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Left, write, left, write

The Independent 04/11/2002

Left hand forward

One pupil in 10 of the purple-uniformed girls in the playground at Putney Girls' High School has a badge with a paw on it - to show that she is left-handed. Today the school is holding the first meeting of the year of the South Paw club for the 30 of the 275 girls aged from five to 11 who write with the "wrong" hand.

To most people - and not just the 90 per cent who are right-handed - left-handedness isn't an educational issue. It is not recognised as a special need in educational guidelines. It is rarely - if at all - mentioned to teachers during their training.

Left-handed: mastering the skill of holding the pen as early as possible is important for the child's progression

It is not a big issue for most children, but as Jane Melvin, English co-ordinator at the school, points out, holding a pencil, then a pen, is crucial for children. As a pupil progresses through school, every piece of work is handwritten. Examinations are more important and numerous now than ever, and the child who can't write fast and legibly is disadvantaged.

Putney Girls' junior department, Lytton House, decided the problems faced by left-handers was important enough to set up the South Paw club (named after left-handed boxers) 11 years ago. Left-handed teachers join as well.

The handwriting specialist Gwen Dornan, who founded the club, says that before doing so she had been worried when teaching left-handers. "If I recognised the differences of left-handers from most of the class, I knew they may not welcome the attention," she says. "Yet left-handers do have a more difficult task in acquiring the skill of relaxed rhythmical handwriting."

"The biggest difficulty is handling the pen," she says. "A pencil is not so bad, but if a left-hander doesn't hold her pen in a particular way, the hand smudges it."

Left-handedness isn't something that can be ignored. One Lytton House girl, now in year five, who had transferred from another school in year three, says: "I was the only one in my class at the old school. They were always telling me off for being messy." Another nine-year-old said she had only just learnt to stop smudging.

Yet the sort of gentle, positive discrimination given in Putney is exceptional, according to Diane Paul, author of The Left-hander's Handbook. She says the attitude of educationalists is that there are far more important things to worry about. "Left-handedness is not covered in teacher-training colleges," she says.

"Parents of left-handers tell me they are not taken seriously," she says. "If they say anything to the teachers, they are often told they should try harder."

Mrs Paul says the difficulties multiply where left-handedness is combined with another problem. A child who has difficulty learning to write anyway would get there if he was right-handed, but the extra hurdles of left-handedness can be enough to make him give up or to be categorised as a special needs child. One study of special needs children found one girl in seven and nearly one boy in five was left-handed.

The South Paw club, which Mrs Dornan says could be copied in any school, solves many of the left-handers' problems, even though it meets just three or four times a year.

Previous classes have devised left-handed inventions. One girl invented a book of raffle tickets with the stubs at the opposite end. The school makes sure the club is fun, with an annual picnic where each member can invite a right-handed guest.

Then there is the benefit of learning from other girls rather than adults. "About once a year we've had a session where everybody brings along a pen or pencil, and they've all discussed it," says Mrs Dornan. "The older pupils have demonstrated that they've found the way you hold your pen or pencil when you're little means you may or may not have to make a big adjustment when it comes to a pen.

"I'm sure they've often taken far more notice of another child. They are more accessible - somebody who's a couple of years older than you is a much better teacher than an adult. They are demonstrating the practical value as opposed to a teacher saying this the rule and you will follow it."

In any case, there is no "correct" answer, and peers will demonstrate a wider range of possible ways to write than any teacher can. Left-handedness varies - some people are ambidextrous, some do everything with their left hands. Ask the group a question and two thirds put up their left hands, one third their right hand. It is the same ratio when they explore how many use their left foot or their right foot on a micro-scooter.

In general, the club is not trying to create a left-handed world. As Mrs Dornan says, where possible it is good to learn to use right-handed tools for as many jobs as possible, because in the outside world that is what you will meet. But handwriting has to be done left-handed, so you have to adapt.

Left hand forward

There is no right or wrong way to write left-handed. The two main options are to hold the hand below the line or hook it above the line.
Hold the pen farther from the point, to help see the writing.
Slant the paper at an angle until it is comfortable.
If a left-hander has already learnt a method that works, don't teach another one.
A fibre-tip pen avoids smudging.
Right- and left-handers need to be arranged in desks so their writing elbows don't knock each other.
Various aids are available, but it is useful for left-handers to adapt to the right-handed world where they can.
Let ambidextrous children choose which hand they prefer.
It can help left-handers' confidence for a right-handed teacher to show how hard she finds it to do anything with her "wrong" hand.