Using the Palmer Method

I was writing my journal entry this morning when out of the blue I recalled the Palmer Method I learned in fourth grade for cursive writing. It was a traumatic time. I was raised in the age when steel nib pens were in use in my school (1951). We had to dip the pen in the ink and then write on the page until the nib was dry. Not so bad for right handers whose ink had a chance to dry before they wrote the next line. We unfortunate left handers had to push the pen across the page where it caught in the paper, making a blot which, along with what we were trying to write, was quickly smudged by our left hands closely following the pen point. My teacher, in the wisdom of the day, thought I should learn to write with my right hand. I tried it with the result that at the end of the experiment I could not write very well with either hand. I learned to print my letters to avoid the smudging. This worked better but did not afford me great marks in penmanship. I tried using the Palmer Method this morning and found my writing halting. I had to stop and think how to make certain letters, especially a capital A, which I finally had to look up. The experiment this morning forced me to think about my writing. I am not sure it helped me avoid distractions or created a new one. Anyway, it was a nostalgic visit to my fourth grade days and Sister Clement.