In America
Kids are always the battle ground
What they read
What we teach them
How we raise them
Yet in our hubris
We allowed 8 million of them
To be stricken with grief
You see
We were too busy arguing
To care about the consequence
Tag: Education
We drink our coffee
Skid into our parking spot
Late, by two minutes
The day is a drudge
Much the same as yesterday,
As will be tomorrow
Oblivious to
The obliteration of
An entire culture
That’s what we call progress
Categories
The great resignation
A simple reminder:
Toxic relationships are
Not just reserved
For lovers
They can be an entity, a corporation
A job
Even a Vice
Before you leave it’s like
Sucking all air through a straw
Colors are muted, and gray
But once you’re free…
The world is as bright as a birthday cake
And equally exciting.
The wake of horror
Brings with it calls for action
There’s a problem though.
Politicians don’t
Listen to the peoples will
….they’ve gerrymandered it
“Thoughts and prayers” we’ve heard.
For a decade now
Long ago they chose to favor
Guns over children.
So. Pressing forward seems…hard.
But it’s not.
Outrage is the start…but…
Vote local.
School Board
City council
County council
Fuck, make sure you know who the PTA President is.
These local yokels
Impact your life
And in the wake of horror
It’s the start of change.
(I hope)
The typing of keys
The rustling of paper notes
Soft murmured questions
Intensity’s high
When students are writing
Categories
Rising
Everything’s Rising.
Coastal waters are rising
Taxes are rising
Inflation…rising
My age is rising too, but
That’s not your problem
But, it has been said
With every action comes an
Equal reaction
If everything is rising…
Will we rise as a community?
Or, will we all fall?
By which I mean fail
To acknowledge hard truths
and take action?
Snow brings the trouble
The kids smell change in the air
Their noses upturned
Minds whirring with plots
It begins innocently
A white rush of air
A splash of cold snow
Suddenly, it’s a frenzy
Mounds crisscross the yard
Showering the kids
All with red noses and smiles
Hands cold and frozen
Rejoicing in the weather
Until the adults swarm in
To end the melee
Please, make no mistake
New laws that attack our schools
Are not “for the parents.
That’s propaganda
Parents are often
Invited into the class
Lessons are often
Already online.
No. These laws show lawmakers
Who they can target
Thinly veiled attempts
To root out the teachers who
Teach real history
Because you see friends…
Education is power
Education is change
Education is discussion
Education is critical thinking.
Being educated
Shouldn’t be easy.
Education is a reckoning
And that should feel uncomfortable.
Categories
Unintended consequences?
The consequences
Of the pandemic
Will be hard to count…
However, it’s clear
That the main victims are kids
They are in shambles
First, online schooling
Then, rolling quarantines and
Sick family members
We’ve expected them
To be strong. Meanwhile adults
Kept failing the kids.
Don’t @ me on this
I know we’ve all done our best
Closing school was right.
Here is my real point
We’ve asked our kids to adapt
While leaving no tools
In their school toolbox
They are alone in the wild
Because schools didn’t adjust
To the trauma of the kids
Categories
Systemic Cycles
You may not know this.
But…in 1931,
The US started
Deporting citizens.
American citizens
Were rounded up and shipped out
It seems crazy right?
I’m talking about
People of Hispanic descent
Most had been born here
Why did this happen?
I’m so very glad you asked
The reason is bad…
The Great Depression happened
The US decided
To stop caring for citizens
Of certain origin
History matters.
Those who want to hide history
Want to make damn sure
It’s repeatable.
Don’t fall for the rhetoric
Teach real history.
Hipstory 