How to Improve Your Handwriting (Adult Edition)

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Some posts ago, we treated causes, effect of bad handwriting in children and the solution to the problem. But we can’t end the topic without finding a solution to adults who didn't have the opportunity of been properly trained to good handwriting.

If you are not comfortable with your handwriting, take a deep breath, you are going to find solution before the end of this article. If you have read THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 1)

THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 2) then, you can see the cause of your bad handwriting from childhood. Follow the link and read the two articles. You can by that help your children and others.

I also want to touch something quickly, some adults when they were kids has good handwriting but as they grow, they start losing the beauty and clarity in their handwriting. We will also talk about the cause of this. But first, let’s find the solution to bad handwriting in adults.

Practice and Patience

You shouldn’t want to copy anyone’s handwriting. Its almost like finger prints. We all have a unique handwriting. Some wealthy people will just write their names as signature, mind you, you can never write it like them. So, the key is practice and patience. Don’t rush and try as much as possible to be consistent.

Use Pens and Notebooks That You Are Comfortable With

While practicing, look for pen with good flow of ink or you can even start practicing with pencil. The rhythms of the sound you hear while writing can help you write better (psychological) make sure you write on a notebook you are comfortable with. Some prefer off-white papers, some love pure white. It depends on your preference. Don’t write on a paper directly on a hard surface.

Roll your wrist – Exercise it

One of the reasons you have a bad handwriting is because your wrist(s) is or are not flexible. Fold you hand to a punch form and roll. Mind you, don’t fold too hard. Now relax your hands, be calm and sit right as you are about to write.

Hold Your Pen Right

Check for yourself how you write better. Hold the pen in the middle and write. Then hold the pen on the edge of the tip and write. Which one is better? The best is the one you should practice with. Do not apply too hard pressure on the pen. You don’t want to tear the paper or make duplicates on the next 5sheets while writing on one.

See What You Are Writing

You have better control over your handwriting when you are able to read what you are writing. Read as you write. Your face shouldn’t be too far or too close to the paper.

Slow Down

People write too fast. What is the essence of writing fast when you won’t be able to read what you’ve written? Can someone else read what you have written? These are the questions you need to ask yourself. Therefore, try to make each letter and word you write to be as beautiful, neat and clear as possible. And again, don’t forget to practice, practice and practice.

Dear reader, if you have learnt something from this article endeavor to drop a comment or ask questions. I will be happy to respond promptly.

Are You a Successful Principal / Head Teacher? (Part2)

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I am welcoming you to the concluding part of this discussion on being a successful and good principal / head teacher.

These are the other things to consider.

Delegate Appropriately

Like we said earlier, you need to know those working under you. Know their capabilities. This will help you in delegating responsibilities. Don’t be a control freak like people have known principals to be. If you are a control freak, it is not a bad thing, it is just that you want things done perfectly and you feel you are the only one that can get it done.

But now you need to free your shoulders off these heavy tasks so that you can be more effective. There’s value in delegating. Since you know your teachers well, you can easily make them responsible for tasks that you are sure they can and will carry out perfectly. You are thereby giving them a sense of responsibility and in another way boosting their confidence.

All these will help you reduce stress so that you can perform optimally.

Create and Enforce Proactive Policies

I won’t say much here. Don’t wait for things to come up before looking for ways of tackling or solving them. Different schools with different needs. You know yours needs. You should know what could come up. Be prepared before they happen. That is what we mean by being proactive. Make policies and enforce them. Put them in writing and make sure all your teachers are familiar with it. Even in your absence, you can be sure that things will work just fine.

Solve Problems Once and for All

It’s easier to find a quick fix to problems but on the long run, it could be disastrous. It’s better to invest more time so as to find a lasting solution to problems. Successful principals are proactive as we said earlier, they are always steps ahead. They don’t solve problems merely looking at the surface cause, they dig to the root and solve once and for all.

Become a Vault of Information

Pardon me to say that you as a successful principal need to be jack of all trades. You must know little or more in so many fields. Stay updated. Make yourself a vault of information. Be vast in research focusing on education, IT and trends. You must be able to teach in all the classes in your school. Be conversant with educational policies of the state you are. Update your teachers, encourage them, give them tips and walk-throughs to best classroom practices. They will appreciate you and enjoy their working with you.

Sometimes you could be inaccessible, its fine but it should never be all the time. Good principals are accessible to all stake holders; Teachers, students, parents and the non-teaching staff. More especially, the students should have easy access to you. Some students are so afraid at the sight of their principal. This shouldn’t be.

Know this, when anything goes wrong, the only person that comes to their mind is you. Therefore, great principals / head teachers know that maintaining a cordial relationship with everyone is the key to their success on their job.

Students are the First Priority

A good principal has a system in place for core values which are centered on the students and it is shared by all the teachers. This means that all the teachers are carried along in the decision made. When the decision is mainly focused on the students, there can hardly be a clash or infighting.

You are there to nurture, counsel, discipline, and educate each and every student. As a principal, you must never forget that students should always be our focal point.

Now you can answer the question. Are you a successful principal?

We appreciate your participation in this discussion. Commenting is now activated. You can now comment as you (your name) or anonymous.

Are You a Successful Principal / Head Teacher? (Part 1)

Image: Hermiston.k12.or.us

There are challenges that come with being a school principal. Majority of the people with this post are not well equipped to handle the pressure. The scope of this principal’s job is wide. They have to deal with almost everything related to the students, parents and teachers. They are the major decision maker in the institution.

Doing things differently makes a successful principal. Just as we have it in other field, there are very successful principals and we have those who don’t have the necessary skills to pull things off. Many of our school principals are in the middle of these two groups. The good principals possess a clear decision making mind and leadership quality that aid their success. They put into use different strategies that make themselves and those working with them successful.

Employ Good Teachers

Employing qualified teachers lessens the stress associated with a principal’s job in almost every way. Good teachers provide the students with quality education and communicate with the parents in the best way and they make sure that the students are well disciplined. These are what reduce the pressure on the principal.

Being a principal, you want to make sure the school is equipped with teachers who know their job. You want to boast of teachers who are fully committed in all aspect of their job. You even want teachers who are willing to go beyond bars to make sure no student is left behind academically. To be candid, having good teachers around you makes you a better principal and allow you concentrate more on more important things on the job.

Be Exemplary

You are the leader on the school; therefore you should act in that capacity. Every other person in the school will look up to you. They should have something to learn from you on a daily basis. When it comes to hard work, you should be in the fore front. Be approachable, never show any sign of weakness and be optimistic. Show respect to everyone; understand that people can never be the same. Be a complete professional. Communication, Organization and Efficiency should always be fundamental. Be the first to resume and the last to leave.

Think Outside the Box

Allow yourself and the teachers to explore, never limit yourselves. You are a problem solver. Therefore, you need to put your resources into best use. Never disregard your teachers’ ideas.

Work With People

You need be a psychologist. As a good principal, you need to read people, know what motivates them. Working with people includes working with your community. Be socially responsible; give something back to the community. This can be achieved based on value you place on feedbacks.

Read on as we conclude this discussion in my next post. Principals, I will be looking forward to your comments.

Thanks.

LATE PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY PARENTS, MANY A TIMES IT IS YOUR FAULT.

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Facing the gospel truth, all of us are in business to earn a living. If your own school is not out to make profit, then this message is not meant for you. Fine, when we are composing our vision and mission statements, making profit is never included but deep down, we know we aren't working for free.

Expenses on expenses, levies upon levies, we want the best teachers, we will have to pay them well. We try hard to make our schools the best with the best facilities. All these cannot be done without money. So where will you get these money from? Even if you secure a loan facility, how will you pay back the loan not to talk of the interest? Without a doubt, the money comes from the parents.

Yes! It is their obligation to pay the tuitions of their kids but you the school owner has a whole lot to do in this aspect.

We have 12 weeks in a term, that is, 3 months, which is approximately 90days out of which 60 are working days.

How often do you contact these parents?

When you contact them, what are the reasons?

Is it to notify them of:

·         Open Days?

·         PTA meetings?

·         Donations?

·         Prompt school fee payment or lateness in payment?

·         Their child/ren’s misconducts or health issues?

The truth is; these are the things the parents are readily expecting when they see a message or note from you. It worries them. Some are even scared to pick when you phone them.

What can you do to change this known trend?

Cultivate a very cordial and personal relationship with the parents. Watch it! They can easily detect if your intention is just to soften the atmosphere so that you can bring to their notice those things we listed above. So, be sincere. Parents don’t want your gifts after any school ceremony. You know why? They know you bought that gift out of money they paid and they will also assume you made profit on the ceremony. Some will compare the gift, what they can see in the event and the money they paid. This is a NO NO. Its far better when they pay a little bit less than what they get as gifts.

Contacting them when they don’t expect, shows that you care about them, their family, and their jobs. Lets them know that you as well know how hard the economy is. Offer health tips, inspirational quotes and financial advice. You can even let them know that they are in your prayers. With these, they feel at ease, they don’t want to owe you; they cherish the relationship you have with them.

I know of a school that took care of a student’s whole family when the father lost his job for more than a year. I am not saying the school is a help for the needy organization but this singular act goes a long way to give the school a good name. This man later got a better job and donated an ICT lab to the school. This doesn’t happen every day but it is what we call LOYALTY.

Be loyal to them, show them you sincerely care about them and they will be loyal to you. They will do all their best not to owe you.

Then this problem of late payments can be prevented, reduced or stopped totally.

If you have been enlightened in a way or the other, kindly drop a comment.

NEXT TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION : Being a Good Head Teacher / Principal. What are the things

involved?

THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 2)

Courtesy: wikihow

You are welcome to the concluding part of this interesting discussion. As we mentioned in part one, the effect of bad handwriting on the general success of our student could be disastrous. What are we to do?

Majority of our schools today have seen the handwriting subject as the remedy. They have gone as far as giving their teachers extra training just to improve the handwriting of their students. But it has not given them the expected result.

Before we go further, we want to know the root cause of this problem.

Children end up with very horrible handwritings because of the following factors.  

• Heredity: Many children inherited it
• Laziness:  Some are so lazy that they get tired before getting done with two lines.
• You: Yes! you. There is something you are not doing right. For a child to grow up with good handwriting, there are stages to pass through which is basically tour responsibility.

When a child scribbles, it is a stage. In this stage, the child is freeing his wrist. If you notice, some students bend or slant their note books before they write. Why? It is because they can’t turn their wrists enough. This is a bad way of writing.  A child should be allowed to scribble well enough so as to help his wrist grow flexibly. Then they should write in a big boxed note books. Writing big helps them to freely move their wrists. Then, the box will be reduced till they can write the letters and numbers neatly. Next is to teach them how to write on lines.

Writing should never be a subject. Why? The pupils will only want to write well in their 2Ds and write roughly in their other notes.

What if from basic 1 to basic 3, they write all their notes in the 2D notebooks? Won’t they be used to writing well? For this to be effective, the teachers too need to write on a 2D magnetic board. It will be a waste of time if the teacher would start to rule the board in 2D and start writing.

We have custom made 2D magnetic boards. 

Now lets see other benefit of having these kids write on their 2D notes for their basic 1-3

They will perform well. They will love to read their notes all the time. Do you know that kids with bad handwriting know they have a bad handwriting, and they hate how they write? They don’t even want to open the note unless someone compels them to. If they can’t read their notes on their own impulse, how can they do well academically? Hence, when their handwritings is neat and beautiful, they are proud of themselves and will always want to open their notes, read and admire their own handwritings.

Again, do you know that at their age, they get tired of reading full pages with many words? YES they do. In our 2D note books, you can write just 10 lines of not too many words. When our kids open their 2D note books with good handwritings, they find it easy reading, because, they read just 10 lines and flip to the next page. The impact - they can easily understand what they have just read because its short and brief, as they flip the pages, they feel a sense of accomplishment. No one will have to beg or force them to read.

If this is the case with 98% of your pupils in a class, what will be the implication? The student will be in each other’s heel.

Pupil A: 98

Pupil B: 97

Pupil C: 95

Pupil D: 93 ……

This is a healthy competition. They will want to overtake one another because the gap is very close.  Pupil D can still aim at the first position. Just with 6marks, he or she can do it.

But in situation where you have:

Pupil A: 98

Pupil B: 86

Pupil C: 65

Pupil D: 40 ……

Is there competition here? Pupil D is ready to give up; 58marks will be too much for him to catch up with pupil A.

These can be achieved with good handwriting.

I will suggest that in the basic 1-3 class room they have 4sets of magnetic boards in their class rooms.

Each will be 4x4feets.

2pcs of the 2D board. 1pc of Ruled board and 1pc of Plain Whiteboard.

If you are worried about space, we have a sliding 4-in-1 magnetic boards.

I hope I’ve been able to bring these things to your attention.

Thanks for reading.

Till I come your way next time with another interesting topic, may the peace of the lord be with you, your loved ones and your students.

Please drop your comments to ask questions or to ask for more information concerning the Magnetic Boards discussed.

THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 1)

courtesy: Wikihow 

I am Jimmy Pelemoh, I am an educationist with a passion for teaching and aiding effective teaching in all ramification. I have not less than 8 solid years experience in impacting knowledge to children. I also graduated as a Business Administrator. Enough of me let us move on to the main issue at hand.

It is no longer a small problem, the effect BAD HANDWRITING is having on effective teaching. Brilliant students with bad handwritings find it hard passing external examinations and one begins to wonder what the problem is. While these students are writing internal examinations, you will agree with me that the population is not much compared to external examinations. So, internal teacher knows the students individually and are more patient to read through their scripts and mark accordingly. In the case of external examinations, we have tens of thousands script to be marked.

1.       The examiners want to mark as much as possible so as to get more money marking. Hence, no patience as the internal teachers would.

2.       They don’t know the student at all. Once they can’t see what is written, they just mark what they can MANAGE to see and move to the next script.

3.       In some cases, bad handwriting is down marked.

These will result in a bad result. After all the effort put in place to get the students ready for the examination. If this problem is not well taken care of, these brilliant students after graduation finds it hard to get selected for jobs because of the bad handwriting they have written their application with.

Who is at fault, the students, parents or the school?

What practical steps can be taken to put a lasting end to this problem?

Watch the space for the Part2 of this discussion.

Till then, may the good God bless the good work your hands do and give you GOOD health.

Thanks, bye for now.

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