online resources for Russian handwriting

Wed Sep 23 16:30:18 UTC 2009

And I, on the other hand, no longer waste my precious classroom time on something that I think is fundamentally trivial---пропись. They can print however they like on quizzes (I no longer give tests). So long as it's legible is my mantra. It takes a scintilla of the time to teach them to type as it does to write in cursive; and, let's face it, when's the last time you wrote a letter in longhand in English or Russian? (I haven't in years... and I have many Russian correspondents.)  

Moreover, the kids with nice handwriting learn to do it, on their own, and quickly; the kids (nearly all of them males) who scratch and scrawl will never have nice handwriting, anyway. 

I require now for my students to install homophonic Russian-alphabet keyboards, take touch-typing tests by the end of the first week, and turn in all their essays and dialogues typed. (Moreover I demand that they use spellcheck and grammar check on Google Docs before turning them in!)

Which ultimately is more conducive to effective expression: Searching Google, Multitran, sending emails in Russian, and doing instant chat with pals in Tomsk... or making the arabesques of Russian cursive? 

I've noticed that kids in Russia in their 20s have awful, unreadable handwriting now, anyway. 

My two cents.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
   Dr. Michael A. Denner
   Associate Professor of Russian Studies
   Editor, Tolstoy Studies Journal
   Director, University Honors Program

   Contact Information:
      Russian Studies Program
      Stetson University
      Campus Box 8361
      DeLand, FL 32720-3756
      386.822.7381 (department)
      386.822.7265 (direct line)
      386.822.7380 (fax)

      google talk michaeladenner
      www.stetson.edu/~mdenner

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Janneke van de Stadt
Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 11:50 AM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] online resources for Russian handwriting

This year, in my first-semester course, I have focused a lot on  
calligraphy and it has really paid off!  Students take greater care (I  
don't let them print) and their writing is not only more legible, it  
often actually looks good.

I got myself a handy-dandy writing tablet from Rite-Aid, the kind they  
use in elementary school to teach kids how to write and which have two  
bold lines (for the base and the the top of the upper-case letter) and  
a dotted line in between them for the top of the lower-case letter.   
Like this:

_______________________

----------------------------------------
_______________________

Using the vocabulary we learned in class, I made up a whole slew of  
calligraphy writing sheets and handed one double-sided one out every  
day.  My students really liked it and now understand that it is my  
expectation, not just a request, that they write neatly and according  
to certain guidelines.

My sincere thanks to John  Givens for the link to the Brown web page-- 
I love it!  If you have not checked it out, I highly recommend it.

Janneke

On Sep 23, 2009, at 11:24 AM, Irina Servais wrote:

> I teach Russian at the Foreign Service and Russian handwriting is  
> always a stumbling block for my students. Please add my name to the  
> list.
>
> Thanks so much in advance.
>
> Irina Tarnovskaya-Servais
>
> --- On Tue, 9/22/09, ameliede at EARTHLINK.NET <ameliede at EARTHLINK.NET>  
> wrote:
>
>
> From: ameliede at EARTHLINK.NET <ameliede at EARTHLINK.NET>
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] online resources for Russian handwriting
> To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
> Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 9:05 PM
>
>
> I have several sheets of Russian handwriting prepared for students  
> many decades ago by a first wave emigre who
> graduated from a military academy in 1914.  He learned his  
> handwriting in the 19th Century, wrote with an actual
> ink pen, and was interested in calligraphy.
> I have these sheets as .jpg files, and would be willing to send them  
> to interested people, or, if there are too many
> requests, have them posted at some appropriate web site.
> Jules Levin
> Los Angeles
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