Should Schools insist that Students use Fountain Pens?

Can Students Hand-Writing get better by using Fountain Pens?

Why do some schools still insist that students use fountain pens?  Is there an advantage to using a fountain pen over a biro or similar pen?

I believe there is.  Do you remember your first lovely fountain pen?  I am not talking about the first one, you had to have at school, which was probably only a few pounds, and leaked all over the place.  My pen leaked everywhere and with my bad hand-writing, my teachers always said, it looked like ‘a spider had crawled out over the inkwell all over the paper’! No, I am talking about a lovely weighted pen, with a beautiful thick, smooth nib which glides like water over the paper.  I am not saying, I started writing beautifully, because I have awful hand-writing, but i think it helped.

Should you buy an expensive pen?

It is obvious really isn’t it.  You go out and pay a fortune for a nice car, or a nice washing machine etc., why do you expect to just get a biro for fifty pence and expect the student to produce beautiful hand-writing?  Think about it, doesn’t make sense, does it?  So, when they are ready, and when you can trust them with a pen, that costs a tenner for a starter pen (and I mean a starter pen), just see how they go on.  Having a lovely weighted pen in their hand, may encourage them to try to spend a little extra time writing and you and the student will probably see the difference quite quickly.  It is certainly worth a try, isn’t it?

One point to mention though, I never letting anyone use my pen for two reasons, firstly, you never get them back, people just forget; but more importantly, a nib, is personal to the user and only you should use it as the nib ‘wears’ in a certain way.

Should schools insist on students using fountain pens, or is it just ‘a thing’ they want to do?   I personally think it is a good idea, but, I would like to see if any research has been done to confirm whether people this is correct or not.  I am going to see if any research has been done to support the schools’ theory and will up-date this in the future.

Your views are welcome?

Maria

Dated:  20 March 2017