Grand Children's Sayings.

[Caran]

I collected the 8.5 year old twins from school today. They were very excited. "Nana we have been licensed" I asked what they meant. " we have been licensed to use a pen" I asked what that meant. They explained that up to now they had to use a pencil, but now their writing had improved and they could do proper joined up neat writing they were licensed to use a pen!!
Anyon else heard of this?

[ducksie]

When I went to school- back in the day, we couldn't use a biro until we first mastered the pencil, a fountain pen then we were licenced to use a pen (biro)

[Caran]

I have never heard of being licensed to use a pen, back in mayday (a very long time ago) you just used a pen when required.

[Caran]

^my day not May Day, although I might have needed some help!!

[1ozzy]

Over here all my kids had to earn a "pen license" before being allowed to use one at school, and they felt very proud and grown-up at the time.

[ducksie]

I'm with 1ozzy, we couldn't use a pen untill we could almost do caligrophy,(sp) once we mastered the fountain pen, we could move on to pen, was a big issue as our parents would buy us the finest Parker pen or similar as our first pen - after that we just used 'biro's'

[Caran]

To be honest I don't really remember much about writing at school. But I cannot remember being excited about being licensed to use a pen. I was born in 1942 so did this come in much later?

[ducksie]

I'm thinking 1970's

[ducksie]

mid 70's, I'd be about 10/11 yr old

[Caran]

So it came in after my education then. I started work on my 16th. Birthday in 1959.

[1ozzy]

During the sixties I had to use a fountain pen, what a mess at first. Still have the first decent one my parents purchased for me.
My children went through primary schooling during the nineties and early this century, a big deal was made about the pen license.

[Caran]

Obviously passed me by then.

[Brinjal]

My children were pen licensed at school. They were issued with a little certificate. Cute.

[BlackadderV]

The reasons were more practical than aesthetic. If you couldn't write properly with a pencil you could make a hell of a mess, considering you had to dip your pen into the inkwell.

[Dee Sa]

remember being the ink monitor in top cass at the junior school just before w took the 11+ exams.

[Buenchico]

They seem to have pen licenses in Oz:
http://thecolo.com.au/topic/6516052/1/

There's also a relevant thread here:
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/a1470599-Year-6-Sats

Print your own!
http://www.edhelper.com/teachers/rewards_License_to_Use_a_Pen.htm

I can't remember for certain what we used at primary school but I think that it was probably only pencils. At secondary level it was definitely only fountain pens for the first few years. Ballpoint pens were regarded as the work of the Devil!

[Peter Pedant]

// remember being the ink monitor in top cass at the junior school just before w took the 11+ exams. //

yeah we had one of them....

Sixties - start with pencil and then progress - I remember my first copy-book. Copying out 'Jack and Jill went up the hill' ten times.

We were told we couldnt use biro in exams or else we would lose marks
oops.

It is obvious from this thread there was an emphasis on handwriting in the sixties which then waned. Also if anyone remembers ( calligraphy ) and the popularity of italic ( chancery hand )

When I was doing a course in Spain, my chancery hand was looked on as an amazing historical throw back. Very popular in the court of Fay-lee-pay zegoondo ( 1550-1600) but not really done 400 y later

[Peter Pedant]

yeah you should have said

pen licences ? that's great - you'll be doing logarithms and using slide rules next !

[stuey]

A group of us were in Jamaica and one of my nieces asked her dad if he would buy her a radio. He mentioned that they had radios at home. She responded with "I know, Dad, but I like the music that they play here better than the stuff at home."

[Peter Pedant]

stuey - that is an inspired comment

[Georgiesmum]

As a child in the 1950's, we had handwriting classes and we had pens at school where we had to push the nib on the handle, spit on the nib a little before using it. We also were expected to have our own "pen wipers" made up of multiple small squares of materials, fastened together with a button in the middle of it, used to wipe our pens with. When we progressed to the top class it was a very big honour to stay in at play time to be that days ink monitor.. How times have changed.