‘Even in Massachusetts’

“The Dance Class,’’ by Edgar Degas, 1874

“The Dance Class,’’ by Edgar Degas, 1874

“The average parent may, for example, plant an artist or fertilize a ballet dancer and end up with a certified public accountant. We cannot train children along chicken wire to make them grow in the right direction. Tying them to stakes is frowned up, even in Massachusetts.’’

— Ellen Goodman (born in 1941), Boston Globe columnist.