You Get What You Expect

Thinking, learning, doing, 

Being all we can be,

Letters on a report card,

Shouldn’t define me,

Students ‘swim or sink,’

Pass or fail,

Here’s what I say,

Do they really care?

You see us walking, talking, laughing,

Pleased to be with friends,

Not concerned when an essay paper’s deadline ends,

I’m not saying that it’s right,

I’m not saying that it’s wrong,

I’m just saying, maybe our brains aren’t gone,

They’re there in our heads,

I promise you,

It’s just a matter of what we want to do,

Treat us like we’re worthless,

 That is how we’ll act,

Treat us like we’re smart,

We’ll prove we know the facts,

Make us feel important,

Give a sense of doing,

Then, there’s no telling,

What could become of us,

Doctors, lawyers, teachers,

Due to what they knew,

Burger King workers,

Some of them knew it too,

Why try,

Why attempt,

When everyone says you’re dumb,

An F is what they expect, 

W wouldn’t want to disappoint,

We’re smart, 

You just don’t know it yet.