“Wants and Needs” by Chloe.

Well, everyone has something they want. And everyone has something they need. For example, I want more erasers, but do I actually need more erasers? No. What I do need is water. An I bet that everyone else needs water to. In fact, all living things need water.

Also, I want books to come out sooner. I’m pretty sure that other people also want this to happen but first of all it’s not going to happen. And second of all, it’s not something I need. What I do need is sleep. It’s okay if you have a sleepover and you don’t go to bed until 2 in the morning. But if you do that all the time you’ll die. Also, if you want to take a nap during the day that’s fine. But don’t do it too much or people will consider you lazy.

There are a few other things I want including the whole “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” series, a really cool series. All of these are things I want. Some people don’t know of all this. And all of this I don’t need. But before I get to the stuff I need, I want to explain what those other things are. “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” is a TV show. And it’s my favorite. Most kids have a favorite TV show. Now “Nancy Drew” is a book series and it is my favorite book series. Finally, you’re probably wondering when I’m going to mention what a treehouse is. But most people know what a treehouse is so I feel there is no need to explain.

And now for the things I need, which are food, one brain and one heart. I need food because if I don’t eat anything I’ll starve myself to death. And if I didn’t have a heart and a brain I wouldn’t even exist. And there are a few other body parts you need. And one last thing I need is to wrap this story up. So those are most of the things I want and need.

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This wonderful little essay by Chloe got her into a tiny bit of trouble at school. The teacher liked what she wrote, but didn’t like that she neglected to follow the “one paragraph only” rule for the assignment. Which further stipulated that kids write at least five sentences, but did not give an upper limit for the number of sentences. Does that mean it would have been ok if Chloe had written the same thing as part of one long run-on paragraph? I understand that the teacher wants kids to follow instructions. Fair enough. But how many 8-year olds are there today who love to write? What’s the harm in encouraging it? The system is all about the testing now and it sucks. Thanks, President George W. Bush, for your contributions to American education. Aargh!