Everyday Writing from School-Aged Children
In the first artifact, "Wayne Walker's Dance Card," there are two types of writing: the given text which is not everyday writing and the added text which is everyday writing. For this dance card, the given text is the text which is printed ("Krewe of Cupid presents...") while the added text is the list of names whom have promised to dance with the child. This text is particularly interesting due to the penmanship displayed. Because of the neatness, it is unlikely that this was hand written by Wayne, the 2nd grade boy to whom it belonged, but rather a teacher or parent at his dictation. Although dance cards are a thing of the past, this small act is something that is universal regardless of time.
The second and third artifacts are both from a student's college notes in 1964. They illustrate writing from the older school aged children, as the author was under eighteen when these notes were written. The first of the two is an anagram-like inscription within the cover of the notebook. This artifact is composed of the letters "w", "a", "n", and "d" arranged in multiple ways to form the name "wanda" repeatedly, but with some errors. These errors give the piece an uncertainty and artistic quality which seems unexpected, until viewing the next artifact. In the final artifact of the two, we are able to glimpse a portion of Wanda's class notes, which are accompanied by humorous doodles: a strong man, a horse with the text "see the horsie," and a person with large eyelashes. Although these doodles were likely drawn during the lecture in which the notes were taken, they seem to be entirely unrelated to the lecture material itself. Through this small portion of doodles, the confusing inscription of the notebook comes into focus. This notebook was used during the early 1960s, but as with any college student today Wanda clearly had other things on her mind during lectures.