A/N This was written while I was doing some important exams. I scored very highly (all A’s), but I learnt nothing apart from how to succeed at exams. I am now a teacher of 7-9 years olds and already I am teaching them how to answer exam questions; a skill that is necessary but worthless. Why do we rate ourselves like this? Surely there’s a better way?

The first few lines I’ve attempted to use iambic pentameter, there’s purposely little imagery in there as its meant to show the destruction of creativity. Enjoy.

Hand to Mouth

do not think only learn to survive an

exam answer in the correct way with

out own opinion does not matter put

down points mentioned in class and memorize

them only learn and regurgitate brain food

do not question what you are told degrees

and a levels through the system mean we

know how to tell you what to know and think

and understand and live and die and choose

systematically computer programmed

read the encyclopaedia and watch

the six o’clock news and learn and learn and

memorize memorize memorize

never think

I live form hand to mouth

in a system that should never have been structured

and in a poverty that will never be counted.

I read and ingest automatically

my ability to stand alone destroyed by conformity,

my humanity injected daily,

like a rabbit in a laboratory,

by a diseased syringe full of facts, facts, facts.

Scientifically, systematically proven,

no heart left, no ideas left and no emotion.

Dehumanized. Deautonomized. Statisticized.

From hand to mouth

to mouth

to mouth.

A/N This was written while I was doing some important exams. I scored very highly (all A’s), but I learnt nothing apart from how to succeed at exams. I am now a teacher of 7-9 years olds and already I am teaching them how to answer exam questions; a skill that is necessary but worthless. Why do we rate ourselves like this? Surely there’s a better way?