I wouldn’t sit in this desk
I wouldn’t stare at the ceiling
I wouldn’t take apart my pen
I wouldn’t tap profusely

I wouldn’t be so bored
I wouldn’t memorize dates
I wouldn’t daydream
I wouldn’t be in a school I hate

If you gave me a pen
And a paper all scrolled up
I’d write you a constitution
Of this class, for us

We could sit on the desks
We could relate text to life
We could think about the world
We could try to make things right

We could have class discussions
About every text we’ve ever read
We could look at history
And where we’ve been led

We could think radically
We could fight for a change
We could all line up
 In Washington and exchange

We could tell then NO more
We could fight against standards
Our school could be student centered
And we could climb upwards

We could get technology in the class
We could get one on one attention
We could get after school programs
We could climb out of this depression

We could learn about what we like
We could become tomorrow’s leaders
We could voice our opinions
If we weren’t chained up here