A left-handed boy in Oklahoma was allegedly forced to write with his right-hand after his teacher claims left-handedness is associated with the devil and evildoing.
The 4-year-old boy, Zayde Sands, is only in his first year of school at Oakes Elementary, but his mother, Alisha Sands, decided to keep him home after a letter from the teacher arrived explaining why she has forced him to use his right hand in class.
Alisha, who is also left-handed, noticed her son was using his right hand when doing homework last week. When she asked him why, he response was that his left hand was “bad.”
Alisha sent a note to his teacher and received a response that included phrases such as “sinister,” “unlucky,” and “evil” to describe left-handedness. It further says, “for example, the devil is often portrayed as left-handed.”
Zayde’s mother, of course, was both shocked and angry, and went to the superintendent with the contents of the teachers response. She does not, however feel as if the school’s response was adequate. Instead, she says, “There was no suspension of any kind. There was basically nothing done to this teacher. She told them she thought I needed literature on it.”
It is likely that Zayde will transfer to another class in the school following this incident, and Alisha plans to contact the Oklahoma Board of Education with a formal complaint about the response.
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