THE FOOLISH ONE (A Graphic Volume of Poetry) Part 1 of 7
The initiation of a Fool
Then I thought in my heart, the fate of the fool will overtake me…
Ecclesiastes
THE INITIATION OF A FOOL
After our commencement
The graduates were divided
My division was assigned to the Inner Asylum
Then we were introduced to our employers
The superintendents of failure
The superintendents told each graduate to step forward
Tear up our teaching certificates
Declare ourselves facilitators of failure
And pledge allegiance to The Asylum
When it was my turn to step forward
I stood still and remained silent
The superintendents of failure were shocked
They surrounded me
I thought I failed their test
But the superintendents of failure applauded
They said: You’re stubborn. That’s a foolish quality.
We need more foolish facilitators of failure
At our worst laboratories of failure.
We have the perfect assignment for you.
I said: Wait!
Then I tried to pledge allegiance to The Asylum
But it was too late
And the person beside me said: Next time, follow instructions, fool.
WASHED-UP BEFORE THE BELL
Before the bell rings
I feel like a washed-up pugilist
Boxing shadows
Without experienced corner men
My opponents are young
Strong, quick, and arrogant
But their corners deal quick blows of death
They can compete in the elementary rounds
But they lack the stamina to go the distance
Early in the 9th, 10th, or 11th rounds
They pass out
Not making the grade
Because their corners don’t train
They exhaust
Making poor sports out of contenders
THE FIRST FAILURE
Back in undergrad
I took courses in psychology
& classroom management
I knew these theories and strategies
Wouldn’t work
In the laboratory of failure, I attended as a lad
I also knew I was going to get a job in a similar setting
I couldn’t grasp
How my academic environment was preparing me
For the actual environment, I would encounter
When I did student teaching
I told my teaching mentor my concern
He laughed and told the other teachers
They laughed
I didn’t understand
Until they stopped laughing
Then my teaching mentor said: In a laboratory of failure the first failure is you
A WASTED SUMMER
When I was in undergrad
One professor advocated for year-round schooling
My classmates hated him, because they didn’t want to work during the summers
But this professor said,
Our educational system was behind the leading industrialized nations
And if another nation imposed on us
Our own educational standards
We would consider it an act of war
This professor also said when our nation was an agricultural society
It was necessary for children to have the summers off
Because the children were needed as field hands during the harvest
But that’s no longer the case in an urban, industrialized, setting
That explanation made sense to me
But I didn’t understand why we still had the summers off
So, I decided to find out
And during my research, I stumbled across a statistic that stated
Base on the activities middle-class children engaged in during the summer
Their learning levels increased
But based on the activities low-income children engaged in during the summer
Their learning levels either decreased
Or stayed the same
I conducted this amateur study during my summer vacation
The next semester, I was eager to show my classmates
The results of the study that I titled: How summer vacations perpetuate the achievement gap
But they didn’t share my enthusiasm
They asked if I took summer courses
I said no
Then they called me a fool
For wasting my summer doing work that wasn’t assigned
But at least my learning level didn’t decrease
Or stay the same
EMERGENCY MEETING
A year after I got hired
An emergency meeting was called
It was held immediately after the election
And the campaigners behind no children becoming left
Became the new administrators of The Asylum
The superintendents of failure
Were religiously opposed
To imposing any far-right doctrine
On children unprepared for what was right for them
So, the superintendents of failure
Instructed us to use all class time
To prepare just enough pupils
To pass the new administration’s exams
After a good hour of this foolishness
I raised my hand and said: If we teach subjects properly
Our pupils will be able to pass any administration’s test
How many will pass?
The superintendents of failure asked
All of them, I said
But one superintendent of failure shouted:
You fool! That’s what we’re supposed to prevent
This is a laboratory of failure not a laboratory of success