sh*tyoucantsaytoyourteacher
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Just because I am not a perfect student
Doesn’t mean I'm not trying
Just because I said your being a hag
Doesn’t mean I meant it
Teacher's lie when they say "there's no stupid questions!"
Cause when I ask they get mad and yell at me for not paying attention.
We have to sit through hour long lectures,
Ms. C, my favorite thing about writingIs taking time to really decode it,But in your class I’m frequently fightingWhen you imply that all our thoughts are shit.You lecture us, but last year Ms. K taught.
I'm finally here.
I've waited,
Day after day,
And year after year.
To sit in a class,
Where an instructor is not concerned
With keeping up appearances.
Miss doesn't play Angry Birds.
Here's a problem to solve:
You're given a set of numbers and rules,
Expected to manufacture meaning from it all.
Deliberating decisions isn't always a choice,
Words
Empty, fleeting, fickle words
Do this assignment, read these pages
How many words do you speak in a day?
How many of them actually mean something?
God spoke and breathed life
When thinking of things I shouldn’t say
To teachers to tell them my feelings
I purse my lips to hold back thoughts
And roll my eyes to the ceiling
If I could tell you how I feel
Hey, you, at the board
With your hands on your hips.
You, in the front,
The lesson on your lips.
Stop. Listen.
Teach me something important,
You call this a classroom.
I call it a jail cell with cheesy posters.
You call it a grade.
I call it the key to my future sucess.
You call it a lesson.
I call it BULLSHIT.
Forbes publishes “top jobs,”
and the sport of Googling can easily yield endless lists of “best careers” of any given year,
even those that have yet to come.
These labels are slapped
onto underrepresented fields,
We know you have years experience.
We know you went through college too.
We know you have the power to teach us however you want.
To fail us, to pass us.
You fail to give us information, to help us study
Im addiceted to help
To put others needs before mine
Why?
Cause we live in a cruel world.
One where gossip is a hobby
Being mean to others is perfectly normal
Killing others with words is typical
Open your eyes and see me
My needs and weaknesses
And strive to help me thrive
And overcome the obstacles I’m sure to face
Within this building
and life itself
We are voiceless.
Our feet are turned to iron.
We're lobbed into a torrential river
Of expectations.
Ideals. They say,
“The perfect child is ours.
“No flaws here.
Teachers don’t work hard nowadays
Rather than focus on education
They focus on my grades
I may have passed your damn class
You think the world revolves around you,
as most college professors do.
Really?
Hell, I have a lot more things on my mind than your class.
Tutoring.
Eating.
Working.
Surviving.
You are the teacher. You are “all knowing,”
but you don’t see that one girl is showing.
You do not see all the judgmental stares,
or extreme hatred, through terrible glares.
Why is it that you love to see me fail?
Does it help your ego? To know that a high schooler is beneath you?
Why is it that you love to see us starve?
"Good morning, class," said Mrs. Blue
"Shut up, Witch, we all hate you!"
"Well thats not nice, do you all have our novel?"
"Stop talking, or we'll make you grovel!"
"Little Joe, get out of my class."
Hey I am a little tired today
I woke up a 4 in the Morning to get my niece and I dressed
I dropped her off at daycare and proceeded to school with no food in my stomach
Sheltered.I had no choiceIn the high school I attendedI am Catholic;Therefore, to a Catholic Ladies' schoolI shall go.
You don’t know my name
Been in here a whole fucking year
Fifteen kids plus me
I know I don’t talk
But do you notice I listen?
No texting under the desk
Shouldn’t be personal
Enjoy being young, relax.
I'll try.
Focus on your GPA, your grades should be the most important thing right now.
What?
Sweaty palms and the nervous biting of my nails
let me just start by saying that i hate pop quizzes
Confused looks on my face don't mean i am stupid
We have one tutor,
for a class of kids.
How do you expect me,
to learn like this?
One tutor
to do all of this?
You hardly even
make it down your list.
I like you a lot
I'm not saying you're a bad teacher,
Or a bad person in that matter,
I'm just saying that the smell coming from you,
Isn't pleasant in the least sense.
It viciously smacks my nostrils,
Fake a smile,
Grit your teeth.
The exact same words:
Repeat,
Repeat.
Can't get through
A skull so thick.
Won't change your mind
Won't learn a bit.
Expect respect but
Spacing out.
That look in my eyes
that you despise
but I am too far gone,
To notice.
When you ask the question
If you’d ask the question
Not, “Wake up, Miss!”
It's so cold here, is this what it's like,
to know I'm done and through, imminent end in sight?
~
I can't see, feeling this tingle in my fingertips,
Is this what it's like, to lose my grip?
~
You wonder why we don't participate?If you'd look at us and actually see what's happening right in front of youWe would say:Engage usAsk real questions, make us think, grow our minds
All come in, all sit down.
Some sync-in, others clown around.
None of their minds quite truly receive
The insightful investment they need to succeed.
Pressure
Ten thousands tons on my back
Can’t stand all that weight im toeing around
Ask me to step up my game
but I mature a little late so it’s not happening now
I love going to class and learning all I do
But hear me out when I say that change is overdue
The seats are as hard as stone and make noises when I shift
The coldness hits my back as I sit in the rift
You see me here
In this dumb chair
Making jokes with my peers
This ain't even fair
I don't get it
Was that a joke?
Can't we just quit
I may croak!
Do you know what it's like?
Or have the waves of age wiped your memory...
Probably.
Age is like that.
Focus on the present,
forget about the past.
Lose yourself in the anonymity of adulthood
with some of these teachers i just want to use profanity
they talk and talk and talk i think i just might lose my sanity
they can go off on so mant irrelivant rants
You know what?
I've had it. Its time you hear the truth.
And if you really don't care to hear it,
Then fuck off, because this one goes out to you.
See I've got other things to do,
If you would only listen, not just to my words, but to the grammar in my sentences, the quivering in my voice, the lowness of my tone, then you might pay attention to the sweat running down my slouched shoulders, my eyes wandering, that paper cut
Teachers teach. Students learn.
At least thats the way it's supposed to go.
In my eyes teachers are guardians.
While we are at school it is your job to keep us safe
from other kids, adults, and even our parents
[You're old]school in this modern world.Love your stories but your style has to go.Not so easy to learn from these pre-made pre-testsand you need to give it a rest."American Government's not boring."
My question for you
Is the truest of true
Its mostly about you
and your teaching too.
Why can't we have phones
when you waste our time and text?
Why is it when we ask questions
If you only knew the thoughts that roamed in my head
My presence in your classroom you’d dread
Dear teacher,
I know it’s rough because
Everything is changing, but still
You need to make time for your students
As a senior, I don’t want to be here either,
The scenery around us is full of perfume and desperation.
Individuals enter the school halls with hidden feelings and failing fears.
Make shift masks are our uniforms.
All over the school walls
"Eat a balanced meal!"
Walk to the cafeteria
Grey chicken
Bruised and rotten fruit
Cookies and Cake
Fast Food
Eat healthy, they say
Just not here.
The role of an educator
grants power and authority,
Yet some treat students with
degrading inferiority
Your role is hard and I respect
your position
Because a role as a teacher is
The rush from one class to the next...knowing nobody in the halls, just trying to get by. I always wonder, "Is this what high school is really like?" Does everyone have the same empty look in their eyes.....I wander to my class and wait for i
That damn bell, oh how I dread.
These mornings never change.
I think I’m seeing red.
I groan at the sight of the metal detectors and the line that waits.
The security guards with tired eyes, laying down the law.
Bounce, bounce
Up and down
and back again
shoot it up
and hear them cheer
Song and praise
are saved for them
there is no room
for us down here
Dont ignore when I ask for help
Dont say their just playing around
Do you think I will feel better that its just a joke?
You might think im lying to get attention
You might brush me off as being emotional
To teach in schools today,
You must be one of us.
You must laugh at dirty jokes,
And make references that we get.
It’s not hard, I promise there’s a way
We may kick and scream a raise a fuss
I grew up in a
jungle of work and tests
Sitting at my desk Day in, day out
Listening to lecture upon kecture
This is NOT how learning should be!
I only learn what i need for the next test,
Sometimes I've got better things to do than solve quadratic equations
Or throw my chemistry book against the wall in a fit of frustration.
I don't want to drag myself out of bed just to watch a movie.
I walk in and I can feel the heat
as I sit it intensifies
By five minutesn'i can feel that familiar pain
that pain that ravages and scraps my brain
Everything I see is jumbled
I feel insignifacant
Desperate. Longing to be SEEN.
Heard
I sing a song and weep.
You stare down with icy eyes; strangling my rebirth with your silence.
Reach out! Reach out... Oh teacher I have so much to give!
To say!
Look at me with those malicious voids you call eyes,
Not truly eyes because you show no soul through them.
My bum firmly planted in the chair of torture, you watch me slowly die.
Teach us something,
Teach us something that you
Deem as wisdom, not knowledge
We thirst for more than you can give,
I walk into the class, Room nine
and all I see are boys behinds
I wish they would take school more serious
cause what they're doing is delerious
A Diamond in the Sea of Fire
Amber Clark
Its the everyday struggle, the everyday climb
Pulling me down against the raging tides.
I just want to succeed, I just want to find
The bell rings,
And so does my head.
This time of year,
I’d rather be dead.
Filed into classrooms,
Like hundreds of worker ants.
With only consideration
For what we have in our pants.
I enter class
Just to pass
What I need
To succeed
But, there is just one problem
You are not there to help me
I try to seek advice
And when I do
You are not precise
These fractions on the whiteboard
Cannot seem to hold my attention
I don’t mean to hoard
My willingness to learn, yet there always seems to be a big prevention
I want to learn, to become smart
Yes yes, no no,
They all say different things
But it all means the same thing
To you
They say “I’ll try”
Or they’ll put it in a file
But in the end you’ll only hear the words
Alarm blaring overhead,
grabbing sneakers,
running out the door
to catch a bus streaking by on the pitch black shore.
Dodging a sea of yelping students as you race to the school door,
I used to be eager to learn,
Now I'm forced to yearn
For the knowledge I crave,
And the history I want to save.
We are told what we ought to know,
But are we ever asked what we want? No.
You sit in front of class
And read slides with eyes like glass
Waiting for the time to pass
While rebuking any sass
And you call yourself a teacher,
Though you sit up in the bleachers
Dear teacher
I'm not a good student
I don't give a damn about what you say
I only listen
to get out of here a little sooner
Dear Teacher
Stop choosing favorites
These walls plastered with motivational speeches and properly worded English
Are virtually meaningless, because the teacher in front speaking
Cares more about that check than checking the voice of the speechless
For once I'd like to
Untie that mysterious box alone,
Cutting the cord,
Kissing teachers goodbye
So that I may
Conceive a thought on my own, but I'm
Helpless to defy the system
Teach meTell meExplain to me the significance of your systemAn A, a B, C, D, FTeach me the meaning of your systemminus ten, twenty, thirtyTeach me the meaning of it all.
The best way to get students to play
Is to get the teachers to say HEY
You got to be funny
If you want us to earn some money
To get us to pay attention
You got to not have tension
Ever met a teacher that was so full of themselves
So torn down by all this other miscreants
Can’t see the good ones right in front of them
Do me a favor and open your eyes
College has been my dream since day one.
Since I have seen both parents struggle
Since I saw how much good could come out of education.
The time has come, I made it.
Little did I know,
I sit in your stupid class every day,
and I feel my life wasting away.
It's not that I don't like you- I really do-
It's just that I don't understand you.
You try to teach, but you're no good,
I look in the corner I see a girl crying, dying, and lying about being bullied
She hit rock bottom but she’s still trying to succeed
I am not just a number in your grade book.
My grades do not reflect me.
I am not a score on a test.
My scores are not my reflection.
I am not wasted potential.
My potential is still sprouting.
Hello teacher Do you know what you want to teach us today? Or do you want to seat on your big, luxurious, comfy, and plush chair while playing cards on your school paid for laptop?
Wrong or right.
Good or bad.
You teach me there is no other way.
There are no shades of gray.
We are the smart ones or we are not.
We are the gifted ones or we are not.
Many students trying to follow the crowd
Hoping to be accepted
Others trying to live life out loud
Fearing of being neglected
Many students living in poverty
Leading some to drug use
If I had one thing to say to my teachers it would be that class is boring. To keep my attention I need hands on. To keep me engaged I need the information to be put in real life situations.
Mind your manners
Sit up straight
No slouching
Better stay awake
My head hurts
And my eyes burn
Read the reports
It's my turn
Eyes all on me
Glossophobia's the word
On your first day of school in kindergarten,
You are not taught what to say.
In the right, wrong,
Good or bad way.
They ask us to wake up earlier than healthy,they ask us to stay up doing projects, and then ask why we fall asleep in class!They complain if you come to school sick,but don't you dare miss a day, there's no way to win!They talk down to us everyday
To know and to experience are two different things.
You can tell me that this stove is hot.
But truly understand, I will not.
My troat is closing
Faster.... faster....faster
"I CAN'T BREATHE!"
I want to shout at you, but I can't.
Why did you have to call on me?
Of the 25 students in this room, why me?
I am not angry
I have no qualms
with the way you teach.
Besides,
Nobody takes the time to
step into your
polished,
fitted
Balmorals.
You actually do care about
the lives
The alarms start ringing,
the early birds start singing.
The breakfast is the same,
I wish it wasn't so lame.
The A/C is always on high,
feels like winter and I can see my breath when I sigh.
Mr. Evans, what kind of class are you running?The kids are all sluffing, hardly any are coming.
The desks have language that sailors use.Everything you say just makes me pale and confused.
So we're supposed to argue civily.
And when we cannot manage that,
Give up?
But what if we're in a debate,
Face to Face with our oponent.
Give up?
I am tired of these peers of mine saying they "don't want to be here",
the mob mentality is too strong to fight,
I just wish some of them would take the time to try enjoy the school year,
Words used OVER and OVER again. ALLWAYS talking about this thing and that thing. THAT THING. The things we need to see are BLIND. The things we need to hear are DEAF. The people who need to hear and see are never there.
"A kid needs to go to college" It's a civil liberty
To hell with that - it will just bring sweet misery
College would be breaking bank
No bailout
No medicine when Dad's sick
"Pay attention!"
The voice shouts from
Across the room.
With a start, he
Pushes his head up
And props himself up
On his elbows.
His sleeves slip down
And he yanks them back
You complian that I don't go to your class,
But when I get there you kick me out,
Are you bipolar are crazy?
I get you are trying to teach me but you don't have to hate me,
I talk you give me detention,
My mouth is a door
You really dont want to open this door
I have many things to say
And they are not for anyone's ears, but you
Okay, I'am late. So what!
I'am tardy, forgive me for my sin
Teachers,we know what you do,sneaken about,
Tellen us what it,s all about,
When those who can't, teach, and each of us reach,
For that gold star so far,
You make us or break us, that is your quest,
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I hope you remember
that this day marks a special death in September
Of my best friend Tyler
My best friend ever
who took his own life in a sad endeavour
I remember the funeral
Teachers,
Instead of teaching us how to solve quadratic functions
Teach us how to do our taxes and pay our bills
Instead of teaching us Shakepeare's themes about human nature
Never Have I Ever Told My Teacher To Shut It.
It would have been nice to place them on mute.
Matter of fact, the school system could give them the boot.
When you talk. I think just stop. Please don't say anymore. There's really no need. You act like I'm a child and I'm not. I'm a senior now so treat me like it. Please next time you have something to say. Talk in a normal voice.
Scholarships, tuition and loans clones the current holder of the thrones on going
problem debt i want to be able to learn about serenity for the things we cant change
teach us how to accept we lost hope when we took out religion
Every year is something new
but yet nothing has changed.
I was suppose to learn it last year
but last year they told me I would learn it this year.
You expect us to pass the test
7:30
“It’s only one hour I’m asking for.”
One Hour.
8:30
“One hour just for this class, and that’s it.”
One hour.
9:30
“It’s a reasonable request”
One hour.
10:30
I see your bruises
My Dear,
I see your scars.
You have been torn apart,
Piece by delicate piece.
I will try to sew you back together.
Here is my needle, and here is my thread.
I open my mouth
Your eyes snap shut
Your hands clamp over your ears
I must stop
Wait until you calm
But when you demand an answer
This is always your reply
You share no knowledge
