A mother in Okemah, Oklahoma is upset after an elementary teacher forced her 4-year-old son to write with his right hand, even though he is left-handed.
The child was sent home with a letter about how left-handedness is often associated with evil and the devil.
Zayde Sands is like most kids in Pre-K, learning how to read and write. Like his mom, Alisha, Zayde is a lefty.
"From picking things up to throwing things, to batting, to writing, to, you know, just to coloring, you know, that you would do at home with him, he's always, always used his left hand," said his mother, Alisha Sands.
That was the case until last week at homework time. Alisha asked him why he was writing with his right hand, not his left.
"I just asked if there was anything...had his teachers ever said anything about his hands? And he raises this one and he said, 'this one's bad,'" Sands said.
Alisha sent the teacher a note and got a strong response.
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This article calling left-handedness "unlucky," "evil," and "sinister." And said, "For example, the devil is often portrayed as left-handed."
Alisha couldn't believe it.
"It breaks my heart for him because someone actually believes that, like, 'you believe my child is evil because he's left handed.' It's crazy," Sands said.
She went to the superintendent with the article.
"There was no suspension of any kind. There was no, there was basically nothing that was done to this teacher," said Sands. "She told them that she thought I needed literature on it."
Zayde will likely transfer to another class just two months into the school year.
"I don't feel like the school did what they were supposed to for him," Sands said.
The school's principal said that she was aware of the situation and that they are investigating.
Sands said she's filing a formal complaint with the state department of education.
