AIBU that school should scrap “Pen Licences”

[mumof2exhausted]

I just don’t get how it’s still a thing, it’s just another way to single out children who struggle with fine motor skills. As long as their writing is neat and legible does it really matter that it’s not cursive?

My kids school didn't do this. They all used pens from year 5

Send him in with a pen and tell the teacher he got his license over the weekend 🤷‍♀️. The whole thing is so ridiculous I would be tempted to treat it the same way.

I don't know, it's kind of like should we scrap sports day or winning in football because some won't be able to? Of course not.

That's not a useful comparison at all. What is the justification in having to get a licence to use a pen instead of a pencil? If a child is happier with a pen amd writes as well with a pen, why on earth insist they're not allowed to use one? It's frankly baffling.

I don't understand pen licences. I used to live in France, where school children all write with pens, and it hasn't stopped French people from learning to write in cursive!

At my DC's school pen licenses can be earned during Year 5, and then in Year 6 all pupils use pen. No child is going to start using pen more than a few months after their classmates, so hopefully DC stand out less than at other schools. I still don't see the point of it though.

I've never heard of this, they must not do it at my DC's primary.

This brings back memories of my (now adult) DC who never gained their pen license. I think they were using a pen at some point in year 6 but they never really mastered cursive writing. Poor handwriting hasn’t held them back in any way as they’re a junior doctor and it seems normal for doctors to be illegible!

I've got an 11 year old still using a bloody pencil in year 6 in contradiction to the advice from OTs and the dyslexia specialist. With Covid keeping parents conveniently at bay for 2 years (including the entirity of y5) I hadn't realised that this was occuring until recently and have managed to raise my concerns. DS has and always will have poor handwriting because of dyslexia, dyspraxia and hypermobility. He also has sensory processing disorder so we'll need to identify pens that are comfortable to hold and use because any cheapo biro won't necessarily be comfortable to grip. This will take trial and error and time which he is now rapidly running out of.

It's a ridiculous policy that actively penalises children with SENs that can not be incentivised into writing neatly, then deprives them of time to practice using the equipment that they will inevitably have to use in secondary school anyway.

Fortunately for him, he's great at maths and science because there's a lot of children with developmental conditions causing handwriting difficulties who also won't be finding glory in English, art or on the sports field.

Nothing wrong with praising good writing, but don't impede the children who struggle with it.

Having been introduced to pens (whole class) in y3 and using them full-time in y4 (as it wasn't back in the 80s) I hadn't known of this ridiculous concept prior to using MN.

I dislike it too. Also not a fan of cursive writing.

I generally hate the way that writing in taught in primary, and I also blame Gove and his legacy.

I was looking through my old school books from the 1970s the other week. In those days, children could write a story or whatever and just have the odd spelling mistake circled with a tick and 'good work' at the end.

So much more relaxing that the multi-coloured marking that kids' writing is subjected to these days, along with suggestions to use '3E' sentences and the like.

But again on sports day being last is soon over and they’re onto next race. With the pen license, giving the certificate is similar as it’s i but then the ones who aren’t given a pen license towards the older years when most people have them stand out all day every day still writing in pencil.

I've honestly never heard of this. Could someone please enlighten me? What on earth is a pen licence and why does it matter?

@BogRollBOGOF
Try frixion pens. They have a soft grip, click to open and close, and are erasable. The downsides are that they are not cheap, run out fairly quickly, and can’t be used for critical documents because the ink will become invisible if exposed to high heat (though it should reappear if exposed to low cold).

we had to use pencil so we could rub everything out and reuse the paper and this was primary in the early 00s

Can't believe these are still around, when I was at school it was pencil then pen then fountain pen, in year 6 I was still on pencil, when I went to high school my handwriting improved being able to use a pen everyday instead of a pencil. Felt humiliating.
Its different from sports days, you write everyday at school, kids should move on as a group or given the option of which they use, got to be a better way than still using these

The worst thing I find is that here in Germany, once you get your pen license you're supposed to use it for everything. Including maths! It puts the kids right off because if they make a mistake it's very difficult to correct it without making a huge mess.

I'm a teacher and hate them too. In our school there is no physical licence, it just means that they have permission to use pen.

I can kind of see why it is a bad idea to give a pen to someone who really needs to do a lot of erasing or crossing out, but not why it's a bad idea to give one to a pupil with accurate, legible writing that just isn't joined up.

But the teacher will have discretion. If I suspect that a child's writing might be better in pen - that hyper mobility or dyspraxia means their writing would improve without needing to apply so much pressure - I try it and give them a pen if it does help.

@RoomOfRequirement

I don't know, it's kind of like should we scrap sports day or winning in football because some won't be able to? Of course not.

That's an interesting question. My son has dyspraxia and therefore sports days have been like a ritual humiliation for him. He is usually last in all the events and has to do this in front of the whole school as well as all the parents. It's not a nice experience for him at all. He is however very clever and an exceptionally good reader so while the school and parents can see that he isn't good at sports (and have made comments and laughed at him) i know that the ones winning the races in his class are the ones that maybe struggle academically and while it's great that their talents at sport are rewarded it seems unfair that my son is embarrassed publicly for something he struggles with but they aren't. (Not that any kid should be made to feel embarrassed but hopefully you know what I mean).

I genuinely hate it. Made both my dyslexic kids feel like shite. I don't understand the massive emphasis on handwriting in this technological world.

I hate them. My DSD can write clearly with a pen as we've had her learn to write with one since before reception yet school deem her incapable. She actually asked her teacher for hers and was told it has to be earned which annoyed me further given she's Y3 and still told daily she's not good enough so has to use pencil. At home her lists, playing, diary, workbooks, cards etc are all pen and she's very neat including joined up!

Don't because although it may seem small this really annoyed me!! My dd tried sooo hard to get a pen license, her handwriting is lovely, all her friends had one, dd did not want me to mention it to her teacher as she wanted to get it off her own merit bless her but she still wasnt getting one even though she worked so hard to do what the teachers wanted of her to get a better chance of having one, the teachers would say you're so close. So at a parents evening I did mention it and asked the teacher to not make it obvious to my dd, teacher agreed she was good enough at writing to have one and would give her one shortly. But no, she forgot! So my dd in year 5 worked and tried so hard for one for no reward, although kids had gotten then in I think yr 4! I had already said something to the teacher so didnt want to sound petty and speak to the head over a pen! Or remind the same teacher because I felt like a pushy parent. Dd eventually got her pen in year 6......when everyone automatically gets one!!!

I don't think they should scrap it, I think many children feel quite proud.
I say this as the clumsy child who was the last one to get it. I remember wishing I has a handwriting book to practice at home but I was too embarrassed to ask my mother for one. Does that mean children who do have good handwriting shouldn't get the pride of theirs?
Should we also scrap reading bands, sports and anything that else that could possibly hurt a childs feelings? I despair for future generations .

YANBU, it’s totally pointless. In year 6 all children are given a pen anyway, I actually can’t believe a pen is a status symbol. My DS has horrible handwriting, he’s a leftie and it’s just never been neat. The actual content of his work is what matters and that’s always fantastic with great grammar so that’s honestly all I care about.

I just don’t think handwriting matters too much, the content is much more important. Provided it’s legible of course, the way your writing looks doesn’t matter. You only need to look at doctors handwriting…

I agree! Pen licenses are very ableist. My daughter has in her EHCP that she can use a laptop to record instead due to her disability and it drives her teacher crazy that she doesn't have to learn cursive. Have had several trips up the school to resolve issues with her teacher trying to force her to write cursive as "everyone needs to learn cursive, even you

@TrendingNowt

I don't think they should scrap it, I think many children feel quite proud. I say this as the clumsy child who was the last one to get it. I remember wishing I has a handwriting book to practice at home but I was too embarrassed to ask my mother for one. Does that mean children who do have good handwriting shouldn't get the pride of theirs? Should we also scrap reading bands, sports and anything that else that could possibly hurt a childs feelings? I despair for future generations .

Sorry but this is nonsense. I’m all for awards for actual work - brilliant stories, full marks in tests, progression with reading. Handwriting is just writing. As long as it’s legible and neat that should be enough. It’s what you write not what it looks like. Genuinely intrigued as to what careers require beautiful penmanship as a vital requirement??