Germany's VBE trade union said its survey, published on Tuesday, showed teachers alarmed about pupils' handwriting deficits. They called for more time in class to dedicate to fine-motor skills and help pupils develop legibility and fluidity in writing exercises.

Only 4 percent of the 2,046 teachers sampled nationwide were satisfied with their pupils' longhand, while 37 percent classified pupils at primary schools as having difficulty in writing fluidly and clearly — boys more so than girls.

At secondary school, the problem was similar: 43 percent had handwriting difficulties, according to the survey run in recent months by the Berlin-based VBE and the Schreibmotorik Institut (Writing Skills Institute ) in northern Bavaria.

Read more: pick up a pen and write a letter

On average, only four-out-of-10 pupils were able to write by hand for more than 30 minutes, uninhibited, without cramping, or becoming weary or illegible on paper.

Teachers sampled said their pupils often lacked fine haptic [finger] coordination and the ability to concentrate on text-based tasks. More than half of teachers blamed digitized media inroads into daily life.

Findings 'alarming'

Institute director Marianela Diaz Meyer described the findings as "alarming," pointing out that in terms of educational psychology, "[hand]writing makes you smart" – just like reading, spelling and grammar.

"Those who boost handwriting also foster the general educational success of children," said VBE chairman Udo Beckmann, who said writing must be better anchored in curricula and classroom routines.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition Say it with ink Good news for the classically inclined: Writing a letter using ink and a quill is back in fashion. In many shops in Germany, one can choose different widths of nib that influence the look of the script.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition From one German poet to another The signature is a crucial part of every letter, so don't be afraid to express yourself. After all, your signature may one day be considered art: In many museums and literary archives in Germany, historical letters are admired by thousands of visitors. This photo shows a letter from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Friedrich Schiller on display in the National Museum in Weimar.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition An imperial craft In the Middle Ages, only artists and official writers were permitted to write letters, as letterwriting was considered a craft. Letters of the imperial court were particularly lush in design. Just take a look at this writ of escort from 1521, in which German Emperor Charles V summoned Martin Luther to the Reichstag in Worms, where he was to recant his controversial theses.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition The emoji of the past The ornamentation of private letters was left to the skills of each writer. Nuremberg painter Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) loved adding small funny drawings and sketches of his contemporaries to his letters, which shows that emoji are not a modern invention. Dürer addressed this letter to his friend, lawyer and author Willibald Pirckheimer (1470-1530).

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition A valuable message Highly official letters were not written on paper or parchment. Monarchs who were keen to demonstrate their wealth fancied much more valuable materials such as pure gold. On top of that, this letter from Burmese king George Alaungphaya to English King George II 1756 is adorned with 24 high-carat rubies. It is stored in the vault of the Leibniz Library in Hanover.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition Greeting from Titanic Some letters are not valued for the material they're written on but rather for their historic significance. This one from 1912 was composed by Esther Hart, who travelled on the luxury steamboat Titanic together with her husband and daughter. She wanted to mail the letter after arriving to New York. Esther was one of the 710 survivors of the tragedy. She carried the letter in her coat pocket.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition Letter as a witness Jewish emigrants and refugees from Nazi Germany had often very little time to pack up personal belongings. Everything had to fit into a suitcase, and the Gestapo frisked everyone who was on the deportation lists, which is why this letter from the ghetto in Warsaw is particularly precious. The rare specimen is owned by the Historical Institute in Warsaw.

World Letter Writing Day revives an ancient tradition Dear Mr. President This one is proof that letters have a place even in modern times as well. A six-year-old boy named Alex sent it directly to to US President Barack Obama in the White House in Washington, asking him to help a little boy from Syria he'd seen in a photo sitting alone in a rescue vehicle after a bomb attack in Aleppo. Today, the letter is in the White House archives. Author: Heike Mund (jt)



"When children still have motor deficits because they don't get the necessary support at home, we reach the limits of what is possible [in the classroom]," Beckmann added.

Teacher members of the VBE, which is affiliated to Germany's ddb civil servants trade union federation, wanted advanced on-the-job courses to help pupils to overcome deficits, he said.

More time for basics in class

Two-thirds of teachers wanted more class time devoted to writing practice, the survey found. Nine-out-of-ten still regarded handwritten note-taking on paper as essential.

Computerized writing via keyboard was favored by only one fifth of primary teachers and 61 percent of secondary teachers.

The survey's authors said handwriting typically improved after children had handcrafted things, cooked, or painted pictures in class, because these honed their basic motor skills.

Centuries of complaint?

Such complaints were not new, said Swiss handwriting expert Sibylle Lichtsteiner of Luzern's University of Teacher Education, who said more studies were needed.

"In previous centuries, too, teachers complained about the handwriting capabilities of their pupils," Lichtsteiner noted.

Primary school expert Angelika Speck-Hamdan of Munich's Ludwig-Maximilian University said the teacher survey was important but more research was needed.

ipj/msh (dpa, KNA, AFP)