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The right view of a
left-handed world
Campus Notes
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The right view of a
left-handed world WHAT do the genius Leonardo da Vinci and little Pooja studying in a government school have in common? The answer — left-handedness. There have been many superstitious beliefs regarding people who write and do most of their activities with their left hand. ‘The devil’s advocate’ and ‘Goofy’ was the name given to left-handers. Girls who favoured the use of the left hand were told that they would not find a match and would die spinsters. Left-handers were forced to switch over to the use of their right hand because of such obsolete beliefs.
Left-handers face a lot of difficulties in a right-handed world. A school goer faces the maximum trouble. Most of the young learners are right-handed and when a left-handed pupil enters the ‘temple of learning’, he encounters problems. When not seated properly, the left-handed child will bump his elbow against his seating partner who happens to be a right-hander. While writing, his manner will be clumsy as he will not be able to hold his writing page in the correct position. His handwriting will be a mere scribble. Very often mentors point out the use of the ‘odd hand’, which makes the child feel like he is sticking out like a sore thumb. Rigid parents and education facilitators often insist that the child must learn to use the right hand. It has been observed that left-handers who have been forced to swap to the use of the right hand often suffer from speech disorders like stammering and stuttering. The natural growth process is inhibited and often such children show lack of confidence. A left-hander may feel out of place in a world made for right-handers. Most left-handers complain that in today’s world of technology, the mouse is always placed on the right and cite difficulties in using the keyboard. Simple tools like scissors also pose a problem. Of course, the left-handed bowlers have the advantage. Left-handed schoolchildren state that though everyone complains about their bad calligraphy skills, they enjoy the tag of being ‘intelligent’. In today’s world of academics, where the learner is the main focus of attention, a ‘lefty’ is not treated as an exquisite being. He is as equal as the right-hander. Teachers and parents have to be sensitised to the needs of the left-handers and not be treated as someone different. In the early years of schooling, a child has to be taught the art of calligraphy. Normally, left-handed children have a sloppy handwriting, when they have not been taught how to write. Such children have not been taught to hold their writing material in the right position. A left-hander has to be taught to tilt the copy in the clockwise direction so that the left arm is positioned correctly. This allows free movement of the arm. A left-hander often smears while writing as he exerts too much pressure. Often a hard lead pencil is the culprit for shoddy writing. Mentors have to be trained to meet the needs of the left-hander. Amarjit Somal talks about her daughter Preeti who showed early signs of being left-handed. Her parents did not point out the use of her left hand, rather they helped her to develop it. Preeti writes with her left hand and also plays a mean game of squash with the same hand, though she uses the right hand for eating. Somal recalls that her daughter used the loop posture while writing which was corrected. There has been hereditary transmission of left-handedness from Preeti Somal to both her offsprings. Some children have been weaned from the use of their left hand and made to switch to the use of the right. Eileen Sidhu studying in Class X at St. Joseph’s School, Bathinda, is a fine example of such a case. She says, “As a child I favoured the use of my left hand. When I entered the play school, I picked up toys with my left hand and threw a ball with the same. My mother noticed this and introduced me to the use of the right hand. Later, I learnt to hold the pencil with the right hand. I am ambidextrous now. I write with the right and play badminton with the left.” A person who uses the right hand writes away from the body, while the left-hander writes towards the body. It is usually seen that a left-handed child uses the ‘hook grasp’ for holding the pencil. The pencil is held tightly and the hand smears what the child is writing because the hand covers what has been written. This leads to a messy presentation. The pupil has to be taught to hold the pencil gently and relax the fingers while writing. A good mentor teaches his charge the correct placement of writing material, right posture and the proper way to hold the pencil. An effective seating plan and correct writing position can go a long way in making the school experience an enjoyable one. Though bias still does exist where left-handers are concerned, teachers and parents need to let the left-handers develop their skills and help them live in a world meant for right-handers.
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Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar GURU Nanak Dev University has decided to abolish the internal assessment from the academic session 2013-14. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Academic Council of the university held here recently. Professor Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, said the university had also decided to shift from the annual to semester mode of examination in all the postgraduate diplomas, advance diplomas and certificate courses. However, courses in the Faculty of Physical Education and the Faculty of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy would continue under the annual examination system. He said the basic Punjabi would be considered as equivalent to the compulsory subject of Punjabi in Class X of the Punjab State Education Board. The Vice-Chancellor said earlier, the Punjab History and Culture subject was being offered at the under-graduation level as an option along with the Punjabi compulsory subject to those students who were not aware of the Punjabi language. This decision would also be beneficial for those candidates who wish to render their services in Punjab, he said. Meanwhile, temporary affiliation to Khalsa College of Laws, Ram Tirath Road, Amritsar, along with courses of LLB (five years) and LLB (three years) for the session 2012-13 was also granted. The syllabus of various courses and ordinances for the session 2013-14 were also discussed at length in the meeting. With the recommendations of Equivalence Committee meetings, the recognition of the BBA (four years) degree, bachelor degree in Travel and Tourism Management (three years), and B.Tech. Mechanical Engineering (four years) degree passed from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu (Nepal), as equivalent to corresponding degrees of Guru Nanak Dev University, was also considered. The meeting also approved the recognition of the Master of Physiotherapy (Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy) degree passed from Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, as equivalent to the MSPT degree of Guru Nanak Dev University.
Athletics meet
Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, lifted the overall championship trophy of
the 43rd Annual Inter-College Athletics Meet (Men and Women) 2012-13 of Guru
Nanak Dev University, which concluded here recently. Lyallpur Khalsa College
earned 80 points to secure the first position. About 400 men and women athletes
from different colleges participated. A new record of 10.71 seconds was also set
in the 100 meters by Maninder Singh of Lyallpur Khalsa College. In the
4x100-metre relay race, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, stood winner, while
Khalsa College, Amritsar, finished second and DAV College, Jalandhar remained
third. Dr H.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director Sports and Head, presided over the
valedictory function and gave away awards to the winners. In the men’s
section, Khalsa College, Amritsar, remained second with 47 points, while Sports
College, Jalandhar, finished third with 41 points. In the women’s section, HMV
College, Jalandhar, won the overall championship with 111 points. Khalsa College
for Women, Amritsar, remained second by securing 82 points, while SN College,
Banga, finished third with 8 points.
HoDs appointed
The Vice-Chancellor has appointed Dr Loveleen Kumar Grover, Associate
Professor, Department of Mathematics, as Head of the Department, till December
31, 2015. Similarly, Dr (Mrs) Suninder Tung, Professor, Department of
Psychology, and Dr Rajesh Kumari, Associate Professor, Department of
Microbiology, have been appointed as Head of their respective departments till
December 31, 2015. Dr (Mrs) Jasmeet Sandhu, Professor, Department of Sociology,
has been appointed as Head of the Department till November 22, 2015. Dr Kamlesh
Singh Duggal, Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass
Communication, Regional Campus, Jalandhar, would continue as Head of the
Department till December 17, 2015.
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Teens with no Internet access‘ educationally disadvantaged’ LONDON: Teens who have no access to the Internet and cellphones are educationally disadvantaged as the benefits of using such technologies far outweigh any perceived risks, a new Oxford study has claimed. The findings are based on a large-scale study of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in the UK, coupled with regular face-to-face interviews with more than 200 teenagers and their families between 2008 and 2011. While the study reflects a high level of parental anxiety about the potential of social networking sites to distract their offspring, and shows that some parents despair at their children's tendency to multitask on mobile devices. However, the research by Oxford University’s Department of Education concludes that there are substantial educational advantages in teenagers being able to access the Internet at home. “Teenagers who do not have access to the Internet in their home have a strong sense of being ‘educationally disadvantaged’,” according to the study. Researchers found that teenagers felt shut out of their peer group socially and also disadvantaged in their studies as so much of the college or school work set for them to do at home required online research or preparation. — PTI
China allocates over $700 mn for rural teachers BEIJING: China has allocated 4.5 billion yuan ($715 million) to teachers working in rural areas under the compulsory education drive, the government has said. According to the Ministry of Finance, the money subsidises teachers who serve in poverty-stricken areas after graduating from college, with annual help of 27,000 yuan and 24,000 yuan for teachers working in western and central regions, respectively, China Daily reported. China has adopted a nine-year compulsory education system, comprising of six years in primary school and three years in junior school. — IANS
Number of UK students applying to varsity slumps for second year LONDON: University applications from UK students have showed a further slump in the face of increased admission fees. The latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service show a drop of 18,047 (5.6 per cent) on the previous year, when figures again fell after the introduction of fees of up to £9,000 a year. The results follow a report in The Independent about the slump in applications from males. It prompted the Universities Minister David Willetts to suggest white working-class boys should be targeted for recruitment by universities in the same way as students from disadvantaged areas and ethnic minorities. — The Independent
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WHAT do the genius Leonardo da Vinci and little Pooja studying in a government school have in common? The answer — left-handedness. There have been many superstitious beliefs regarding people who write and do most of their activities with their left hand. ‘The devil’s advocate’ and ‘Goofy’ was the name given to left-handers.