I’ve been a teacher for over a decade now. Things have always been frustrating, but things are down right crazy these days. Here’s a little poem I wrote about my Frustrations with education right now.

Push and Pull

by J. S. Smith

Once they cried out

“We can’t do this without you”

“We didn’t know how hard this was”,

“You should be Essential too”

But then the magnet flipped

and they forced us back.

Think of the children! They cried

It is on you to guide them, to feed, to cloth, to save

They are better off with you and the chance

Than at home with abuse. Or no water or power

Or someone that pushes too hard. 

But who cares about me now?

I know! We’ll give you a video to watch about relaxation.

It will be live during your busy moments.

Take a moment for yourself 

But make sure that they don’t fall behind

Before the great contagion 

We risked our lives every day

Guns went off and children scattered or fell

They said to ban the guns

Or they aren’t taking my guns

As if that was the cause of the issue. 

No one opens fire because my rights

They open fire because of a burning desire

To end someone’s misery

Or be the next one on tv

For the large murder in history.

The heroes have turned to villains

All in a game of votes and defamation.

While I toil away under the guise of empathy

“Do what we say or find something else”

So you think I’m indoctrinating your child

With thoughts and desires, not taught in your home

But all I want them to do is think

To be a human

If I could change your child as much as you think,

They wouldn’t have a zero in place.

They would be able to use paragraphs

And find a theme, or meaning behind the dream

Let the light shine bright

On those heroes of yesterday

The one you put a pedestal once

That found ways to do things

They used to do every day

But through the screen and not in real life

To push or pull kids to get the learning done

But are now, from the public, on the run

Let me know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter or Facebook. Please feel free to pass this along if it speaks to you in anyway too!