Wrong Hand, Wrong Children? The Education of Left-Handed Children in Soviet Latvia

Abstract

Left-handers have always been surrounded by stigma and controversy, and attitudes toward this group have always been rooted in the ideas and traditions of power relations existing in a given society. Thus, the goal of this study is to describe the retraining of left-handers as it was conducted in Soviet education. The impact of political power on an individual’s body-mind interaction is a significant problem in research on the creation of the “New Soviet Man.” The teaching of left-handed children in the Soviet Union is a noteworthy example of the totalitarian regime’s illusionary endeavors to change human nature. The Soviet education envisaged neither a special attitude nor any particular pedagogical strategies for the work with left-handed children. The Soviet science was based on the anthropological understanding of man as a tabula rasa, which made it possible to explain the omnipotence of Soviet pedagogy as well as the unswerving belief that it was possible to educate every child into a true member of the socialist society. The present study provides insight into the disciplining of the left-handed children’s bodies and minds using pedagogical tools that was being conducted in Soviet Latvia.

The Transformation of Educational Values via Cultural Offerings in the Context of Teacher Education

“…In turn, culture embodies the values formed in response to historical and social needs and the circumstances that society wants to pass on to future generations. However, this is a current topic of debate and a subject of research in the context of education in Latvia because the post-Soviet vision of cultural and educational spaces is still partially preserved, in which the implications of the previous value system can be observed (Rubene et al 2019). It is necessary to critically reflect on and understand the historical, cultural, and biographical aspects that underlie people's needs, desires, and interests.…”

The Development of Civic Competence in Higher Education to Support a Sustainable Society: The Case of Latvian Higher Education

“…The topic remains highly relevant in Latvia, especially considering the ongoing debate within the post-Soviet educational space. In this context, there exists a notable lack of understanding of critical thinking, democratic consciousness, and a partial or misunderstood comprehension of an active civic stance [38][39][40]. Civic competence encompasses the active participation of citizens in elections and the practice of democratic values.…”

An Ideologized and a Realistic Discourse about Rural Latvian Teachers During the Stalinist Period: Analysis of the Content of the Newspaper “Skolotāju Avīze” and the Memoirs of Andrejs Dripe

“…Kestere, Stonkuviene and Rubene (2020) have written about the utopian constructs of the Soviet "new person" in textbooks. Rubene, Daniela and Medne (2019) have studied how the bodies and minds of left-handed children were disciplined with the use of Soviet-era pedagogical tools. Studies of another important element of the era -the extent to which schoolchildren resisted the Soviet occupationfound that that young people fervently upheld the idea of the restoration of Latvia's independence (Strods, 2001).…”