Page:Theory and Practice of Handwriting.djvu/42

24 upright position of the head. With the oblique writers even if the position of the head were good at the beginning of the work gradually in the course of the writing lesson there appeared a marked tendency to bend the head to the left. The position of the head is affected in an obvious degree by the direction of the lines of writing and since these run parallel to the edge of the desk in Vertical Writing the necessity of turning the head to the left is done away with for the child who writes upright whereas the oblique writer is, to some extent, compelled to turn his head owing to the lines ascending towards the right.

A normal position of the head must be received as the primary essential of a good posture in writing. Each side turning of the head is necessarily followed, by lateral movements of the spinal column whose frequent return with longer duration each time is without doubt recognisable as one of the most frequent causes of crooked growth.

Quite apart from all other advantages, for the children who use it are not in the least compelled to any lateral twisting of the head owing to the kind of manipulation used in what we may call their professional work.

The practical use of vertical writing corroborates the theoretical inference that it does not by the method and manner of practising it, conceal within itself the tendency or compulsion to an oblique position of sitting and consequently to a crooked growth.

Given rightly-proportioned desks and especially back-rests which are suitably constructed and adapted to the writing position by means of which the fatigue which inevitably follows each position of sitting is most effectually held in check—

Comment on the tone and conclusions of the above report