Close your Eyes and Read

A satire on modern education.

Welcome to school, now open your books

And close your eyes and read;

Read through the lines, and not between them,

For thus it has been decreed.

 

Worry about your future, not the present,

Because that’s where life’s instilled.

It won’t be YOUR life, but what does it matter

As long as our wish is fulfilled?

 

You mustn’t ask any questions,

They are just a waste of time;

Time that can be spent reading

Without a reason or rhyme.

 

Don’t you all feel honoured to be

Pawns in our great industry?

What? Would you rather think like kings

While we enslave your memory?

 

Don’t worry yourself by thinking;

We free you from the bonds of thought.

Just come and learn by rote,

And be all the things we’re not.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh god, i love this...i am a teacher at two community colleges...and i try to get my students to think outside the box..i hate straight lecture...it just feeds that which is passed down and down and down..it is saying to students, just memorize and accept, don't question.
and as Rock and Roll cowboy said...one of the worst things in literature is to tell students what anything means...literature is written art and thus is open to interpretation...we don't all want to be parrots, mimicks, apers? but sometimes education does that to students...no wonder they are disinterested.

really insightful write.

jacob

[Priya]

Thank you for the wonderful review :) It is even more brutal here in India, with the view of the teacher becoming the de facto view of every student, where students are almost bred to become exam clearing machines.

[TurtleClark]

this is really good but i hope that a teacher never tried to get me to think like this i'm pretty sure i would go completely insane.

[joshua deathdealer]

You defiantly hit the nail on the head with this one. I think it is sick the way the education center is doing to the youth and the morbid characters they are instilling into them. Excellent work and well written.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

I really love this mainly cause i have always had an issue with the educational system... I think that most of it is spent trying to turn us into societies robots... for example history... our books are made make us look good and not tell the whole truth. Then in literature the teacher tries to force their views as right on what a book or poem is saying when it should be open to interpretation.

Don’t you all feel honoured to be
Pawns in our great industry?
What? Would you rather think like kings
While we enslave your memory?

my favorite part.

[Antonio Valentino]

omg i didnt know we went to the same school.. :)

the real knowledge is always in between the lines and what, isnt sad isnt it...

a perfect title

:)

[patricia]

enjoyed hearing you think outside the box. great write.

[Alexandria Reece]

I am shocked I didn't leave a review for this when I first read it. I love your message and the authoritative voice you use to make the reader cringe at this notion. It really makes your point clear and paints a very ugly picture of modern educational practices. This reminded me of something Professor Dolores Umbridge might include with her syllabus or write on the board the first day of class. Very brilliant, miss!

[Sleeping Maiden]

I loved this! I agree on your thoughts about the educational system.
Quite a piece! I love to think about the future all the time.. and my own freedom..

Perfect lines!

"Worry about your future, not the present,

Because that’s where life’s instilled.

It won’t be YOUR life, but what does it matter

As long as our wish is fulfilled?"

[Monica]

I love this! It's well written and oh so true...

Worry about your future, not the present,
Because that’s where life’s instilled.
It won’t be YOUR life, but what does it matter
As long as our wish is fulfilled?

...perfect.

[$êlvån]

Nicely written...brave approach:)loved it ..somewhat the situations are same but not everywhere:)