I was also surprised at Ms Landers' statement that she was not interested in her own family history. But I don't think that her disinterest has any effect on anyone else. What do you think her clout is going to do? Make people stop searching for their ancestors? As for the school projects: I think she was saying that the possibility exists for comparisons - children are cruel - and teachers aren't always as sensitive as we would like. I have had personal experience with my child being given such assignments and yes, some of them made me uncomfortable. I DO have a problem with the school asking for personal information about my private life. It is a very different situation from voluntarily sharing genealogy information with others who are not in a position to be judging your child. The situations mentioned by the letter-writer are also valid concerns and, again, if the teacher is not sensitive to the issues involved, it could be a difficult situation for the child. I think the reason the schools give these assignments is to demonstrate the cultural diversity among the students, an admirable goal, but the methods must be given much consideration. L Nepstad