to not want my left-handed child to have to use a fountain pen ...

[Nickoka]

Child is in year 5. The school previously tried to get year 6s to use fountain pens but this year has extended policy to year 5.

My DD writes slowly and with 'hook hand' sometimes, so I bought her the Stabilo left handed rollerball pen in the holidays. The teacher however has issued (right handed) fountain pens and wants the kids to use them for everything but maths. I had a meeting with teacher. He was nice and it was a reasonable discussion. Teacher's argument was they wanted all children to be the same. However I think fountain pens are a rubbish idea in the 21st century for left handed children, just causing smudging and frustration. I don't want to buy a left-handed one as suggested by the teacher. Am I just being stubborn or am I right to fight this? Views from lefties particularly sought!

Surely what matters isn't what pen they use but how well the work is presented. I'm left-handed as were four of my 7 children. I told the schools that they would use gel pens and that was it.
I went to school in the 50s and 60s and the teacher used to either tie my left hand behind my back or rap me over the knuckles with the ruler.

I am a leftie and write with a hook hand. I hate using anything other than a cheap-as-you-like biro as anything else looks scruffy and leaves me with an inky hand. YANBU.

Im left handed, and when I had to use a fountain pen at school my mum bought me blotting paper so I could dry of my work quickly as I wrote. It really helped!!!

Although I did spend a lot of time making pretty pictures with the ink dripped on the blotting paper....

These are nice too if you want to insist on a ballpoint!

www.amazon.co.uk/Anything-Left-Handed-Yoropen-Set/dp/B0006J29KO

Thanks pugsandseals for your links.

YANBU. Ridiculous IMO.

For those who think a fountain pen is not for this century, well come to continental Europe where you'll find children spend a few more years learning with felt-tips, pencils etc how to hold a writing instrument and how to make lines and curves or a pages, then at the age of 6 they are given ...... wait for it...... a fountain pen to learn to write with!!!!!! Well that's what happens in our country Belgium. You would have to search long and hard for a RIGHT HANDED or LEFT HANDED fountain pen too, a fountain pen is a fountain pen. They don't make a mess, even the cheapest ones. For those children who really can't get the hang of the fountain pen here, they start instead with a pen which looks like a biro pen but still contains an ink cartridge, the ink is controlled more this way by the ball than the user, then once they are a bit more adept at using real ink, they finally move onto a fountain pen.

I have 2 right handed children who learnt to write in the UK and 2 left handed children who learned to write in Belgium - and their hand writing is just beautiful to look at. The children who had to re-learn how to write with a fountain pen now have much better hand writing. For the eldest, it has helped him immensely as he is dyspraxic and he finds it much easier to write with the small amount of pressure needed with a fountain pen compared to a biro.

I cant see how a left handed pen would stop the smudging. I'm left handed and the only way not to smudge was to have the paper at an angle so instead of writing across I was writing down. Or you could send her to go and spend her summer holidays in Seaham. I spent a long summer there when I was younger and was so bored I spent several weeks teaching myself to write with my right hand.

Oooh, I remember the scratchy pen and inkwells. The ink used to go everywhere!

I'm a leftie and can write in fountain pen, but I don't have the hook hand thing, I've always turned my paper/book so write sideways, iyswim. That helped me with smudging etc, I did also used to use blotting paper as well.

DS1 is also a leftie, but he writes a bit hooked...his teachers were quite happy once he got his pen licence (I think in yr 3 or 4) for him to use a berol handwriting pen (other brands are available!) and in fact any pen that wasn't a biro.

I don't see why a fountain pen is necessary tbh, and I would be asking the school to explain why a rollerball or fine tipped pen isn't acceptable.

i am left handed and can write perfectly well with a fountain pen. i always have been able to. i dont write hook handed either.

Here's a very interesting link (well it is for me as the mother of 2 left handed children who write with fountain pens). I relate entirely to the photos of how left handers, and some right handers too, write in a different manner.
nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm

I've always used a Parker fountain pen. The nibs are straight so it doesn't matter if you are left or right handed. They wear into your writing fairly quickly and (as a leftie) I would never ever let someone borrow my fountain pen not even to tick a box.

I agree with angling your paper and not sitting with anyone immediately to the left of you (if they are right handed). I write from top to bottom rather than left to right. Having blotting paper handy is also a good tip - I'll borrow that one.

My school aged DDs are right handed. I look forward to many, many discussions with teachers when my left handed DS starts school :)

Think it is a bit off for them to provide right handed pens but not left handed when it's pretty well accepted that it's more difficult as it is to write with a fountain pen if you are left handed.

Could you start muttering about discrimination when you chat to the teacher next?

Seriously, do you know any of the other parents in your year and the year above if they didn't start last year and could you find out how many kids are left handed. Then you can all ask together and not get fobbed off as individuals. If they are buying boxes of right handed pens to hand out they can get a box of left handed ones too. After all if they have a few left over the right handers can use them if there's no problem using right handed one for lefties then the reverse should hold true too!

Where are you? I would be really surprised to find this in a UK state school as every child should be treated as an individual under "every child matters". Wanting them all to be the same is a lame and rather lazy approach to teaching. I am amazed that fountain pens are still used at all.

Another leftie who can use a fountain pen perfectly well. a left handed nib helps for italic writing but doesn't matter for an ordinary nib really.

The most important thing for your DS, and writing in ink will help- is to turn the paper - yes turn it quite a lot-and get rid of the hook hand. A hooked grip (the sort that would drag the hand in the wet ink, is a really uncomfy writing technique and really needs "unlearning" asap)

Another leftie here who actually prefers fountain over roller ball - and who even does calligraphy!
Get a good, left handed pen, and good nibs - writing neatly in ink is a skill on the way out, which I personally think is a shame!

I am left-handed and I hate trying to use fountain pens - they force me to hold my hand at an unnatural angle (for me) to avoid smudging the ink. I write with my hand straight, not hooked.

Other minority groups have protection from discrimination - so should we!

Agree with getting a Parker pen. I preferred this to a left handed fountain pen at school. I also don't write hook-handed but turn my paper onto the side.

Leftie here. Mine just used to shape to my pressure after a while and were fine. It did take longer though. DH is a leftie too and used a left handed one which he loved.