Maybe

This is not a poem for a teacher

This is not a complaint about being bored in school

Nor is it a plea for less homework or easier tests

This is a poem for school as an institution

School as a place for learning

This is a complaint about education as an institution

What is the point of school?

To learn.

What do I do in school?

I memorize.

I forget dates.

I am pressured to remember every. Little. Thing.

When was the last time I actually learned something in school?

Was it before or after I was too nervous to raise my hand in class for fear of being teased for being stupid?

Was it before or after the pop-quiz where I regurgitated everything that has been shoved down my throat in an effort to teach me the important parts of the lesson?

Was is before or after I discovered that Columbus didn't really discover America but raped its native people?

Was it before or after I got an A on the test and forgot everything right after I handed in?

Will it be before or after I graduate and find I have few real world skills from all these years of sitting at a desk?

Will it be before or after I run out of money that I cannot find a job?

Will it be before or after I go into debt that I realize college is not a valuable purchase?

Because that's what it seems like it is right now

Money from our pockets to theirs

And for what?

Higher education, higher prices

Higher education, lower learning

And for what?

I can flip burgers with my degree

Maybe

Can I buy a house?

Can I buy a car?

Can I buy dinner?

Can I buy self-esteem?

Can I buy happiness?

I can buy information

I can buy a degree

Maybe.

Why did I quit my last job?

I graduated.

So what are my strengths?

Memorizing useless facts.

And what are my weaknesses?

Just about everything else.

This is not a poem about teachers.

This is not a poem about homework.

But I hope this is a poem that makes you think that maybe learning is a bit more important than grades, despite the fact that our society makes it seem like the opposite is true.

Maybe.