Discussion»Questions»Human Behavior» Do you remember when left handed children were forced to change and write right handed? Did it ever happen to you?
Yes I sure do remember that! Teachers were always trying to get me to use my right hand instead of my left! They finally gave up when I could write with either hand and being ambidextrous has been quite helpful over the years! Especially playing baseball!
It happened to my older brother. My mother got pregnant at age 17 in an era wherein girls were kicked out of high school in such circumstances. Within a couple of years after the first pregnancy that produced my older sister, my mother was pregnant again with my older brother. Right about the age when babies begin to crawl, she noticed that whenever he reached for a toy or food, etc, he automatically did so with his left hand more often than his right hand. When he began to use crayons and pencils, the same thing. Unfortunately, my mother's reaction was sheer horror. I think she equated left-handedness with evil, go figure. I was going to write it all out here, but on retrospect, can't even recount the physically abusive acts she subjected him to, nor the life-long scars she left on his mind and in his self-image. His left hand is practically disfigured. Oh, and by the way, he NEVER took to writing or eating with his right hand. His entire life he's remained left-handed.
I am forever an advocate for people only having children if and when they are mentally, emotionally, physically, financially and in many other ways prepared to have children. The most important thing any parent can provide a child is love, and not everyone is ready or willing to do so. The crowd that believes there's something wrong with anyone who does not want to have children need only look at the millions of examples of abused, neglected, thrown-away children to realize that it's saner to never have a child who might be unwanted and therefore unloved than to merely have children because "society" thinks it's appropriate.
--
This post was edited by Randy D at October 27, 2017 5:25 PM MDT
I am forever an advocate for people only having children if and when they are mentally, emotionally, physically, financially and in many other ways prepared to have children.
Unfortunately there is a gap between the best biological age to bear children (15-30) and the best economic age to rear them (35-50). Back when extended families were the norm, this wasn't a problem - mom had grandma there to help. Now she doesn't.
I was not a lefty, but they (teachers) had an issue with the way I held a pencil. I didn't have sloppy handwriting, and while I'm not Picasso, I don't completely stink at art. My Dad--essentially--told them "she can hold the dang pencil anyway she wants".
It may be the opposite for me. When I was four my left-handed sister taught me how to write while standing behind me. I wasn't forced...It just happened. The only other thing I do lefty is eat. I believe teachers made their students write right-handed in the inkwell days when writing left-handed students would smear the ink as they wrote.
This post was edited by Element 99 at October 27, 2017 5:55 AM MDT
Our desks in HS still had them, but none of the students knew what they were for. Our ink pens used cartridges and many teachers would not let us use ball point pens.
When you say, "our desk in HS", are you referring to when you were in high school or when you taught school?
I also remember that ink pens were STRICTLY forbidden for students' use when I was in elementary school. I had the sheet and utter audacity to show up with an ink pen one day inthe 5th grade. The horror of it all! The philosophy then was that only adults and high school students used ink, elementary and middle school/junior high school students had to use lead. ~
Probably varies from area to area. Some parents think they will have to buy special equipment just for Lefty's (scissors, guitars, ball gloves etc) so they try to have them use the right hand. Also say they don't know how to do (teach) how to do something left handed. (Show tying, sports etc) And teachers do fuss about dragging your hand through the ink/lead. (it does effect the lead as well) My Mom​ is also a lefty but there are many things I do right handed because that is how I learned because Dad taught me. Most sports things I do as a righty.
Left-handed cricket legend Rod Marsh also enjoys golf. He learned to play that right-handed because there just wasn't a set of left-handed clubs in the family and they couldn't afford any.
Benedict Arnold 