the left hand is evil, and must be punished

[chiver78]

I posted this link to FB last night, but I am curious if anyone here has shared this child's experience like I did.   my K-teacher wasn't a religious nut, but she pretty much trained me to be right handed. 9 times out of 10, I pick up the pen in my left and put it in my right hand to write.

link

Oklahoma Pre-K teacher allegedly calls being left-handed ‘evil’ and ‘sinister’

OKEMAH, Okla. -- A 4-year-old was allegedly forced by his teacher to write with his right hand, even though he’s left-handed.

The child was sent home with a letter about how left-handedness is often associated with evil and the devil.
Zayde is only 4 years old.
It's his first year at Oakes Elementary in Okemah, but his mom kept him home Monday after a dispute with his teacher over being left-handed.
Zayde, like most kids in Pre-K, is learning how to read and write. And like his mom, Alisha, Zayde is a lefty.
“From picking things up to throwing things, to batting, to writing, to just coloring you’d do at home with him, he’s always, always used his left hand,” Alisha Sands said.
That was until last week at homework time.
Alisha asked him why he was writing with his right hand, not his left.
“I just asked ‘Is there anything his teachers ever asked about his hands?’ And he raises this one and says this one’s bad,” Sands said.

click the link for the full story.

[djAdvocate]

unworthy of the profession.

[Wisconsin Beth]

My Mom is a lefty as is one of my sisters.  Mom got odds and ends of that attitude when she was a young child.  I honestly assumed that the US had gone past that since Mom experienced it in Catholic schools in the 40s and 50s. 

[grumpyhermit]

I did not, but my mother did; parochial schools in the 60s. She is naturally left-handed, but can write equally well with both since she was forced to use her right so much as a kid.

[The Captain]

My Great Aunt did.  That was over, ummm 90 years ago?

Sissy is a southpaw...she never experienced this in school during the 70's (and we went through catholic school) I even remember special left handed scissors and pencil grip helper thingy's specifically for lefties.

In fact, I hope it's common knowledge that trying to re-wire a dominate hand can cause neurological problems (such as aunties hands always shaking whenever she wrote something).

That teacher should be suspended without pay and brought into the 20th Century before being allowed around kids again.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 9:12:57 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

My Mom is a lefty as is one of my sisters.  Mom got odds and ends of that attitude when she was a young child.  I honestly assumed that the US had gone past that since Mom experienced it in Catholic schools in the 40s and 50s. 

May be anecdotal, but being left-handed and having attended Catholic schools in the 50s and 60s, I was never bothered by the nuns for my 'handicap'. But I did attend Catholic schools in Massachusetts, known for being a leftie state anyway.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 9:20:53 GMT -5 The Captain said:

My Great Aunt did.  That was over, ummm 90 years ago?

Sissy is a southpaw...she never experienced this in school during the 70's (and we went through catholic school) I even remember special left handed scissors and pencil grip helper thingy's specifically for lefties.

In fact, I hope it's common knowledge that trying to re-wire a dominate hand can cause neurological problems (such as aunties hands always shaking whenever she wrote something).

That teacher should be suspended without pay and brought into the 20th Century before being allowed around kids again.

21st Century?

The few checks I do write, I still write 2014.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 22, 2015 9:23:00 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 22, 2015 9:12:57 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

My Mom is a lefty as is one of my sisters.  Mom got odds and ends of that attitude when she was a young child.  I honestly assumed that the US had gone past that since Mom experienced it in Catholic schools in the 40s and 50s. 

May be anecdotal, but being left-handed and having attended Catholic schools in the 50s and 60s, I was never bothered by the nuns for my 'handicap'. But I did attend Catholic schools in Massachusetts, known for being a leftie state anyway.

From what I remember Mom saying is that it was hit or miss regarding the nuns' and her parents told the nuns to knock it off. 

In Catholic high school, Mom had nuns agreeing with evolution and encouraging her to read science fiction.  Nuns are people too. 

[NoNamePerson]

Nothing to do with anything but one of my best friends was left handed. Never any grief from teachers, etc. In fact I thought it was way cool and different. I tried to "become" left handed but finally gave up. I am so right dominated that I have actually bumped into a wall turning right          My right wired brain did not acknowledge the fact that I had to turn left to enter the room.  

[Wisconsin Beth]

I can print, barely legibly with my left hand but I have to think the entire time I'm doing it. 

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 9:29:53 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 22, 2015 9:23:00 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

May be anecdotal, but being left-handed and having attended Catholic schools in the 50s and 60s, I was never bothered by the nuns for my 'handicap'. But I did attend Catholic schools in Massachusetts, known for being a leftie state anyway.

From what I remember Mom saying is that it was hit or miss regarding the nuns' and her parents told the nuns to knock it off. 

In Catholic high school, Mom had nuns agreeing with evolution and encouraging her to read science fiction.  Nuns are people too. 

Catholic high school, late 60s, I never heard anything from the nuns which suggested evolution was wrong. While a few of the grammar school nuns could be mean and nasty (some truly needed to be treated for mental disorders (didn't want to be a nun (forced into religious life by parents))), as a majority, they were pretty good. I have a lot of respect for the sisters and the work they did and do for folks, past and present.

[The Captain]

Sept 22, 2015 9:24:41 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 22, 2015 9:20:53 GMT -5 The Captain said:

My Great Aunt did.  That was over, ummm 90 years ago?

Sissy is a southpaw...she never experienced this in school during the 70's (and we went through catholic school) I even remember special left handed scissors and pencil grip helper thingy's specifically for lefties.

In fact, I hope it's common knowledge that trying to re-wire a dominate hand can cause neurological problems (such as aunties hands always shaking whenever she wrote something).

That teacher should be suspended without pay and brought into the 20th Century before being allowed around kids again.

21st Century?

The few checks I do write, I still write 2014.

Was wondering if anyone was paying attention.   Nope, I wrote 20th Century on purpose.

By the early 70's (at least in the Chicago area) it was known that you shouldn't try to force/switch dominate hands.  The same auntie I referenced lived with us and when sissy started school it was the topic of more than a few conversations.  Remember, my family was old school Catholic and we went to a school where the Franciscan nuns taught.  They're as conservative as you can get, but they still followed modern teaching guidelines.

Now the conversations we had on switch batters and pitchers are a whole nuther ball of wax.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 9:44:05 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Sept 22, 2015 9:24:41 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

21st Century?

The few checks I do write, I still write 2014.

Was wondering if anyone was paying attention.   Nope, I wrote 20th Century on purpose.

By the early 70's (at least in the Chicago area) it was known that you shouldn't try to force/switch dominate hands.  The same auntie I referenced lived with us and when sissy started school it was the topic of more than a few conversations.  Remember, my family was old school Catholic and we went to a school where the Franciscan nuns taught.  They're as conservative as you can get, but they still followed modern teaching guidelines.

Now the conversations we had on switch batters and pitchers are a whole nuther ball of wax.

Better the 20th than 17th.

[garion2003]

I write lefty, but I've been forced by the dominant culture to use a mouse with my right hand.

One of my coworkers is a lefty and she mouses lefty as well, one time I sat at her desk and I was like "how the hell do you manage?".  It felt so weird to me.

 

Wiki tells me that Bob Dole, Rand Paul, and Hugh Jackman are all lefties.

[zibazinski]

My kids and I are all born lefties but I can write with my right hand. DS was writing with his left hand but noticed in elem no one else was so asked me about it. I told him I thought it was easier being right handed in a right handed world but totally his call. He writes with his right hand now. DD takes turns. Teachers never said diddly to him or her or me.

[The Captain]

Sept 22, 2015 10:24:57 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

I write lefty, but I've been forced by the dominant culture to use a mouse with my right hand.

One of my coworkers is a lefty and she mouses lefty as well, one time I sat at her desk and I was like "how the hell do you manage?".  It felt so weird to me.

 

Wiki tells me that Bob Dole, Rand Paul, and Hugh Jackman are all lefties.

You do know they make left handed mouses, and you can even swap out the "right click" "left click" if you want...

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 10:24:57 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

I write lefty, but I've been forced by the dominant culture to use a mouse with my right hand.

One of my coworkers is a lefty and she mouses lefty as well, one time I sat at her desk and I was like "how the hell do you manage?".  It felt so weird to me.

 

Wiki tells me that Bob Dole, Rand Paul, and Hugh Jackman are all lefties.

Same thing happened to me. I do use a mouse right-handed. That is how I learned. I sat at a friend's computer in which the mouse was on the left side of the keyboard. I could barely handle the mouse.

I learned how to play golf right-handed as a kid too. Left-handed clubs were too expensive.

Just those two things I do left-handed.

[Deleted]

I am ambidextrous, I write equally crappy with both hands. The teachers in elementary tried to get me to choose a hand but didn't preference right over left. It really helped in sports though, I was much better at basketball being able to dribble/shoot equally well with both hands. Against new people I would go to one side exclusively then if they adjusted I would hammer the other side.

This teacher needs to go.

[Chocolate Lover]

Sept 22, 2015 10:24:57 GMT -5 garion2003 said:

I write lefty, but I've been forced by the dominant culture to use a mouse with my right hand.

One of my coworkers is a lefty and she mouses lefty as well, one time I sat at her desk and I was like "how the hell do you manage?".  It felt so weird to me.

 

Wiki tells me that Bob Dole, Rand Paul, and Hugh Jackman are all lefties.

I'm a lefty and can mouse left handed. Either with the buttons left as is or the uses of the buttons switched around to the way you're used to using the fingers. (index does all the left click stuff, middle all the right click stuff from the righty mouse) I used to have the buttons switched in an office where we were likely to be sharing computers. Kept people off of mine because they just couldn't get it.


I can write right handed if it's on the wall (chalkboard/whiteboard). Perfectly legible. Pen & paper though? Looks like a stroke victim learning to write again. 

No one ever gave me grief during school in the 80s. I went to Catholic school for 4 years in early elementary and public for the rest of it. 

[cael]

My dad is right handed but overall ambi, and he thinks he was made to use his right hand to write in school as a kid (in the 50s, not parochial school though). My brother and I are both lefties.

I used to be able to write backwards really well with my right hand, like mirror image writing. If I put my mind to it I could probably still do it well enough. In my office at one point 4/5 of us were lefties, it was nice being a majority for once!

[chiver78]

ha, I remember our group in college - going to dinner was interesting b/c at a round table of 12 or so, there were only 2 righties. definitely something neither of them was used to!

[djAdvocate]

Sept 22, 2015 16:45:05 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

ha, I remember our group in college - going to dinner was interesting b/c at a round table of 12 or so, there were only 2 righties. definitely something neither of them was used to!

the last band i was in had 12 members.  i was the only one with brown eyes.

[chiver78]

whoa. that's actually really surprising...

[djAdvocate]

Sept 22, 2015 16:48:58 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

whoa. that's actually really surprising...

i didn't notice it until the last month we were together.  nobody else in the band seemed surprised by it.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 16:38:35 GMT -5 cael said:

My dad is right handed but overall ambi, and he thinks he was made to use his right hand to write in school as a kid (in the 50s, not parochial school though). My brother and I are both lefties.

I used to be able to write backwards really well with my right hand, like mirror image writing. If I put my mind to it I could probably still do it well enough. In my office at one point 4/5 of us were lefties, it was nice being a majority for once!

During HR meetings, I would always look to see which hand HR reps were writing notes with. While never the majority of the reps at the meetings, maybe 40 percent of the reps were writing notes with the left hand.

[chiver78]

Sept 22, 2015 16:52:33 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Sept 22, 2015 16:48:58 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

whoa. that's actually really surprising...

i didn't notice it until the last month we were together.  nobody else in the band seemed surprised by it.

really? genetics indicate that brown eyes are a dominant trait. odds are that you shouldn't have been the only brown-eyed band member.

[Tennesseer]

Sept 22, 2015 16:46:14 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Sept 22, 2015 16:45:05 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

ha, I remember our group in college - going to dinner was interesting b/c at a round table of 12 or so, there were only 2 righties. definitely something neither of them was used to!

the last band i was in had 12 members.  i was the only one with brown eyes.

'Don't it make your brown eyes blue

[NoNamePerson]

Sept 22, 2015 17:08:41 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Sept 22, 2015 16:46:14 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

the last band i was in had 12 members.  i was the only one with brown eyes.

'Don't it make your brown eyes blue

Beat me to it!!!!

[cael]

Sept 22, 2015 16:59:04 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Sept 22, 2015 16:52:33 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i didn't notice it until the last month we were together.  nobody else in the band seemed surprised by it.

really? genetics indicate that brown eyes are a dominant trait. odds are that you shouldn't have been the only brown-eyed band member.

I always think about how brown is the dominant color genetically when I'm looking around realizing I'm the only one with brown eyes in a group, which surprisingly happens regularly... weird how that goes.

[Jaguar]

I'm right hand dominant but I knit with my left hand. I just picked up knitting that way.