Ann Landers Chops Down Family Trees Ann Landers' syndicated newspaper column on April 5, 1998 included a letter from "Louisville Mom," who wrote that her adopted children, born in Korea, were asked in school to do a family history project. Louisville Mom expressed the opinion that schools should not encourage children to look into their family's background. She went on to say that children in foster care or from troubled family situations might be embarrassed by such a project. Ann Landers responded: "I'm glad you wrote. Your letter gives me an opportunity to speak out about family trees, lineage and other topics that should have no place in our schools. It is nobody's business whether a child's family came over on a slave ship or the 'Mayflower.' Teachers should not be asking about family background. If I had to draw a picture of my family tree it would look like a shrub. My parents and grandparents immigrated from Russia, and beyond that, I don't have a clue as to my lineage, and I have never given it a moment's thought."