Students of Anxiety

Spotlight.

Center stage.

Spotlight turns to headlights

Caught in the headlights 

A student is a deer frozen

In front of a question in the form of a car

Coming towards them like a bullet

Will they shake themselves in time?

What is it that fuels that fear?

A lack of knowing?

The idea of an answer floating in space

That is just out of reach?

Or is it anxiety?

A disease that plagues the minds and lives of our youth

That sucks the life out until the only light you see in their eyes

Are those headlights

A disease in which the only cure is knowledge

How do you impart that knowledge on your students?

You look over a classroom of zombies

Who are decaying for lack of food for thought

How can we cure this disease?

Ask them.

Let the roles reverse as you raise your hand and ask them

What do you want to know?

How can we make Shakespeare more interesting?

What can I do to make this fun for you?

We’re all stuck in this quarantine

We may as well make the best of it

So you get them involved

Wake up their decaying brains and bring them back to life

But it’s hard to protect them from the darkness that hides

In the shadows of the library

And in classroom corners

You do your best to educate them

Teach them that different is beautiful

That it doesn’t matter the color of your skin

Or who you love or what gender this society has imposed upon you

You incorporate diversity into your classroom

And hope and pray that it helps

It’s hard to teach non-violence in a classroom filled with guns

You fear the day you will find yourself trapped in the headlights

But this time the only question on your mind is

Was that a gunshot, or fireworks?