Standardizing Children

Palms sweating, lights beat down
Tick tick tick.
Pencil dulling, leg shaking
Tick tick tick.
Hand cramping, answers bubbling, teacher pacing, mind racing
Stop.

Staring down, blank spaces scatter.
Head buried in folded arms.
Tap tap tap.
Looking up, teacher looking down
Shaking head, not complete again.

Hope lost, fun gone, imagination ran away.
Sit by the curb, car pulls up
“How was your day?”
Silence. Who needs creativity in the second grade?