Sunday 17 May 2009

A cacky-hander


Adult learning is a growth industry in Sydney: I have been tutored by both a Community College and by the WEA (Workers' Education Association) this week. Being wired differently, this brain pens hieroglyphs vertically up the page, even though they will be read horizontally.

14 comments:

Marcel said...

Hi Julie, You are a teacher! So am I. Well not realy I am responcible for online training or elearning at my company. I like blended learning more both online assesments and life training.

I work with a software tool from Australia, Moodle, ever heard of?

Cheers from Marcel

Lowell said...

That's scary! ;-) What is the reason for that?

Lois said...

A lefty! My son is left-handed and also very artistic.

Julie said...

Yes, indeed! A lefty ... do you have the expression "cacky-handed" in the USA.

I do believe that this goes hand-in-hand (sorry!) with creativity.

brattcat said...

How very Da Vinci! One of my daughters is also a lefty. I've never heard the expression "cacky-handed" but she is very creative. And so are you.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Hey I'm cacky-handed and the reason we write that way is because writing is designed to be written by right handers -- pulled across the page and we left-handers have to push the words instead. Pulling is easier so we turn the book around -- others turn their hand instead but this looks very ungainly. We spend our whole lives compensating one way or another.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Another thing, my Mum's generation used to call us left-handers (she was one too) mollydukers.

Virginia said...

Love your expression Julie. Interesting post!!!
V

Unknown said...

What a wonderful hand shot this is! I've never heard the expression before, so I did a google search and your blog was on top of the 'cacky-handed' page! :-)

Julie said...

When I googled there was not much to read but I did gather that the expression is only used in Australia. I also read about the Molly-duker expression, Joan. I shall ask my children if they know either expression or whether both have died out along with the stigma of being left-handed. I gather that about 7% of the population is left-handed with the percentage increasing with the dying of the stigma and being forced by parents and teachers to write with the right hand.

I do agree that writing with the page akimbo is preferable to writing with the hand curled over, posturally speaking.

Lois said...

I've never heard of the expression cacky-handed before Julie! I will have to tell my son that one. I have heard of the expression "southpaw", usually in reference to sports. You're right about the creativity too. My son got his college degree in art and he's now a graphic designer.

Joan Elizabeth said...

My Mum was "changed over" at school. My elder brother who is seven years older than me was too. By the time I got to school in the late 1950s they had "seen the light" and left me be as was my younger sister. We are a small but happy minority in the general population but there are a lot of us in our our family.

P.S. in a few years it won't matter -- we'll all be typing or using voice input :-)

Julie said...

It was a very big thing in those days - even when I was teaching in the late 60s early 70s. Thankfully that has eased.

Your final dig is interesting though. If I have to hand-write, my entire hand seizes up and I can only get about 10 lines done before I have to rest! Whereas I spend most of my day on a keyboard with no RSI at all at all. Not only does my hand seize up, but also my head seizes. I can think much better into a monitor than I can staring at a lined white sheet of paper.

Tussy said...

My boy is left hand too!

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