Being Schooled

I wish we remembered school

as a place

where we grew.

Not just in knowledge,

but in each other.

A place

where being different

didn’t need an explanation,

because it already belonged.

Where we learned

how to speak with one another

before learning how to be right.

How to listen

before learning how to raise a hand.

Where the most important curriculum

was ourselves.

I wasn’t happy at school.

That’s a longer story.

Some days

I just wanted to get away.

Far away.

It wasn’t a system

built for me.

And maybe

that was the point.

Maybe school

was never meant

to help us become ourselves,

but to help us become alike.

Comparable.

Measurable.

Gradable.

Same scale.

Same average.

Same answer.

But I still believe

the best thing we can do

for one another

is to activate

the potential already there.

Because we need everyone.

Not as replicas.

But as people.

And difference

is not a problem to solve.

It’s a resource

we forgot to include.

/ Simon Philip