The dumbing down of America

Nothing makes me madder than to hear people and especially educators say handwriting is obsolete because with technology we will all be using computers and won't need to write. This is just another cop-out because the teachers would rather have school work turned in that has been done on a computer than to spend the time to decipher everyones handwriting. We have whole generations who were not taught properly how to write and no, printing is not easier to read or faster! And surprise surprise not everyone can afford a computer or to spend time or get to the library to use their computers.

Also I was reading just a few days ago that the USA has dropped from being the best educated people in the world because places like China, India and Japan push their children so hard to excel in things besides sports, like in the sciences and technology.

Instead we let the school systems throughout the country lower test requirements so more of the students can pass. Arizona adopted the AIMS tests literally 6 years ago and still many of our students cannot pass it even though it is a requirement to graduate. In fact, our school system here is so bad we have as many if not more charter schools than public schools now. Enough at any rate that the public school system cannot support all of the schools because they no longer get enough state and federal funding.

We mistakenly thought schools would improve if the teacher pay raises were tied to the percentage of children doing well and graduating. Instead the number of children put on Ritalin for behavior problems went up, teens learned it was better to skip a class than show up late and suspensions were handed out for little reason. And remember study hall where you were expected to STUDY? A thing of the past! If you get sent to study hall, now called detention, you are allowed no books, paper or writing impliments it is literally confinement and nothing else. What a waste of time, a teacher or monitor and minds.
I myself had two grand children who started out well in school. The boy brought home papers with excellent marks until he reached third grade where he was put on Ritalin and labeled ADHD. After that everything that went wrong in class he was singled out even before the facts were known. His parents kept on him because he was in trouble at school so by the time he reached middle school he had given up and after a few months he dropped out. As for the girl she was on the honor roll and approached by colleges while still in middle school. Then between the AIMS test and a suspension for smoking (at a nearby shopping mall) quit high school and settled for a GED.

Scientist's writing

I was asked in 2007 to analyze the writing of several scientists with the purpose being to write an article for one of the scientific journals. The professor who asked for my help explained the people were all deceased but he knew of a colleague or family member who could comment on what I said about each. As it turned out he was running out of time for his article and had only heard from one person.
Now to me the comments verified all I said about the scientist who turned out to be Linus Pauling. But as the professor took pains to say: "Most scientists would probably dismiss it as a "pseudo-science" and catagorize it along with astrology and phrenology, claiming they have little or no basis in fact. Despite the lack of scientific proof on the value of handwriting analysis, the writings of well-known public figures have long been of interest and have often been studied as a means of inferring personality traits from the writer. And the article was turned down.
I said the writer had a great thirst for knowledge and was a collector though the writing would not show what he collected facts, ideas, friends, or material possessions. The comment was that Pauling had a large library of journals and books as well as a mineral collection given to him by Oppenheimer but he didn't know if that qualified him as a collector. Also that he certainly had an enormous number of friends, colleagues and facts.
I said the writer wrote with such enthuasium his brain got ahead of his hand causing him to make mistakes in him impatience. The comment was that Pauling seemed to be a most patient person although he expressed impatience in his writings of the reluctance of the medical authorities to accept his arguments for vitamin C.
I spoke of his great desire to acquire knowledge and to investigate the known and that the desire might make it hard for him to sleep as his brain would not switch off easily. The comment was that it was true about his desire to investigate and understand nature though he had no idea if Pauling had trouble sleeping. In fact he says Pauling himself wrote that he had a method of thinking about intractable problems before sleep and how an answer would occur spontaneously. He believed the unconscious mind worked on the problem during sleep. (My point exactly.)
My comment was that the writer could be moody and worked best alone or with machines. The response was that this was somewhat true as many papers were authored solely by Pauling and that he enjoyed using his calculator and solving equations.
Again I said the writer enjoyed intellectual or philosophical discussions but being opinionated and stubborn could not be easily swayed from his point of view. The response was that Pauling had well-deserved confidence in his own intellectual abilities and knowledge. Critics usually had a hard time debating him because of his often superior intellect or command of the facts. Also he rarely, if ever, backed down from a fight.
I commented that the writer could be sarcastic and critical of others and when considering his arguments might even talk to himself or hold complete conversations in his mind. His colleague said he did not know if he talked to himself and that Pauling seldom used sarcasm but he could be very critical if he thought someone was wrong. He especially liked to find errors in published papers.
As to my comment that the writer was proud, secretive about his personal life and sensitive to criticism of his work or person. The response was that this was somewhat true as Pauling was a proud but not prideful man. That he wasn't especially secretive about his personal life but he preferred to talk about science.
I said he enjoyed a challenge but would have issues with the opposite sex so a female working under him would have to endure his nit picking and criticism while the female who attracted him would be one who shows the least interest or challenges him. The response was that Pauling was old-fashioned being a product of the early 20th Century. He often said his wife should have shared his Nobel Peace Prize as she was smarter then he. During most of his career women were largely excluded from academia but he had an excellent relationship with his secretary and assistant of many years.
I said his sense of humor was of a wry witty type and that he showed will power, determination and a tendency to be abrupt. The only comment to this was true.
This is only part of my analysis and the comments but as scientists consider Graphology a pseudo-science it was turned down by the journal.
Only one other name was revealed to me...Rutherford but the one I really would like to know is the 5th scientist as that handwriting was not at all suited to the field. This writer had the soul of a poet and if they had to work daily in a career they were so ill suited for it must have been torture.

A Grandma Again

This is far off the track of handwriting but I am so excited. Kaitlyn Marie made her debut on Thurs April 10th 2008 weighing in at 6 lb, 9 oz, and measuring 19 inches.

I was asked who posed her hands and actually she did. Only a few hours old she is really beautiful and has hit several "poses" in her moving and stretching.

At the moment both big sisters Elizabeth and Annalise are wanting to hold her and take care of her. Not sure if its her size or what but actually Annalise who is the younger holds her best .

Presentations

I was explaining to someone how my teacher Ron Laufer went about the presentation to schools on career day. Each person was given a 5" by 8" card and told to write a silly sentence then sign and print their name. He went on to ask who knew what graphology was and we would get some wild responses. After explaining that graphology was also known as handwriting analysis he would ask if they had ever made decisions about a person based on their handwriting. Usually one or two people would remark on someones writing that they had seen.
Next he would bring several people to the front of class (to their embarassment) and just let them form a line. Based on the line formed he would point out how raggedy or straight it was and comment on the space between them. He would point out how alone each one seemed to be or if two or three were friends and clustered together how they seemed to be supporting each other even if they didn't actually touch. He would then have them hold hands and spread out evenly and comment on how much friendlier that looked. After dismissing them to their seats he would explain that printers will normally say they print because it is faster or because their cursive writing is so bad but that the starts and stops actually take longer. He also explained printing takes the emotion out of what is written as there is no flow to the writing. When a printer does sometimes connect letters this shows they want to be friendly but are afraid of being rebuffed. Printing where some of the letters lean against each other is an indication the writer feels the need for emotional support.
Back to basics he would tell them about the connectors between letters. Actually there are six in all but the ones usually seen are the garlands those little waves or cups between letters. The angle connector where there is an abrupt change of direction between the end of one letter and the start of the next. An arcade is the next common connector where the end of a letter goes up and over to the next letter. Garlands are friendly, angles analytical and arcades creative as well as self protective.
After asking for questions and answering them we would wander the room stopping to comment on different writings. He especially loved the really messy ones and the angles. Of the angle writer (usually a boy) he would say to the teacher "he always wants to know how and why something works doesn't he? If he picked up something that gave him a shock he will never-the-less do it over and over until he figures it out". Of the messy writer he would say "oh boy the hormones are raging". These kids need the most help but often rebuff it for fear of being let down so he would find something good to say about the writing and encourage them to accept help when offered or to ask for it when needed.
By the time we got out we had gone over everyone's writing, including the teacher, and sometimes we could tell the kids "to your teacher you are his or her kids so if you think she is hard on you it is because he or she knows you can do the job and wants you to prove it".
Forty-five minutes is not a lot of time to explain something as complex as graphology but the class was always full when we came and everyone had interesting questions or comments.

Graphology and the candidates

Our group the Tucson Chapter of The American Handwriting Analysts Foundation plans to look at the candidates signatures at the March meeting. When the candidates first started campaigning one of the Eastern newspaper reporters wondered in his column what graphologists would say about them. I sent him my comments on Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Mc Cain not knowing they would be the only ones campaigning before long. I missed seeing Mitt Romney's writing and do not remember if I said anything about Huckabee or Edwards writing. I really would like to have more than just a signature because there is some bearing on what was signed and how it is signed. For example, Mc Cain's signature was on two lines and both written uphill so it appeared to be an autograph rather than a normal signature while Hillary's was on a line as if it was a form being signed. This can also affect the signature to a small extent as she may have been trying to stay within a set space. While Obama's definitely showed his Arabic background unfortunately I have nothing else to compare to his signature. Some analyst's tell you the signature has the greatest importance as this is the face you present to the world but I still prefer to have both the signature and writing as well. When you have both then you know if the writer really is how they present themselves to the world. Some people are totally different from what their signature represents though the majority I have seen are the same. So far I have only seen one writing that was so large the writer only got three or four words across the page while the whole signature took up the space of one word. So he wanted to be seen as controlled, focused meek and analytical when he was ambitious, pushy and often rude to others.

The fun part of looking at politicians handwriting is how do you say what you see diplomaticly and do you go over everything you find. Maybe I did see Romney's signature because I remember two of the signatures were illegible and Huckabee's first name was so illegible I had to look up his name and then Huckabee became a mere thread. As we all understand the things that make a good diplomat and politian also make a good con-man.

Hillary very much wants to be known as a woman in her own right, capable, determined, and well qualified. While she would be happiest if she could run on her own without help or interferrence from her husband she realizes that is impossible so she will profit in any way possible from her experiences in the White House. She is determined and direct to the point of bluntness. Needs someone to handle the small details she finds iritating and keeps most people from getting too close.

Obama's signature definately shows he was Arabic taught. Not knowing the copybook form for Arabic I am somewhat at a disadvantage but again there is threading which slurs the forms. Any threading is an indication of not wanting to be pinned down, to escape responsibility when things go wrong, to hide the personal self, and of course speed of thought and action. He could be very creative in his dealings with others.

McCain's signature was an autograph so he may not be as up beat and optimistic as it appears. He, however, has great focus. With only eight letters of the alphabet to work with I can say he is able to keep secrets his own as well as our countries. He pays attention to details, has a lot of mental activity and a wry sense of humor.

Children's writing

I really like to do children's handwriting but it has to be looked at more forgivingly than an adults. They are facing hormonal changes, drugs, the cruelty of children one to another, often parents who are too tired or too busy to seem to care plus the pressures of school. Myself, I was glad it was my daughter who had to raise two children 20 years ago and now its my great-grandchildren and the pressures are even greater.
Children cannot be expected to have the maturity for long range plans but it is a good thing when I do a school presentation and can teach the kids how cursive is important. Not only is it actually faster to write but the connections between letters is important. Angle connections show logic and analytic ability, garlands show friendliness, and arcades are a form of self protection as well as of being creative. There are three more connection types but these are used by the majority of writers. Printing fosters a seperateness from others especially bad at a time of life when it is important to them to belong, to a family, a group, or unfortunately to a gang.
Also these occasions give me a chance to help explain to teachers why Tim or John or Judy are such a handful in class. Some are bored by the classes geared to the slower thinkers in class. They want hands on, how does it work, let me try learning. Then you have the cumulative thinkers who cannot skip steps but must write things down to remember them or do it as they learn. Ask them a question even a little differently than it was explained to them in class and their time is spent figuring out just what you want before they can answer. Their class work may earn them A's but test drop them to C's. Or you may have those in class who have such terrible home lives they don't turn in homework or can't stay awake in class, or who have learning disabilities that have not been diagnosed or addressed.
My grandson is one of those, he is the slowest reader I have ever seen though he tests as having good reading comprehension. He can only manage about one third of a timed test because he can't be hurried. Yet when in school he regularly tested two to four years higher than his grade. Or you get the girl who won't wear her glasses because her family can't afford contacts so homework is good but classwork is bad.

Fears

The fears found in the handwriting seem to fall into just a few catagories. Fear of ridicule, fear of failure, fear of rejection and self-consciousness which is basically a form of fear of ridicule. How these fears cause us to react though is many and varied.
Fear of ridicule may cause one person to be a loner and to focus on mental activity keeping others at a distance. While another person will channel their energy into ambition to be so successful no one would dare ridicule them. Another might be rude and nasty keeping others off balance so they don't have time to consider why they are being treated this way. Remember the addage "The best defense is a good offense." Still another might be self-deprecating in hopes you will leave them alone when you see they are tearing themselves down.
Also we may have a fear of loss of security or of rejection. The reaction here might be envy, jealousy, possessiveness, to be miserly or to try and acquire material possessions.