"I have terrible handwriting. I now say it's a learning disability... but a nun who was a very troubled woman hit me over the fingers with a ruler because my writing was so bad"

Andrew Greeley’s reflection on his handwriting reveals both personal experience and broader commentary on education, authority, and the long-lasting psychological effects of formative encounters. He begins by acknowledging his own “terrible handwriting,” which he now frames, perhaps half in jest, half seriously, as a “learning disability.” This admission is layered. Its lighthearted delivery hints at both the evolution in our understanding of learning challenges and a subtle critique of how little such difficulties were recognized in earlier decades. Where today’s educational frameworks might identify, diagnose, and nurture a child struggling with penmanship or motor skills, Greeley’s experience as a child was markedly less sympathetic.

The focus then shifts to a specific, vivid childhood memory: a nun, described as “a very troubled woman,” resorted to physical punishment, striking his fingers with a ruler in response to his inadequate handwriting. This scene evokes the strict, sometimes harsh, disciplinary tactics once prevalent in certain educational and religious institutions. The physicality of the punishment is significant, pain meted out for a failure of dexterity rather than of will or neglect. By calling the nun “a very troubled woman,” Greeley introduces ambiguity. Is she an embodiment of systemic issues within such institutions, or is her behavior a personal failing? Either way, the implication is clear: her actions were inappropriate and questionable.

There’s a sense of enduring impact in Greeley’s words. The incident is not just an anecdote but a formative moment, shaping his later self-perception and perhaps influencing his broader worldview. It speaks to the consequences of punitive educational methods and the lasting sting of shame or fear imposed during youth. At the same time, the narrative contains elements of humor or irony in the adult Greeley’s “diagnosis” of himself, underlining how attitudes towards learning disabilities have shifted and how past trauma is sometimes recast or made bearable through wit and candor.