THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
They’re the kids who on paper would scare
the toughest educator
The misdemeanour makers
Their destiny unknown, not movers and shakers
“They’ll make your life hell….”
“They’ll get you no Cs…”
But since when did it all become about me?
Yes it’s tough to teach but tougher to reach
the minds of those who are blind to the power of words, who crowd in insecure herds
Why blame them for apathy
Why bemoan their lack of desire when their fire of a future is mired
by Daily Mail headlines:
‘The kids aren’t alright’
‘The youth face a fight’
Their power and might
Has been disturbed by a reputation undeserved
They’re unheard.
They suffer from the legacies of
Ministers future, present, past
Framed to come last
They are the Gove-ian generation
The ironic guinea pigs of new initiatives
Use your initiative.
Remember the day
When English teachers weren’t always doing maths
Statistics, percentages, data, trends, facts
When a student was a person to nurture not a number
or a performance management target
When a student was just a target for your time,
for giving more
So as I grasp the loaded gun of examination scores
Turn and draw