McFoo’s Views!
IF I RAN THE SCHOOLS
(elementary that is)
It’s not such a good school said young Carol McFoo,
Though the people who run are trying, they do.
But if I ran the schools said young Carol McFoo,
I’d make a few changes, that’s just what I’d do.
And somehow or other, I know I could find,
Better ways kids could learn while not being a grind.
Kids sitting for hours, just stuck in their seats,
You see all the time, it’s all just repeats,
You see things like that in just any old school,
It’s really old fashioned, I want something cool.
I’d make all seats comfy, so to sit not’s a chore,
But why bother with chairs, let ‘em sit on the floor,
Or under their tables, stretched out on a carpet,
They’ll do much more work, they’ll take off like a rocket.
I’d open up classrooms, give kids much more room,
So the teachers could teach them without so much gloom.
Handing out work sheets, is really a shame,
Let’s learn reading and math by playing a game.
To learn how to spell words can be boring and dull,
But playing words games, now that would be swell.
My new school, McFoo school won’t make the kids balk,
My new school, McFoo school will make the kids talk,
They’ll talk about reading, they’ll talk about math,
They’ll talk about science while taking a bath.
They’ll talk about adding and minusing too,
They’ll talk about timesing and dividing by two.
And that’s just the start, I’ll do better than that,
I’ll make obstacle courses for kids who are fat,
And skinny and short, and are slow and are fast,
Are big and are little, often first, often last.
Both for boys and for girls, it’ll be lots of fun,
They’ll be proud of themselves when they see what they’ve done.
It will be a good time for kids fit and unfit,
Cause they’ll all get a chance to show they won’t quit.
Students who learn but do not remember,
Don’t do well on tests and forget by September.
They may pass a test but won’t get the idea,
That thinking and dreaming are nothing to fear.
It’s what makes them all special and better and proud,
So they don’t become robots or get lost in the crowd.
Then kids will sit up and they’ll say “this is cool,”
This young Carol McFoo is nobody’s fool.
She sees what we need and knows we can do it.
If we all work together we’ll be done in a minute.
Kids would learn at their own pace, they’d all get to know,
Just what they are learning no matter slow,
There’d be no more rushing to finish on cue,
When half of the kids haven’t even a clue.
I’ll set up a small space, so safe and so near,
That out of bound kids will find freedom from fear.
They won’t keep on fighting, they won’t be disruptive,
They’ll all settle down and become quite constructive.
There’ll be more outside time, to everyone’s pleasure,
The research is clear, every kid does much better,
The more they can run, the more play with zest,
The better they’ll do when they take their next test.
The grownups will gasp, They won’t be so glum,
When they see kids are learning and still having fun.
The teachers and principals will all get along,
Cause working together is what matters the most,
It turns schools around and lets the kids boast,
How they’re learning and growing and using their brains,
To make themselves smarter while avoiding the pains,
Of boredom and rote, thinking learning’s a chore,
When they could be most joyfully learning to soar.
Big kids would help littles on a regular basis,
Being role models puts smiles on faces.
As the bigs help the littles their friendships will grow,
And all through the school everybody will know,
To be nicer and kinder and friendlier too,
To say please and thank you and how do you do.
There’ll be lots less crying and whining and booing,
But many more smiles and lots of yoo hooing.
There’ll be no more bullying, there’ll be no more strife,
And things will be better in everyone’s life.
If I ran the schools said young Carol McFoo,
What a wonderful place it would be, yes it’s true.
There’d be dancing in class, both hip hop and folk,
They’d learn while they danced and that isn’t a joke.
They’d use the new smart boards to do wondrous things,
Like make friends in Paris, La Paz and Beijing.
They’d go into space, they’d go underground,
They’d go deep sea diving where there isn’t a sound.
They’d hear African drumming, and good Mariachi,
Andean flutes and bad karaoke.
They’d meet lots of people from all round the globe,
Light skinned and dark skinned and brown skinned and gold.
They’d see turbans and cheongs and burkas and shorts,
Parkas and trousers and dresses and skorts.
Long flowing robes, and clothing so pretty,
That they’ll all ooh and aah and even be giddy.
What a wonderful place, what a wonderful time,
Now going to school will be really quite fine.
They’ll learn about bad things and good things and more,
The homeless, the needy, the sick and the poor.
They’d learn about writers and poets, and artists,
How they all have a spark of their own that shows brightest,
When given a chance to spring forth and to bloom,
They’ll give off such a glow, they’ll light up the room.
They’ll learn about puppies and kittens and babies,
And songs full of joy and stories of maybys.
They’ll all learn to sing, to give out a great sound,
While laughter and gladness and giggles abound.
They’ll make up experiments with things from their houses,
They’ll run rats through mazes or maybe use mouses.
They’ll blow up balloons, have baloony races,
To learn about speed, about distance and paces.
They’ll look and they’ll measure, they’ll find out a lot,
They’ll use lots of numbers, on graphs they will plot,
The results of their speriments, the good and the bad,
But They’ll all learn a lot and of that they’ll be glad.
And the best thing of all is it won’t cost a dime,
Just imagination and courage and time.
They’ll start out each day with some moving around,
While they learn about things that live in the ground,
Or science, or ‘rithmetic or what makes thing burn,
To be healthy and focused and ready to learn.
They’ll get exercise as they go place to place,
Hopping, or skipping or running in place,
They’ll be very careful so no harm will befall,
Other kids, or their teachers not no one at all.
They’ll build things in class out of match sticks and straws,
And glue and pipe cleaners and a bunch of gee-gaws
After drawing up plans to make sure that’s it right,
They’ll figure out length, they’l figure out height,
They’ll measure the volume, the width, and the ratio,
They’ll test them for strength and for weakness, also,
They’ll all work together, it sure will be fun,
They’ll all be so proud when their projects are done.
The teachers will write what kids think on the board,
For all of the kids to read and applaud.
They’ll use a new program that writes what they think,
It’s 2014, and we’re still using ink?
To write down ideas is quite hard I must say
It’s very frustrating, makes a long boring day,
It keeps kids from learning, and dreaming and thinking,
They’ll all do much better without ever blinking.
They’ll be so full of their own thoughts and ideas,
Not having to write will quench all of their fears.
Writing won’t hinder them, they’ll be able to say,
What they know, what they think, what they hope, every day.
They’d still learn to write, punctuate and to spell,
But it won’t break their spirits, they’ll do very well.
And lots of the homework will just have to go,
For the kids who already hate school have to know,
If they can’t get it in class, they won’t get it at home,
They won’t do it, won’t get it, or will leave it alone.
So much of it’s tedious, worthless and dull,
For kids who hate school, it just gives them no lull,
From feelings of failure, frustration and pain,
No wonder they give up, drop out and complain.
If I ran the schools said young Carol McFoo,
Kids would all learn a lot, that’s just what they’d do,
About getting along, how to read and do math,
With happiness, friendship and joy and a laugh.