It’s only a matter of practice

I can only speculate as to why it was hidden in this particular spot. Perhaps I’m more curious as to what else I’ll find!

The owner of this textbook did not complete all of her assignments. Shorthand is a method of using signs and symbols to represent words. Its origins date back to the early Roman Empire and this form of dictation wasn’t exactly easy to master. The country’s noted shorthand teacher, Emma Dearborn wasn’t happy with her students’ progress.

A new system based on writing words as they sound and using only long vowels, abbreviations and flourishes was developed circa 1924. This resulted in speedwriting short - hand. These basic principles stood the test of time throughout the first century; it was far easier for students to learn and use. This form of dictation was readily used by businesses in the United States and Canada.

In 1941, international author, Alexander L. Sheff was selected by the directors of speedwriting to take over the education administration. He worked with top business educators to revise and improve speedwriting principles resulting in this century edition textbook. Its advanced methods increased the recording speed by 20 percent and enhanced the transcription accuracy.

Franchises were set up with strict rules of one business school per city authorized to teach speedwriting shorthand. Each business school in either the United States or Canada was carefully stud - ied and analyzed before being selected. The editors wanted each pupil to understand they were using the most up-tothe-minute edition of this course.

The missing registration form was on the last page of each textbook. It was to be completed and returned to the school registrar. The national office located in New York would enter each name in their master register. This registry also granted the right of going to any nearby franchised school for additional dictation practice no matter which city the student received their training. Employment services at no charge was available for graduates. Students were repeatedly encouraged to complete the registration form to take advantage of these privileges.

To ensure the exact same requirements were being met for each student across the country, writing assignments were included at the end of each textbook. Each one regularly tested the student’s knowledge and progress. Credit would not be given if the student used any other paper for these assignments except what was provided in the textbook.

Penmanship was essential to learning this format of shorthand, “Whatever distance the hand travels beyond what is absolutely necessary represents only waste effort on the part of the writer.”

Certain words occur more frequently in the English language. Reportedly, 50 percent of English words used daily are made up of only 69 words. This textbook calls them brief forms. There is literally no dotting the i or crossing the t in speedwriting shorthand!

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