems, but nothing else. I don't think I've ever seen this addressed beyond handwriting skills in elementary school.

[Cedarmom]

No, I never did. Until his junior year when he needed to practice for the SAT essay. I think if I did it again, I would have him continue practicing penmanship in high school at least part of the time. I don't think he needed to do his essay's in it. But more practice might have made him more confident about the SAT essay. And my son hates hishandwriting- he hates filling out forms because he feels hiswriting is so bad. Maybe I should have worked on it more. Than again the reason I didn't is because it really is hardly necessary any more.

[Night Elf]

Than again the reason I didn't is because it really is hardly necessary any more.

 

I'm in college and students are still writing by hand for note-taking and essays on tests. I know someone who took a History exam a couple of weeks ago and the test was all short answer and essay. She literally wrote for the entire class period. There is no way my son could do that at this time. I just started using a small netbook to take notes in my classes, but I have no idea if all professors will allow them. I'm hoping so, but only time will tell. I take much better notes if I can type since I type faster than writing by hand. Until I got the netbook, I was taking notes by hand.

 

It's a hard thing to judge. I'll feel horrible if he isn't prepared, but it sure is hard to get him to do it now because he hates it so much. He has Aspergers and that is part of the issue. The other part is that I have never pushed the issue and am thinking if ever there is a time to start pushing, now is it. :)

[Cedarmom]

True, in college there will be lots of notetaking. My son actually did practice notetaking while he was in debate club. He took notes while people debated and during lectures. He did become more confident in that. Occasionally I had him take notes on Teaching Company Lectures, but that wasn't often. I think your right, it would be a good idea for your son to practice note taking.

My son did it willingly for debate-is there something your son would love to learn that he could take notes on?

 

I had forgotten about in class essays. It would be a good idea to practice those too. We did some in practicing for the SAT. I'll tell the board if my son totally freaks out if t hey have an in class essay at college.

[Josie]

I require notetaking by hand and also I usually require a Bible verse to be written in cursive at least once a week.

[Aggie]

I have a rising 9th grader and she will continue handwriting at least through this year. Perhaps a few Omnibus assignments and surely weekly letters. She also likes to write rough drafts and type the final assignments. It's easier for her/me to edit this way.

[Hannah C.]

In college, papers are typed. In-class essays, essays during tests taken in class, quizzes administered in class, and sometimes even multiple-choice tests are handwritten. (I have never had a class which used scantrons during tests - but I go to a small school with small class sizes, and I am not a science student.)

 

Notes can be done on a computer, but some professors forbid computers unless you have a good reason you can't take handwritten notes.

 

So basically, it is important for your child to be able to read their own writing at *minimum*. They probably need to work on legible handwriting too, as well as being able to write smaller/bigger as the need arises. (I know some people whose handwriting is large and bubbly, and I've taken tests where we were limited to one page in a blue book for an essay. Handwriting size can be important in such circumstances!)

[Mama Lynx]

So, if you've blown the whole handwriting thing, and now you have a rising 9th grader ...

 

Would you make him do cursive practice? (He never writes in cursive of his own choosing.) Or would you settle for just making him write more, to get/keep his hand in practice?

[Savermom]

I am not happy with my rising 9th grader's handwriting--printing and cursive. He has always hated handwriting and I probably didn't have him do enough in the early years. We didn't start cursive until the 4th grade because he hated printing so much.

 

I've given him cursive handwriting books to work on every year since in hopes of keeping his cursive current and improving.

 

I'm trying to find some age-appropriate copywork for next year that he'll do in cursive. I may just have him copy a paragraphy a week out of his history book or something.

 

He has handwritten (print) all of his reports to date because his keyboarding isn't up to speed yet. This coming year he'll be typing his reports, though.

[Aggie]

So, if you've blown the whole handwriting thing, and now you have a rising 9th grader ...

 

Would you make him do cursive practice? (He never writes in cursive of his own choosing.) Or would you settle for just making him write more, to get/keep his hand in practice?

 

I would have him do cursive practice. It might not take him long at this age, but I think it's a skill we ought to have. When he's older and decides to print, that's his choice.:001_smile:

[Night Elf]

Handwriting size can be important in such circumstances!)

 

That is something I didn't think about. I had to turn in a 2-page handwritten paper last week and I had to write small to get everything on the 2 pages! It was hand-written because it's an education class and the instructor feels it's important for teachers to be able to write neatly. :)

 

I don't know what size makes a university small or large. Mine has about 20,000 students and some classes do use scantron sheets. My econ teacher has us write our names on our test to keep them with the scantron, but she doesn't return the tests. She does allow us to see them in her office though. She makes these tests way too easy, and they are all multiple choice. We have an online test this week and it's 30 multiple choice. I'm not sure why she is having an online test. The rest have been in class. Oh, I will be handwriting my final in my education class, but it's multiple choice and a few short answer types only.

 

After an easy summer schedule, I'm a bit nervous about my fall schedule!

[Night Elf]

So, if you've blown the whole handwriting thing, and now you have a rising 9th grader ...

 

Would you make him do cursive practice? (He never writes in cursive of his own choosing.) Or would you settle for just making him write more, to get/keep his hand in practice?

 

That is me and my only goal is that he gets used to writing on paper and at a decent pace. We were just looking at my notes on Thursday and I pointed out that I take notes in both print and cursive. There is no rhyme or reason. I write quickly though. I need to show him how to do some shorthand type stuff too. I use & instead of and, w/o instead of without, and I use lots of bullets to keep to phrases as much as possible.

[AnitaMcC]

I'm in college and students are still writing by hand for note-taking and essays on tests. I know someone who took a History exam a couple of weeks ago and the test was all short answer and essay. She literally wrote for the entire class period. There is no way my son could do that at this time. I just started using a small netbook to take notes in my classes, but I have no idea if all professors will allow them. I'm hoping so, but only time will tell. I take much better notes if I can type since I type faster than writing by hand. Until I got the netbook, I was taking notes by hand.

 

It's a hard thing to judge. I'll feel horrible if he isn't prepared, but it sure is hard to get him to do it now because he hates it so much. He has Aspergers and that is part of the issue. The other part is that I have never pushed the issue and am thinking if ever there is a time to start pushing, now is it. :)

 

My son has Aspergers too and he was able to get registered in the STAR (Student Accommodations and Resources) at the CC.

 

Ds has three required accommodations (which the professor can not deny him nor penalize him if Ds chooses to use them): extended test time, tape record lecture, use laptop in classroom.

 

He also can take tests in the STAR services and they are allowed to let him use their computer (while proctoring him) to complete tests or they can scribe for him if they deem it necessary. He also has free one-on-one tutoring in the STAR services. He can utilize the STAR computers to do assignments and print out anything he needs for free, and more. Ds struggles with writing... he has horrible penmanship, he takes forever to write, and he gets bad writer's cramp.

 

STAR also has set up a support group for students on autism spectrum. Last semester there were about 15 students registered with ASD.

 

Also due to Ds severe asthma... on his accommodation letter it is stated that he may be absent often (or extended days) so he can not be penalized due to illness (with a doctor note for each illness). Ds is required to make up missed class work and turn in assignments on time (either someone else drops off the assignment or submit it electronically to professor by deadline). This is so that he is not automatically failed for missing more than 3 days of class in a semester. But he can be failed if he doesn't get the work done, or made up, by the deadline professor gives him.

Edited July 11, 2010 by AnitaMcC

[AnitaMcC]

So, if you've blown the whole handwriting thing, and now you have a rising 9th grader ...

 

Would you make him do cursive practice? (He never writes in cursive of his own choosing.) Or would you settle for just making him write more, to get/keep his hand in practice?

 

My son doesn't know how to write cursive... barely can read it as well. He just never could get the hang of it. That is one of the things that he has to tell his professors when he gives the professors his accommodation letter.

 

In the universities I attended.. professors mostly used power point so I just printed up the powerpoint from Blackboard (or whatever the school uses for such) and filled in more notes as needed. That saved me from bad writer's cramp-LOL.

[MGK]

So, if you've blown the whole handwriting thing, and now you have a rising 9th grader ...

 

Would you make him do cursive practice? (He never writes in cursive of his own choosing.) Or would you settle for just making him write more, to get/keep his hand in practice?

 

After following another handwriting thread on this board, I have purchased the Getty-Dubay Italic book Write Now to work through with my rising 9th grader. It is designed for adults who desire to improve their handwriting and can be used independently. The cursive is very similar to the print and is designed to be a fast, efficient, and practical style.

[holdoll]

Do any of you have your high schoolers write any assignments by hand? My ds14 writes out math problems, but nothing else. I don't think I've ever seen this addressed beyond handwriting skills in elementary school.

I went to a "meeting" of college admissions officers from 5 different universities. A question was asked, "What is something you wish home schooled students were better prepared with?" All five of them said handwriting! LOL Everyone chuckled, because we all know "mom" can read our students handwriting, but sometimes no one else can!

 

But seriously, I've been making my rising 11th grader practice handwriting skills by writing 25 minutes timed essays in preparation for the ACT and SAT essays. She knows if they can't read her writing she will not score as well and that's been really motivating for her.

 

Blessings,

Holly