Here's my wonderful in-class essay.

The topic: Should all children be forced to write right-handed?

The first version:
     I believe that yes, all children should be forced to write right-handed in order to make everyone equal. We Americans are very firm in our belief for equality--except, you know, all the minorities. Children should be forced to write right-handed because there is a possibility that being left-handed might be an advantage,  an since everyone is "created equal" (except, you know, Thomas Jefferson's 500 some slaves), we can't have some children be more advantaged. We want to crush the individuality out of all children; they must be EXACTLY THE SAME.

ALL OF THEM.


We, the government, are actually thinking of initiating a new system of government where children are taken

And that's all I wrote before deciding that no way was the teacher going to be happy with that and since it was a timed essay, I had to get moving on writing the "real" version.

     I believe that yes, all children should be forced to write right-handed. As Americans, we are firm believers in equality, and we would like to continue to uphold our traditions. These things may be hard to keep alive if we let children decide what hand they are more comfortable writing with.
     The United States was founded on the premise of equality and a fair government. Therefore children should all be forced to write with one hand to ensure that they are equal. Writing with the left hand may have advantages and we don't want any children to feel as though they aren't as good as their peers.
     In addition to that, we have many traditions that we would like to keep--shaking hands with the right hand, taking an oath [e.g. in court], the Pledge of Allegiance, saluting--all of these things are done with the right hand. If we allow our children to write left-handed, they may become uncoordinated with their right and will not be able to complete these actions with the dignity and respect they deserve.
     Children need to learn that sometimes in life, you have no choice. We don't want them to learn this in inappropriate or upsetting situations, so we feel that they can begin learning this when they learn to write. It is a very simple way to learn two things at once. This is why all children should write with their right hands only.







Just for the record, I am left-handed.



(this picture is for Thay's shirt)