I used to hold to the mistaken belief that my difficult childhood (controlling parents who were borderline abusers – a long and painful story) was somehow, through some alchemy, the best thing for me, that somehow I deserved or needed that kind of treatment.

The fact is: treating someone poorly is bad. Crushing spirits and abusing trust is bad. If the school system does these things, it needs to be fixed. There is no alchemy. The best way to build good people is to encourage and nourish them. The world will provide enough in the way of frustration and pain without our children’s caretakers adding more.