One of the first things that I noticed when I began my placement at L’Ecole Guernazelles, was the children’s handwriting. I was so impressed with my CM1 class and how neat and sophisticated their handwriting was. I compared it to my Scottish primary 5s last year, and considered that this was very impressive for their age. I couldn’t believe the style and detail that was put into every word and how careful the children were with their writing. I have noticed that on the wall of every classroom in my school there is a big poster with the alphabet on it, and how it should look in this style of handwriting. 

This is an example of what these posters look like. I think this handwriting looks very nice and definitely helps the pupils’ writing to become more sophisticated. But I wondered if this was really necessary. In my opinion, surely making sure a child’s spelling is at a good standard before trying to get them to write in such a complicated way. I tried this style of writing myself and have found it quite difficult. Obviously it would take a lot of practice.

I have also noticed that this is the style of writing that the teachers use to write on the board all of the time. This was problematic for me at the beginning of placement because it meant that the children could not read my writing if I wrote on the board. I knew that I would have to practice this style of handwriting and implement it in my teaching. I have been trying to write in my notebook using this style and I am starting to find it easier. The children are also able to see what I have written on the board a lot easier now, and this makes my lessons flow much better, as I don’t have to stop to spell words out nearly as much anymore.

I watched a video called ‘French – Teaching Handwriting’ which is part of a series called ‘How do they do it in….?’, which explored handwriting in the French primary school. It explained that in France handwriting is taught in a formalised manner that allows children to be creative; if their handwriting is good they won’t be held back in being creative. This style of handwriting has been used for sixty years and it comes from a font called “La Ronde”. Handwriting is seen as very important in middle school, and children can be marked down if theirs is not up to scratch. This is why handwriting is taken so seriously in French schools.

• teachfind (2007) France – Teaching Handwriting. Available at: http://archive.teachfind.com/ttv/www.teachers.tv/videos/france-teaching-handwriting.html (Accessed: 15/04/2018)