The Educator (Volume 45) - IAMPETH

16
Left-Handed Pupils' Club
At Forest Park School, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Mrs. Jeannette Smith, Teacher
Miss Ida Koons, Supervisor
Reported by E. A. Lupfer
These boys and girls in Forest Park School have been taught a good position and by continuing to practice,
can get their handwriting good enough for any occupation or position.
This photograph cut was loaned to us by The News-Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
About four per cent of our public
school children are left-handed. This
four per cent is sadly neglected in
many schools and as a result the
left-handed pupils present a serious
problem. It is especially serious for
the students who get started writing
in the wrong position.
It should be the duty of every
teacher to make a careful study of
left-handedness and especially to
learn the correct position of the
paper and hand for left-handed students.
Then, insist that the lefthanded
students be started in the correct
way. In too many eases teachers
have been faithful in describing and
showing a good writing position for
right-handed students, not considering
the left-handed pupils. This mistake
is often made because the
teacher does not know that the child
is left-handed and again some teachers
fail to consider the small four
per cent.
Left-handed children who are not
given proper instructions about posi-
tion and who place the paper in the
same position as that advocated for
right-handed pupils will frequently
write from the top of the paper down,
not knowing any other way to write.
If you will place your paper (as
for right-handed students) in front
of you, with the top pointing to the
upper right hand of the desk you
will see how impossible it is for the
left-handed child to twist his hand
around so that it is possible to write
with his hand below the writing. He
naturally puts his hand above the
paper and writes under his hand.
This means that when he goes to the
second line his fingers will rub over
the writing already done, smearing
it. This position should be corrected,
as early as possible.
The thing to do is to turn the
top of the paper around so that it
points toward the upper right hand
corner of the desk, just the opposite
of that for right-handed pupils. The
penholder should point towards the
left shoulder. The arm should work
in and out of the sleeve, resting on
the muscles below the elbow. The
hand and fingers should be held in
about the same position as that described
for right-handed pupils. The
fingers should be placed around the
holder evenly and should be curved
gracefully. The penholder should not
be gripped at any time and the hand
should be up off the paper. The
weight of the hand should be supported
by the third and fourth fingers.
If the ball of the hand touches
the paper and slides, it is all right
to do so, but if too much of the
hand is on the paper, or rather too
much weight is placed on the paper,
the writing will be slowed down and
look labored.
Handwriting by a left-hander should
look the same as that written by a
right-hander in slant, freedom and
general appearance. A uniform slant
is secured by the left-handed writer
by pulling and pushing the arm in
and out of the sleeve, pulling all down 1
strokes towards the left elbow. The
right-handed writer pulls his down
strokes towards the center of his body. |
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