I really don’t usually write poems as blog posts. But on a long car ride today, I wrote these words on the back of a grocery list. Sometimes people ask me if I think about school and learning non-stop. I only know that it’s constantly on in my brain, like a hamster in a wheel. I also know that when I think of school, I want it to be more. Maybe I want it to be so much that I will never be satisfied with it. But to me, that’s what learning is. A constant journey to be better. Moving the thoughts from the hamster wheel into real, tangible actions in front of you. That’s the hard part. Some might call it never being satisfied, but I think of it as giving back. Making school everything I wish it was when I was a kid. So on days when the hamster doesn’t seem to be taking a nap, I remember those moments. And I know the hamster’s running for a purpose.
They Matter
Quiet room with pale green walls,
Long and lonely dim lit halls.
Sitting, waiting, watching clouds,
The tick of the clock, some voice reading aloud.
Stacks of plain papers, all over our desks,
Time for doing, time for tests.
Do what I say, listen to this.
Learn this now, careful don’t miss.
Stuff the facts into your head,
Things to know, things being said.
That was then, this is now.
School needs to be different, it’s time for the wow.
Let’s drop our fears at the door, and change what we do,
Because it’s right for kids, even if it’s new.
Learning alive, inspiring thought,
Not just about facts that somebody taught.
Thinking and doing, it’s time to make,
The kind of joy that’s just not fake.
Open the doors, open your minds,
Let kids lead the way and there you will find.
Connecting, reflecting, becoming a team,
Solving and struggling are the new theme.
School must be a place of growth as a whole,
For everyone’s heart and everyone’s soul.
Learning is life, and we are alive,
School should be oozing with motivation and drive.
Passion exploding, and thinking that flows,
A focus on kids, not desks in rows.
Bright and lively, creative sparks,
Exploring and dreaming, filling their hearts.
Questions, discovery, pouring through halls,
Not dimly lit, no longer at all.
Ignite the space with collaboration and chatter,
and show our kids how much they matter.