I am so happy that you are doing freewrite exercises with the kids!!
It really is the best way to learn and to get better.
And yes, it is the same people that run Hive that have made Steem not a happy place for many.
I have stopped seeing either place as a true opportunity to lift people out of poverty or even as a place for free speech a long time ago. That is what is being said over and over again, but in the end, it is the playground of a boy's club of sorts.
As long as we know what we are dealing with - all is good.