First World Problems

I can't understand the stigma attached to being left handed. When I was in kindergarden, my teacher arranged a meeting with my parents. At the meeting, Mrs. Dee told them, "I've noticed that your daughter writes with her left hand. If you would like, I can encourage her to use her right hand." My dad insisted that changing which hand I wrote with wouldn't be necessary and that he's a lefty and does just fine. They left the meeting, shaking their heads.

Earlier this week, one of my grammar students was watching me write an example on the dry erase board, and he commented on my left handedness. With this puzzled look on his face, he asked if it was hard for me to write and do things. I explained that I'm used to it, and it's not a big deal, but I don't think he was convinced.

What does "it's a right handed world" mean? Most people are right handed. And your point is?

While I occasionally smudge my notes because my hand goes right over what I've just written, I don't suffer from being a lefty. Where did this notion that kids should be taught to write with their right hands come from?

Here are some facts about using the "wrong hand":

• Some famous lefties include Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Henry Ford, Lewis Carroll, Samuel Clemens, H.G. Wells, Jimi Hendrix, M.C. Escher, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.
• Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.
• Many think that lefties have an advantage in fist fighting (may sound like a bad thing, but think of it from the self-defense angle, not the rebel without a cause angle)
• Some are dominant left-handers, who use their left hand for EVERYTHING. For example, they would use their left hand to swing a bat, hold a fork, play tennis, play golf, etc.
• Some are dominant right-handers, who use their right hand for a majority of things and maybe only write and hold a fork with their left hand.
• Left-handed children are more likely to test out as highly creative and to have extremely high verbal or math ability--both of which are considered to be predominantly left-brain functions.
  

Useful products for lefties:

http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/

http://www.lefthandzone.com/site/684713/page/248733

And I found this one particularly funny...buy this if you want to confuse your classmates or coworkers:

http://www.smudgeguard.com/index.htm