In this day and age, there are standards of learning, not standards of living
We are told you must "live to learn" not learn to live in a world that is dominated by test scores and letter grades
What college you attend and what fraternity you're in
It's keeping up with Jones' and pretending to be someone you're not
to fit in, to win so we stay in disguise
But at the end of the day, it's a thick veil of lies.
We chalk up our life to things people think we should be
But what is it about me that people need to see?
That I'm a daughter...a sister...a warrior
Or I'm a son on the run with ambition in my veins.
We've got so much more to offer than the grades and projects we sustain
So look at me...can you see me through your red pen marked haze that I'm more...I am more than a score

entering a classroom that
is not a classroom

my pupils inside: i haven't seen them for a long time
i want them to listen to me
yet the pupils aren't listening; they don't (want to) perceive me.
all the time i look at them, they look into another direction.

they aren't rebelling or trying to sabotage my lesson;
my lesson that isn't a lesson.

it's an encounter between an older person and
younger persons who aren't young anymore but
who haven't grown up yet.

the pupils changed into beings-in-between.

i can sense that they have become independent.
the pupils don't need a teacher anymore;
they aren't ready for making a living either.  

many teachers need to be needed.
most pupils want to be autonomous.

teachers will be disappointed by the end of a day.
pupils dislike school by the end of most lessons.

dear athena, that's wired. isn't it?
therefore we need to think about it. we need to ask ourselves:

WHAT has to be changed?

"Write one about our French teacher"

Oui oui bonjour
Like I care about your class
I'm really not interested in French
Oh, this period is finished, alas!

"I see you're smirking still." One eyebrow raised,
an accusation of my happiness.
She sees through me: an addict to the praise
and thanks and jabs and jokes at my expense.
My friends are certain I derive almost
a ****** satisfaction from all this.
It's true my heartbeat does betray the ghost
of some attraction straining to exist.
And just what is it that I want to do?
To be with him, my teacher, scandal? Or
just get attention? Or do I love school
enough that it has really bubbled over?

Or maybe when it comes to it, I am
still crawling from my father's clawing hands.

If you planned to reach top of the tower
Then you must appreciate  the hour
It's the way to gain the power
And defeat the failures you discover
With it, you will learn to recover
And obtain the information you like to devour                                                
With it, you will learn not to live like a flower
Flourishes in a season and dies in another
With it, you will be the one with manner    
"Study more, Achieve more" is your banner  


With it, goals will be easy to require
And achievements will never expire
You will be a flame of fire
That lightens the darkest empire
With pure heart, with pure desire
You will be the one who never retires
Your life will be a story that inspires
And for hopeless people it will be a dreams amplifier

Now that I've got your attention
Get up and sale to another dimension
Start thinking of an invention
Or a cure that stops infection
Travel to the unknown and study new vegetation
Urge others with your writing and sensation
And never hesitate to give a supposition

So always aim to the top
Never hang your dreams with a rope
And never let down your hope
Because rare things never found in a shop