Alumni Survey
I
Our research contradicts
Teen exploitation pics
With horny heroines
Pining after popularity
When we ask alums
What they wished they’d done
So many say they are sorry
They didn’t do Debate
Why aren’t there more movies
Where it is groovy to
Hang out with engineers
D&Ders statistics geeks
The High School Musical plot
Only shows that it is hot
To be the star of both
Stage and field
What of the Forensic League
Nights of nerdy intrigue
Drama in the Q and A
X and Cross X
II
On our Debate Team bus
We didn’t want you there with us
Our capsule glowing with the
Light of many phones
For the future lawyers
Who calculate in dollars
The resume value of
Our extracurricular
We were also cruel
The competition fuel
For the prickly peacock
And cutthroat Chris
How much better if
We had been allowed to riff
Instead of rounds and
Resolutions just exist
Here is my rebuttal
High school isn’t subtle
Don’t dream inside it
Get off the bus
–Ticky Kennedy
Reclusive Poet in Residence
SchoolNewsToday.com
NOTE
“One after another, researchers across the country have concluded that children do not learn better when education is transformed into a competitive struggle.” The Case Against Competition, Alfie Kohn
Also Read: Grades I Regret Giving