[Gllug] Light the blue touchpaper...

[Amias Channer]

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 17:29:46 +0000
Nix <nix at esperi.org.uk> wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Mar 2004, Andrew Halliwell said:
> > Specially if they're being taught to use computers to write all their essays
> > and things now, give the spoilt brats a pen and exercise book and only mark
> > it if it's IN the book, in freehand.

yeah , a bit of blind intimidation of the next generation never did anyone any harm.

> > Then you can mark them down on handwriting as well as bad spelling and
> > grammar. (My handwriting's terrible by the way, so I'm not entirely being
> > biggotted)
> 
> They did that to me: it took a *lot* of effort, even after a dyspraxia
> diagnosis, to get them to accept typewritten homework.

Similar situations lead to almost all of my school reports being along the lines of 
'show lots of interest in the classroom but never does his homework'
My hand writing has always been terrible and i was always marked down for it.
This eventually lead to me losing interest in school work and school in general.
I have written several peices for national magazines who loved my writing style
and this has repaired some of the hurt but if we had all been allowed to use computers
none of this would have happend. I'm not fishing for sympathy here mearly illustrating
the effects of these kind of sweeping judgements from my experience.

> (Comments like `if he doesn't write regularly he'll forget how to write'
> kept emerging. Nowadays I write perhaps a few words a month by hand, and
> oddly enough haven't forgotten how to do it.)

I have recently switched from programming to doing some less techy work which
envolves a lot of form filling , i can still write and people can still read it . If anything
my handwriting has got better since leaving school when I was able to forget
the pain of remedial handwriting lessons and constantly be marked down for my writing
even when the content of the essay was excellent.

I think the important thing with education is not to try and treat kids as if they are all the
same . Everyone has their own strenghts and weaknesses and education should not be
trying to normalise them but to bring them out. Humans should be weird , its important.
For some learning tables helps for others it makes them feel bored or inadequate , 
let the teachers decide the right way to do this on a per child basis .

Toodle-pip
Amias
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