Help me - I'm going to explode

[soandsosmummy]

Another mum has just sent me a link to DD's teacher's facebook page saying she thinks I should have a look.

They've written:

"so irritating having a left hander in my class this year. She's so slow to finish anything and her writing is atrocious - teacher friends got any ideas what I can do?

she told me at parents evening DD is only left hander in her class this year so its obvious who she means

DD is in year 1, quite bright with reading, sums, imagination etc. but just struggles with her hand writing. I've talked to her about constructive ways forward and thought things were going alright

i'm going to explode

But custardcake, I'm agreeing with you! I was trying to make the point to those defending the teacher that it would be unacceptable if a parent did this, but a teacher doing it is far worse.

I agree it was unprofessional and not kind at the very least.

But I think that playing it cool might be best - rather than exploding as the OP suggested!

Now Im left handed, have been all my life but have I missed something here:

Since when did being left handed have anything to do with how fast you do your work? Is it a known fact that lefties are slower?

Is it any more irritating then a right hander being slow to finish work, so much more that you have to ask "teacher friends" on FB for help on the matter?

At the age of 5/6 how neat is handwriting supposed to be assuming that a childrens little fingers have only been able to write sentences for about a year or so. Surely the ability and content at this stage is far more important and the skill of neat handwriting comes a little bit later?

So could any primary school teachers shed any light on this? Because none of the thing thats OP's DD's Teacher mentioned are hardly real causes for concern surely?

I remember being given a hard time for being a "cack-hander" when I was younger (and Im 26 FFS) There seriously isnt that much difference between left handed and right handed people. So the teacher has created a situation for no reason

I think the teacher ought blooming well to know already how to help a child who is left handed

I mean FFS what do they learn at college?

JanePumpkin the point Im making is what help would a left-handed child need though?

The only problem I faced with handwriting and still do is smudging the ink when I write.

But in yr 1 they're still writing in pencil anyway?

I'm a teacher and mother to two lefties. The only thing I would do for lefties I taught was make sure they sat onthe left hand side of their table so they didn't bump arms if they sat next to a rightie and to offer left handed scissors. Anything else would not really be a specific issue arising from left handed ness. My dd is in year one, is very neat handwriting wise and doesn't use left handed scissors at home. The only other difference is she does ticks right to left! Most things surely are not givens for lefties? So really not much training needed-except not to prejudge any child according to preconceived ideas!

Thanks Sleepglorioussleep just wondered really, so it really is mountain-out-of-molehill stuff then really, isnt it?

And definitely makes me think that the teacher is out of order for it.

I am no particular expert! Now...are ds's paddies as a result of his leftiness? . But generally I think making too much of something like handedness can make children think there's no point in trying because it's down to their handedness. Although obviously it needs accommodating if it is a reason.

Ruby-I know this is a tangent, but do you think I should be doing anything to help my little lefties? Things they might be struggling with without me noticing?

What Suepurbly said

it's thhe negativity- irritated? really? by something a child cannot help? God forbid she might get a child with Sn or home issues then. or just an annoying one.

careers advice centre thataway ---> then

Sleep short answer: No

As longs as you're not making them feel different in any way or bitching about them Faecbook then you're fine

I learned to tilt the paper to 45 degrees to prevent ink smudges. And always sit on the left hand side of the table not to bump with a right-hander. I'm 4th generation lefty and proud of it :)

Phew! Obviously I've bought dd some left handed pencils

what happened today, op?

hope you got it sorted with minimum heartache

V silly of her - and I would ask for a quiet word and tell her that another parent saw the posting and told you about it. I would say I felt upset that she used the word 'irritating' about my dd. And then I would see what she says - and accept an apology if necessary. I would also print out the page just in case this continues.

How did it go OP?