When I was little, I never got in trouble like the other kids in school. I wasn’t mouthy, I did my homework. But the teachers still had a pet peeve with me just the same. I read too much, and I read above where I was supposed to be. Imagine being told by a teacher that going above and beyond, enjoying learning – is a Bad Thing. I was six years old. I still never took my head out of a book. When they shoved “age-appropriate” books at me, I just read three in the time I should’ve read one. Reading was a form of escapism for me and even if they didn’t understand, they weren’t going to take it away. So I was only six years old when I realized that our school system is not about the joys of learning, but instead focuses only on conformity. 

 

“Books were always safer than people anyway” – Neil Gaiman