When I leave home to work with schools,

Someone always says to me,

“Mike, keep your head and your eyes up,
And see what it is that you can see.”

But when I tell them what I do,
And what I think I know,
They sometimes say sternly,
“We’re happy with status quo.”

“Stop dreaming up outlandish things,
Modern methods won’t give kids wings.”

So I wonder what is it that I do now,
Mediocrity is not something I can allow.

All the long way to here
Even when I look back,
When I skim through the present
And scour the past--
The main thing I’ve noticed,
Besides dedication,
Is that students continue
To deserve the best education.

But that’s not what some
Will want you to see.
They want to believe
That traditions are key.

But I don’t believe it! There’s much to debate!
Education in America can still be great!
Timeliness matters, we can’t sit and wait!
But we best be quick, or it could be too late.

Imminent breakdown,
Surely at hand.
The issue, systemic--
Across our land.

Aesthetics entice and money talks
Both keep us neatly in a compliant tight box.
The haves will have more,
The have-nots less,
All the solutions--
Just a popular guess.

Or perhaps it is steps meant to privatize all;
Through backhanded means and opaque curtain calls.

To this century’s kids
How do we explain?
That we held them back
With our own anchor chains.
That our wallets were worth more than their success.
And all of the “work” is just disguised progress.

The more we hold on to our comfort and bliss
The more likely it is that we claim the abyss.
Those good old days to which we still cling,
Will leave us unprepared for a fruitless Spring.

And To Think That I See It Wherever I Go.
No logic to changes ridiculous and slow.
We need a new form, an instructional dawn,
Not a gimmick or trick or cash cow add-on.

So when I leave home to work with schools,
No matter what others might say to me,
I say to myself, “keep your head and eyes up,
You still need to see what it is you can see.”

“Do what’s best for kids,
With a modern world view.
Grow what you can grow.

Do what you can do."

Twitter: @fisher1000

Thanks to Dr. Seuss for the inspiration...