The perils of being left-handed

As Peter Luff, former defence minister, urges teachers to recognise the needs of left-handed children, Alice Audley recounts life as a southpaw.

David Cameron and I are in the spotlight again. Our “condition” is the centre of yet another debate. Sir Isaac Newton, Beethoven and Leonardo Da Vinci have faced it before, but now we must bear the torch. Yes people, the Prime Minister and I are left-handed. Unlike our cack-handed predecessors, however, many of whom fell victim to the cane for their “malicious” ways, in 2014 we finally have a saviour. Peter Luff, former Conservative defence minister, has demanded that every teacher should be trained to recognise the needs of left-handed children. About time, too.

Being poorly-pawed has plagued my life. In primary school it was cutting and sticking. Whenever these ‘scissor and glue’ lessons were announced the rest of the class would smile in delight. For me, it was utter torture. I couldn’t cut the paper, let alone in straight lines, with what I then thought of as my gammy-hand. Everyone else’s efforts were neat and organised, but mine were crooked and mangled. I just didn’t understand why I couldn’t do it right. (I know now it was because we didn’t have left-handed scissors).

At the end of one geography lesson, after a particularly awful map-sticking session, my teacher tore up the whole of my book in front of my peers. I can still vividly see my six-year-old face crumple into despair, desperately trying to fight back tears. The experience has scarred me to this day.

Ten years later, my kaggy-claw was still causing me strife. Though I had managed to master a legible scrawl, it came at a price of both time and pain. To avoid the dreaded biro smudge, caused by dragging my left hand over the words I had just written, I wrote from above, my wrist twisted. Every 20 minutes my hand would seize in cramps and I’d have to stop work to massage feeling back into it. In exams, I asked for the extra time that was given to the dyslexics and dyspraxics but to no avail. Being left-handed was seen as a choice, not a condition.

University arrived and with it the computer and keyboard – salvation at last! Or so I thought. Yes, essays could be typed up (incidentally ‘The Father of the typewriter’ Christopher Latham Sholes was a leftie) without wrist damage, but in seminars we had to write while sitting in those ridiculous desk/chair hybrids, designed for right-handed use. In my group, there were none for us clumsy-fisted, just the ruling right-handed elite. This meant that not only was my wrist at right-angles (the only ‘right’ thing my wrist can do), but my whole back had to be contorted to get the pen to reach the paper.

In conclusion, life as a leftie is not easy. We have suffered at the hands of the education system for too long. Teachers need to take note.

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a. Newly trained teachers must now take into account the needs of right and left-handed children.

b. When the writer was at Primary school, she enjoyed arts and crafts lessons.

c. She has now forgotten the time when her geography teacher tore up her book in class.

d. The writer suffered with physical pain and sometimes had to stop writing.

Question 2 (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words.

a. What happened at the end of a geography lesson and why did it happen?

b. How did the writer avoid the biro smudge and what effect did this have on her?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a. confront  (Para. 2)                                    d. class mates   (Para.4)

b. complete  (Para. 3)                                   e.damage/ hurt feelings   (Para.4)

c. not straight (Para.3)

Question 4 (1.5 points) Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a. She said, 'Life as a leftie is not easy and we have suffered at the hands of the education system for too long.

She said that..........

b. The writer suffered in art lessons because there were not any scissors for left-handed pupils.

If there.....

c. Students could type essays on the computer at university.

Essays.......

Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

How important is it to take into account pupils' special needs and how can this be done?