On this note I'd like to ask this question. Did you have teachers that impacted your life? I had 2 teachers in my 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th grade.
One was my 2nd and 4th grade teacher. She believed I could do anything I set out to do. I'll never forget her as long as I live.
1st grade was my teacher also. She tied my left hand to my chair behind my back. I didn't know what I'd done wrong. I went home and told my mom. She was normally the type of mother who believed a child should take their punishment when we had it coming. Not this time. She went with me the next day and waved me on. She went to the principal and asked to have the teacher come down. When she did my mom very politely reminded them both that I came into 1st grade already knowing how to read and write. She explained that being left handed was not an impairment as 3 of her 5 children were in fact left handed.
The last but not least was the choir teacher who did lunchroom monitor duties. She took my fork from me and made me eat with a "spoon like a baby". She went on to point out to everybody how a baby eats lunch. I was devastated. Usually being a pretty much good kid, I waited til she turned her back, loaded the spoon with English peas and catapult style got her dead center. I'll never forget these 3 people.
What is a casual statement that comes out of a person's mouth can be something that affects someone the rest of their lives good, bad or indifferent. I choose my words carefully.

Truly unacceptable behavior from leadership!

@cocosmom : well you have to keep in mind it was the early 60s. Times were very very different then. They truly believed there was something wrong with a left handed child. Several of my friends were converted to being right handed. To this day their handwriting is atrocious. When we started learning cursive writing we were given ink pens with the little cartridges that would pierce when you put it in the barrel. I wasn't allowed to have that either because I would smear the ink "all over the page". So there everybody was and I still had my pencil. I went home and practiced straightening my arm so I wouldn't drag it across the ink. I tossed my pencil on the teacher's desk and told her "I'll have my pen now please". She rattled about the earlier conversation. I insisted. She lost.

I Love hearing your stories growing up! How time has changed perceptions. In my day cursive was so important; now kids hardly learn it in school.

@Magnolia832 : they don't learn it at all. My grandsons were homeschooled for the last few months this year and Sally included cursive and balancing a checkbook. I think I've mentioned we had a little savings account in elementary and Mr. Berry Miller Sr, the president of Pearland State Bank opened the accounts with a 50 cent piece. That's how we learned checks and balances. Maybe 3rd grade? Not sure. Mr. Miller was the very first teacher in Pearland. He was really young and so when he applied for the position they pretty much told him to beat it, the test was a monster. He convinced the people to let him take the exam. He aced it, getting 100% correct.

@MartiMo : I only have good reminisce of my teachers especially in middle school that truly made an impact on my life today. I really enjoyed you telling us about some of your childhood memories. I'm truly sorry for the experiences you faced in these circumstances. Some teachers should not be educators. Teachers should be an ideal role model for their students. You're definitely special being a leftie. Did you know lefties make up only about 10 percent of the population? They say lefties are smarter and left-handed individuals may have superior verbal skills. 😊

@MartiMo : What a great story! I remember the ink ( showing my age)… and I thank you for the reminder, that times were different. Grateful that we have evolved.

My mom was a Leftie and they tried to make her write with her right hand, but she had her right arm shorter than her left, so she never could. Her dad went to the school and made them stop bugging her about it. When my sister was in kindergarten, they tried the same thing with her and my mom went to school and showed them the simple fix - slant the paper the opposite way. Such an easy fix!!!!!!!!!!!

You are correct - back then things were different and they tried to make leftys wright with their right hand. I am righthanded and can hardly do anything with my left hand. If I was forced to use my left hand for writing I would be out of luck. I remember my sister was ambidextrous and she could wright with both hands.

@carymc1 : yes we had both situations. My sister only wrote with her left hand. She batted & pitched right handed. Really everything but writing, she was right handed. But I know this sounds silly but I'm completely left handed. I can't even eat right handed. Or we have a scoop for ice. I have to sit my glass down and scoop with my left hand. I can't hold the glass or scoop with my right. Mom always said we had to be smarter because everything is designed for righties. Anyway majority rules. 12% lefties/88% righties

@MartiMo : I'm so glad you got your revenge on that choir teacher even though it was just a spoonful of peas!

AWE! Thank you everyone for the generous tips.

@MalluGuy : I'd rather think of it as Karma😅

@Knk : that's a definite 10-4 on the verbal. Lol.
I'm not sorry for the experiences I hurdled over, I think good always wins and the bad are life lessons. At a very young age I learned I was smarter than they were and how horrible they were. Kinda pitied them. The 2nd & 4th grade teacher )she was one and the same),that's a whole nother ball of wax. I've never forgotten the super confidence she instilled in me. What an amazing gift to give a kid that 56 years later I'm crediting her for the gift she gave me. It wasn't too popular to be an independent female thinker to the point that there were lessons in magazine articles teaching girls how to act on a date. Stay groomed & poised, don't act like you're very smart, boys don't like that. That didn't fly with me. I loved boys but I wasn't going to be anybody's poised dummy. 🤔