assistant professor, Department of Teacher Education, 308.865.8556
The 18th annual Nebraska Handwriting Contest opens March 1, according to Julie Agard at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Agard, an assistant professor in the UNK Department of Teacher Education, has directed the competition since it began in 1991.
“The contest is open to all Nebraska residents to promote legible handwriting as an effective means of communication,” Agard said. “The Nebraska Handwriting Contest was created by Tom Hutson of Red Cloud in memory of his mother Eva.”
Prizes will be awarded in four categories: ages 12 and under, ages 13-16, ages 17 – 49, and ages 50 and over. The competition, which is conducted by the UNK Department of Teacher Education, is an activity endorsed and supported by the Nebraska Department of Education and the Nebraska State Education Association, with prizes sponsored by Follett’s Campus Bookstore of Kearney. By the end of April, winners will be announced to the media and posted on: http://coe.unk.edu/contest.
Official texts (to be copied by contest participants) and the official contest rules follow:
RULES:
1. The text provided on this page should be written in any of the various styles of cursive handwriting rather than printed. Each performance of writing will be judged as a whole according to ease of reading. The writing should feature not only a fluent rhythmic movement but also a technically correct performance of specifications such as the slope, space, size and shape of the letters. The goal of the work is disciplined freedom of movement.
2. The competitor can choose the paper and the writing instrument to use as long as the paper is 8 1/2″ X 11″. The general layout of the entry (choice of margins and line spacing) will be taken into account along with overall neatness.
3. Only one entry may be submitted by each competitor. The competitor must write his/her name, address, telephone number and/or e-mail address on the back of the entry, indicating age as of Feb. 1, 2008. Students should also write the name and address of their school and the name of their teacher. Teachers are asked to submit only the top three or four entries from their class after their own local judging.
4. Entries may be submitted anytime after March 1, but must be received no later than March 31, at: NEBRASKA HANDWRITING CONTEST, Attention: Julie Agard, University of Nebraska at Kearney, College of Education, Kearney, NE 68849. All entries become the property of the Nebraska Handwriting Contest and will be retained with the right to use them in full or in part in exhibitions and/or publications.
Follett’s Campus Bookstore of Kearney will provide Nebraska winners a First and Second Place Award for excellence in penmanship in each age category: First Place – $25 Gift Certificate; Second Place – $15 Gift Certificate. Prizes are awarded solely on the recommendations of the judges.
The complete rules and the texts to be copied are posted at the following locations: http://www.nsea.org and http://coe.unk.edu/contest Those who wish to receive the results of the contest can do so by including two (2) self-addressed stamped envelopes along with their entries to: Nebraska Handwriting Contest, Attention: Julie Agard, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Department of Teacher Education, Kearney, NE 68849.
