Why I Want My Daughter to Be Free at School
“I would rather have a daughter who acts out than one who falls in line.”
My five-year-old daughter, Ali, is currently wearing nothing but a pair of underpants—and about a gallon of paint. “You look like a Wild Thing!” I tell her. “You be Max, Mommy!” she says, and soon we are lost in play, stomping all around my parents’ backyard in Maine.
was
can’t
For my husband, this was painful to hear. He’d often been the “bad kid” growing up, at a time when ADHD was less understood or accepted than it is today. This conversation brought back upsetting memories.
I, on the other hand, took pleasure in our daughter’s disobedience.
three
*
Am I projecting? Certainly. I am a living example of what happens when you over-train obedience in a young girl.
My Little Pony
Good girl! Here’s your biscuit.
why
I
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Amanda Hirsch
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Amanda Hirsch
More in this series
Teaching in Trumpland
“Fueled by the 2016 campaign, ugly prejudices deeply rooted in our community would slither into the light.”
A Case for Studying the Humanities in a Time of Neo-Fascism
“Trump and his administration are readable. And we must read them carefully.”
Teaching Under Threat
“During that class, I did not feel like a teacher; I only felt like a woman, a body in danger.”