Dear Congressman

 

Sorry to bother

And sorry to intrude

But I’ve noticed a problem

You should address soon

 

And the problem, it seems

Is of quite a wide berth

But it seems schools improperly

Assign their students self-worth

 

ACT

GPA

F

A

F

S

A

And still you wanna say

I’ll ‘have it worse’ one day

 

If you could begin to know the letters and numbers that define my life

You would hold your tongue when you say no teen knows real strife

 

There are things they won’t tell me

Like the fact that one in twenty

Students leading outwardly normal lives

Are medicated, on SSRI’s

 

And words that should never be

In our vocabulary

Celexa, Zoloft, Abilify and Paxil

And you want to tell me our education system works, still?

 

You’re right it works

A giant machine

A catalyst for depression

And low self-esteem

 

It seems to me there is one track

For students of hundreds of different back

Grounds and economic well-beings

But still you want to say you promote diversity?

 

Excuse me if I fight

And I want to break the mold

But you see I believe I’m right

As I’ve been told

 

Our system clips wings

And narrows the mind

In this giant machine

That leaves no child behind

 

Because I place value

On more than a standard test

I want change and options

And this generation won’t rest

 

Until we don’t have to fight

Tooth and nail

For loans and scholarships

Or be told that we’ll fail

 

If we don’t nod our heads and comply

And never say no

When they tell us ‘the college route’

Is the only way to go.

 

While the teachers at the bottom

Try to make a change

Kids look on with apathy

As they feel so estranged

 

Because why should they listen?

Why should they try?

When no one cares that World War II

Is not where their interests lie?

 

So, Congressman, toss this letter

And again call me a fool

But you can expect one for every kid  

Who doesn’t want to go to school.