what did you learn today in school?
I learned they can’t stop me from playing the fool
the teacher doesn’t know how to punish a child
who is shooting paper pellets and running wild
he can’t hit me with a ruler or beat me with a cane
so he gives me lines to write, and only the tame
will be scared of the punishment for making a kite
out of the paper on which I’m meant to write
I get a detention and although he may shout
he’s got no power to stop me from walking out
I just can’t wait for tomorrow to come
when I’ll be back in school and having some fun.
what did you learn in school today?
I learnt some games that the big boys play
we rigged a up some cards and and we set up crooked bets
and everybody paid us in cigarettes
we had so many that just for a kick
we forced a kid to smoke them until he was sick
we beat up a boy and set fire to his books
but on the way home I was getting looks
from his older brother and a few of his friends
and I think it’s too late to try and make amends
I’ve had enough of messing round playing the fool
Tomorrow I’m gonna need a knife in school.
Written for The Daily Post #Learning
©Jane Paterson Basil
O.M.G!!! These are not good times. The kids are learning that they have so much liberty without limits. They end up with cognition and no character. What have we done to our system? I really like this post.
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Thank you Gbolabo! The education system is a mess and parents are out of their depth because they’re all working and haven’t got enough time or energy to focus on solutions. Even if they did, the kids are too streetwise foe their own good these days.
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Now I KNOW that has to be fiction. You’re much too articulate to have acted out in school!
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I certainly didn’t, but I can’t speak for the current generation…
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Reblogged this on aYoKa and commented:
If you didn’t see this, I feel that you probably missed something. Check out this beautiful, humorous and no-laughing-matter poetic rant by a witty and brilliant authour Making it write:
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Thank you for your generous words, and the reblog… 🙂
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You are most welcome!
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There’s whimsy because of the rhyming structure and the casual tone but it cuts with such darkness and violence. I love that contrast. Works so well. Awesome writing!
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Thank you, um, man. That contrast is one of my favorite games 🙂
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Sad but true. We’ve had kids turn up with guns at school even here. Rare, but it has happened. Why is it that ADULTS seem to have no ability to impact or control children’s behaviour anymore? Something is badly out of kilter.
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We’ve lost our way. I can think of a dozen contributary factors, one of them being that the human race is becoming depressed – a natural reaction to overblown capitalism.
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We need to find our way back to an even keel. I live in hope that this will happen 🙂
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So do I, mut I can’t imagine how we’ll achieve it. Maybe we need to look to the Scandinavian countries for guidence.
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Yes, they don’t seem to be as chaotic although I suspect there’s more going on over there too than hits the news.
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Maybe so, but education is better, health is better, there’s less crime (as compared with the UK) and what about the happiness quotient?
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Possibly higher. Although we are getting more violent crime occurring now. Every day there are stories on the news about horrific crimes, often fueled by drugs. I would never go out for a walk on my own at night now. Used to.
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I walk through the roughest area of our town just before midnight once a week. I don’t care that I’m a woman over sixty, or that I’m only 5ft 3in (1.6meters). I walk big.
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Walk big!! that is awesome 🙂 Being a regular, who walks big, would be protection of its own. You’re about an inch shorter than me 🙂
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I tell myself that they have mare reason to be scared of me than I of them. I learned the trick when I was eighteen, and I find even now that people occasionally look nervous when I walk past them at night. I think I must be portraying myself as a great big hairy giant. I did something vaguely similar to stop shoplifters when I had a market stall years ago. t stopped working once I got a shop, because I was in a partnership and my partner’s psychic imput killed it.
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Gee, you must be able to pull in some strong energy to do that !
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Who knows? Maybe I’m just fooling myself and I’ll get my comeupance one of these days. It’s like walking a tightrope – if you want to do it, but you’re too scared you’ll never be free 🙂
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Don’t give in to the fear. Be big and fearless and traipse the streets safely knowing you will be unharmed 🙂
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Did I tell you I have a violent nature? I’m the only one of my siblings who has. So I don’t think that nobody will dare attack me; I only think it extremely unlikely. Behind that is the threat that if they do, they’ll be sorry 🙂
I think the brain can pump physical strength into the body, but only if the brain has that knowledge.
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Oh yes, indeed it can! I have seen it in action. I recall back when I was working in aged care a little titch of woman you think you could bowl over with a breath for some reason felt threatened. She had dementia. It took 6 burly male nurses to restrain her!
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goodonyer mite (Strine for jolly good show old chap). Minorities rule and the middle plods on. We get what we deserve. Mind you looks like the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest works in your world?
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I say, how frightfully thoughtful of you to not only take the trouble to read my somewhat foolish little rhyme, but also to take the time to compose a response which is both amusing and pertinent. (English for thanksfer readnan getnintuch.) Yes, the law of the jungle, but it’s a strange jungle constructed of brown envelopes containing forms, red tape and people wandering around in circles, trying to remember where they left their children today.
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How dose the saying go, “Many a true word spoke in jest”. Sadly it is no joke, I get verbal abuse on most days,when I am out on my nature photographing forays, from kids as young as 5 to those in their early teens. On one occasion I was stoned by a large gang of 5 to 8 year olds after I recovered my bicycle, which one of them had stolen, it was whilst I was riding away that the attack happened. In fact I was confronted today (23rd Aug 2016). whilst checking out some flora at the base of a fence on the same street where I live. I did not count how many, but after one of them started stabbing at things on my sample tray with his finger, at the same time asking me what it was. I thought hello here we go. For after asking him to stop, he replied. “Why”. My reply was, spontaneous, for I told him he was taking the piss, and walked away, big mistake. I hadn’t got but a few steps on my way when they started shouting verbal abuse at me and there number had swollen to double figures. I hasten to add that I could not understand a word of what they were chanting, and not caring to find out I continued on my way. The sad thing about all this is there is nothing myself or their parents can do about it, apart from reprimanding them, and all to no avail, for the next day they’ll do it again. By the way I am 72 years of age, which means absolutely nothing to the kids of today.
With respect to you Jane, before I post this I have to thank Gbolabo Adetunji for rebloging this too, as had he not done so it would of been highly unlikely that I would of found your blog.
Best wishes,
Mick
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That’s horrible – to be surrounded by such monsters! Where on earth do you live?
I think kids like that feel threatened by people with interests they’re unfamiliar with, and they’re angry with life, looking for someone to take it out on. But that doesn’t solve the problem.
I suppose moving somewhere else is out of the question.
I hope that one way or another your situaltion improves.
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Sadly myself, along with many others, don’t think the situation will At least not.until the law concerning the disciplining of domestic and school juvenile delinquency. is sorted. A highly controversial subject I know, but the way some youngster act is tantamount to anarchy. H E L P!
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Not so controversial these days – I remember when almost everyone agreed that it was a crime to administer the cane. Most of them have changed their minds in recent years.
In this country, when a young person rings the police and says a parent has hit them, the police assess the situation and often take the side of the parent. It’s OK for parents to use reasonable force. A few years ago social services would have been called in.
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Wow, a powerful ending. You really demonstrate how a bunch of little problems can build into something serious.
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That’s how I imagine it happens. Thanks, Kathleen, for reading and commenting 🙂
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I just hope it’s at least a 6″ chef’s knife, not something silly like a santoku or sheep’s foot parer. Choice of cutlery is very important and should be instilled at a young age.
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It’s ok, he inherited some handy little tools from his father after the drug dealer dropped him down the mineshaft.
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Great writing, horrible truth. The self-righteous who destroyed school discipline have a lot to answer for.
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I’m with you on that. The ripple effect has resulted in a typhoon.
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Bravo Jane.
An excellent piece of writing.
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Thanks Alan xx
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Again, sadly true. What kind of a world do we live in? Amazing writing.
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Thank you yet again!
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