In the States, pencils are the common writing utensil of any grade-schooler. Here it is pens. Tanzanians are very particular about their pens. Many teachers require that assignments and homework be done in black or blue pen (though diagrams are often required to be in pencil). This is just the opposite from the States where some teachers (especially math teachers) will tell you to write in pencil. Tanzanians are also very careful about writing in a straight line. If they are given unlined paper they immediately use a ruler or other straight-edge to scribe a vertical line on the left edge and spaced horizontal lines across the entire sheet of paper. Also, Tanzanian hand-writing is uncommonly generic. Though there are person-to-person variations, the majority of Tanzanians’ writings are all of the same ‘font’. There also seems to be many less left-hander's in Tanzania.
Mara: Could the rareness of lefties be a cultural thing. There is a strong tradition against lefthandedness in many cultures, and traces remain of it in the West: dexterity is good, sinister is bad, to talk out of the left side of one's mouth. In paperless cultures, the left hand is used for cleaning oneself. When we traveled in Turkey, we were cautioned about this prejudice, and people of my parents' generation were often forced to write with their right hands. It's a sad history.
ReplyDeleteHi Mara! Here in Italy schooler use pens also. First grades schoolers only use erasable pens to write, but no longer pencils.
ReplyDeleteMy younger daughter, who has Ukraine origins and lived there until she was 4, is left-hander's. While she stayed there she was forced to write and eat with her right hand. No wonder, then... :(