She’s a pleasure to have in class

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

Don’t make small talk you’ll only embarrass yourself

Just do the work, get good grades, then they’ll know you’re smart

But one bad grade and your world will be blown apart

Nice job, good work, keep it up 

 

Keep your head down, no one will notice

your world is imploding, your hands are shaking, your vision is blurred

But if you say anything, you won’t be heard

They say they want student’s ideas and opinions

But then turn their backs and ignore our cries

Every email unanswered, every opinion dismissed 

Students are silenced, sent to the abyss

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

You’re a train wreck but at least you fit the mold

But how great is fitting the mold if every moment you’re consumed by a black hole?

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

Our standardized test scores are on the decline

Study harder, put in the work, if you don’t put in the work you won’t get a good score

If you don’t get a good score, our school ranking will fall

Why do rankings matter more than the health of our core?

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

Student’s are suffering under these expectations

We can never do enough, never be enough, never learn enough

We can never make the school look good enough

Why have there been so many obligations and implications

That leave no room for affirmations?

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

It’s not enough to know you did your best 

If you don’t get the grade, your worth will fade

How many students in the school feel this way?

How many students in this room feel this way?

Raise your hand if you feel this way

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

We get that tests should be proof of our learning

But if to compete, people need to cheat, then what information are they really providing

At one point we were encouraged to think outside the box, to live outside the box

But how can we live outside the box if the system only favors those inside

Remember when we were told to reach for the stars? What happened to that?

Now we’re trapped in this mold with no clear horizon in sight

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

It’s our senior year we should be able to pull back

We should be able to take our foot off the gas

I’ve gotten into college 

A competitive major

But I can’t take a break until AP exams are over

It feels like every waking hour I’m staring at my computer

And yet I still have a heaping mass of homework due tomorrow

It’s no wonder I never had time to memorize this poem

And if it doesn’t meet the requirements then I guess my grade is doomed

Nice job, good work, keep it up

 

It’s been over 150 years since the education system last changed

In 110 years, 12 amendments to the US Constitution have been made

Seven times the DSM has been revised 

We’re tired of the competition and sleep deprivation

We’re done keeping this up, it’s time for a change