The Hazards of Writing

Leo Tolstoy said in his opening line from Anna Karenina:

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

What kills me is every day in every school we ask children to read and write but they often are terrorized at home for reading and writing. This was the case for me! I had to hide my art and notebooks and journals and books that I was reading (like The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce). I'd wrap it all in newspaper and twine and stuff it under my bed so my mother wouldn't go through it. So in school I could barely squeeze out one sentence when asked to write.

At the school I hear about kids' parents reading their journals while they are in the shower or away at school. And I overhear the kids discussing ideas for hiding places, just like I did! The parents find their notebooks and read them and then slam the kids for what they've written or drawn. I think this is a violation of privacy, and the slamming tantamount to emotional or even physical abuse. It should be against the law. Each family is its own micro-government, and these governments are sometimes, sadly, dictatorships. Yes, parents must be in charge, but freedom of speech and respect for privacy should apply to the children.