Oklahoma teacher forces preschooler Zyde Sands to stop writing with 'evil' left hand

An Oklahoma teacher reportedly forced a preschooler to write with his right hand and not with his "evil" left hand. The teacher, from the small town of Okemah, went as far as sending the boy's parents a note explaining why she was forcing him to write with his non-dominant hand.

According to WCHSTV, four-year-old Zyde Sands was kept at home by his mother Alisha on 22 September due to the dispute with his teacher at Oakes Elementary. The boy, who is learning to read and write, is left-handed, something that caused problems with his teacher.

"From picking things up to throwing things, to batting, to writing, to just colouring you'd do at home with him, he's always, always used his left hand," Zyde's mother told reporters. However, Sands noticed her son was writing with his right hand one night prompting her to question why.

"I just asked is there anything his teachers ever asked about his hands? And he raises this one and says this one's bad," she said. WCHSTV reported the concerned mother sent her son's teacher a note and received a surprisingly mean-spirited response.

The teacher's note back reportedly referenced an article that claimed left-handedness was "unlucky," "evil," and "sinister". Sands told reporters she could not believe the response. "It breaks my heart for him because someone actually believes that, believes my child is evil because he's left handed, it's crazy," she said.

Sands claims that after going to the superintendent with the article, the offending teacher was not reprimanded. "I don't feel like the school did what they were supposed to for him," she said.

KFOR spoke to the principal of Oakes Elementary, who said she was aware of the situation and the school was conducting an investigation. Sands told KFOR that she plans to file a formal complaint with the state department of education. Her son will most likely be switched to another class, just two months in to the school year.