My 8 year old is left handed and at the last parent teacher cinference her teacher made a big deal out of the way she holds her pencil. Don't you think that is a bit extreme and there are many more PROBLEMS out there with childran/school.

Good morning. I'm with "The Extremist Militia of Left Handed Persons" and we would like to assist in this matter. I understand the child in question probably has a new educator this year; however we still like to decree the expedition of unholy vengeance upon this "teacher of fallacies". Please contact us as soon as possible at: 555-555-1234 with the name and location of said individual and we will proceed to correct this matter by extricating its evil right hand, therefore liberating said individual to the use of left-handedness and justice for all mankind.

VIVA LA LEFT HANDERS!!

The Teacher is a moron.

yeah, why make a big deal about a left handed do they make a big deal about right handed? there's more problem than those in school like violence, and MORE IMPORTANT PROBLEMS than that!!!

teachers are retarded. you shoulda knocked her head off her shoulders

Tell your daughter to hold the pencil however is comfortable for her to hold it. The important think is not how she holds her pencil; it is that she can write legibly. I am left handed. I always have been. I think that my handwriting is quite legible. I find my hand writing to be much more legible than that of many of my students who are right handed. So, just make sure that she learns to not be sloppy with her hand writing and tell her teacher to not worry so much about the way she holds her pencil.

im left handed and when i was at school i used to have to turn my writing book on a slant and the teacher would come and put it straight again. i never knew why she did it so i used to just turn it back. the teacher is just making a big deal out of nothing.

I'm left handed. I used to hold a pencil differently and I still, to this day, have messy writing.
It doesn't interfere with my day to day life...I am not living in a cardboard box because of how I held my pencil. Just let your kid be a kid...no worries about pencil holding :)

Okay, not ALL teachers are retarded! At least I hope that my husband and I aren't (we both teach Kindergarten). There's a great handwriting program called "Handwriting Without Tears" that your child's teacher should look in to. It shows how to make worksheets for left handers and also ways for them to hold a pencil (with their left hand) that can help them not have to twist their wrist to an extreme. Working with 5 year olds on handwriting is tough, because they usually haven't figured out which hand works best for them. I play games with them to try to help them find their hand and then nurture good handwriting with whichever hand feels best for them. Often I have trouble convincing parents that it's OK for their child to be left handed.

Well, holding a pencil is not a problem at all. I'm left handed, and it's never held me back. It added to the fact that I was different, along with being short and being born on a February 29, but it makes no difference on who the person is.

I say give the teacher the finger, and just to throw it in her face, use your left hand.

Was it a big deal criticism or just a big deal of noticing? If he/she was criticizing it, he/she needs to think differently.

Hi my son is left handed, he has always been left to develop as a left handed person, he got a science award today, the top of his year (year 6) so being left handed has never held him back in any way.

I didn't know this was still going on in schools! I'm a lefty and when I was a kid in the 80's I had a teacher who tried to make me write with my right hand. She almost failed me until my parents got involved and got them to leave me alone.

Unfortunately the year was almost over and I barely passed that class..on top of that it kinda got me a little backwards..now I didn't prefer to use my left hand solely, I do some things with my right and some with my left. I can pretty much write about the same with either hand now but use the left more for that.

Yes, I agree with you. I am left-handed, and remember in grade school I got straight A's but an F in penmanship. I gradually learned to do some things more comfortably with my right hand, but still write with my left.

Encourage your daughter to go with whatever is natural and comfortable for her, in terms of writing. Address the teacher directly; explain your philosophy and opinion and state that if your child is belittled in school the teacher will be reported to the Principal and School Board.

This is NOT going to sound the least bit mature but... I would have jumped all over her ass about it. If she is writing her letters and is able to do her school work wtf does the teacher care? People hold their pencils in the way that feels most comfortable/ natural to them. I hate that children are taught to conform in ways that doesn't actually matter.

They should conform to basic rules that encourage respect for other people, property and self. Who cares how they hold their pencil or what ever else (hair color etc)

A friend of mine was left-handed but her 2nd grade teacher told her that left-handedness was a sign of evil. It scared her so she taught herself to use her right-hand and ever since then, she's been right-handed. Some people should just be taken out and beaten.

I don't think how left handers hold their pencil is important at all. What matters is the work produced on the paper. Some positions, possibly recommended by an occupational therapist, may produce less fatigue, but that should be persued only if the child resists writing tasks. I am an elementary school Learning Consultant. Stewie is correct.

My husband, son and I are all left handed. I can remember being hit over the knuckles with a ruler because I was a 'leftie' at school. They tried (without success) to make me use my right hand. As a consequence I just write (very neatly) with my left hand. All other activities I perform with either.

My son is above average in the subjects that matter, so I do not consider this a a hinderance in any way.

The teacher is the one with the problem - not your daughter and you should stand up for her. At this young age it could really damage her, simply because her teacher is a bully. There are far more problems with children and school. Take is further if you have to.

yes there are many difficult hurdells to get over if your left handed, take a look at web sites like everything lefthanded.co.uk, there you will find many answers ... all the best

i don't really think it matters how you hold a pencil as long as you can learn how to write. i am right handed and stuff and when i was in 4th grade they did the samething to me saying that the way i hold my pencil in my right hand is incorrect. my mom told me to just ignore it and do what i do. of course i was suspended for holding a pencil wrong and bein insubordanite for not holding my pencil right by the teachers instructions. after the super intendent of my school learned what my teacher had done (my teacher was also the principle) he fired her right quick. teachers in my opinion just make big over exaggerated issues over the littlest stuff. just tell you kid to do what he/she feels is neccessary for good hand writing and comfortable pencil holding.

I think, that the teacher is dumb. It doesn't matter how you hold your pencil, as long as your able to write what does it matter the way you hold your pencil.

Yep totally. Most of the lefties I know have neat handwriting.

Unless it deters the way she writes then the teacher shouldn't care.

Being a left hander, I would have to agree with you that there are much bigger issues in our school systems. I had people trying to make me write with my right hand, I thought they were crazy. And I have also been told I hold pens wrong, but at least you can read my handwriting, unlike most doctors.

i'm a leftie and there are many things that i find tricky to do.if your daughter is successfully finding her own ways of doing things such as holding a pencil then let her carry on.talk to her teacher about this.the website mentioned by someone else earlier(anythingleft-handed.co.uk) is a really good place to start if you want to make things easier on your daughter.i brought some left handed pens and leftie scissors and they have changed everything.my writing is now readable and i have scissors i can accutally use.last thing i wanted to say being a leftie is accutally a good thing.lefties are meant to be intelligent and creative, more so than righties.tell your daughter to be proud of her leftieness.

That is really lame.
I am a leftie.
I managed to get better grades that other students in class and in high school pulled a gpa higher than a 4.0.
No one put me down for being left-handed. It just didn't matter.
I can't believe they would critisize a child for being left-handed TODAY.
Don't let your child be discouraged because of that.
She just needs to do what she needs to do and not mind what people think.
Don't let her decome unconfident in herself because of that.
It's absurd.