Do left handed children need a different style of eleven
plus answer sheets?
Now mark your answers in the multiple choice answer boxes.
Could the layout of some questions penalise some children?
There have been many studies on handedness. A variety of
options have been looked at. Is handedness inherited – caused by the dominance
of one hemisphere of the brain? Are there physical differences in the sides of the
body? Do some children become right handed with hand preference being
structured soon after birth?
We know that hand preference is usually pretty unstable
during the first year of life. But how much do parents contribute? We could
look at a short list:
Reaching for a toy
Reaching while sitting up
Using the cup to drink
Ringing a bell
Waving
Drawing with a pencil
Pointing at a picture
Should answering multiple choice questions be included in the
list? Some children seem to adopt rather uncomfortable hand positions. Could
these get in the way of seeing the full range of answers? We know that being
`right’ is being right. We also know that the Latin word for left-handed is
`sinister’. Sinister also has the meaning of evil or bad.
Is an answer sheet
that is not designed for a left handed child sinister and bad?
(You could try this at home!)
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