Story Archive

Welcome to the 21st Century (Part 1,111 in a Long Series)

At 4 years old, Zayde Sands is just starting school — at Oakes Elementary in Okemah, Okla. Part of the curriculum is learning how to write. His mother, Alisha, noticed he was doing his homework with his right hand — and he’s left-handed. “I just asked is there anything his teachers ever asked about his hands, and he raises [his left] one and says, ‘this one’s bad’,” she said. She sent a complaint note to the teacher, and got an “article” back saying left-handedness is “unlucky”, “historically evil” and “sinister” — “for example, the devil is often portrayed as left-handed,” it said. Outraged, Alisha Sands demanded the boy be moved to a different class. The teacher, who has been in the classroom for eight years and still hasn’t been named, resigned when a second family went public, noting their daughter was forced to stand in the corner for writing with her left hand. The district superintendent noted that the teacher’s husband is left-handed too. (RC/KFOR Oklahoma City) ...Does his left hand know what her right hand is doing?