What did they teach me? What did I learn in school?
A whole lot of useless stuff, that I've never used a day with a kid
I'm sure it was important at the time, which is why I complied
But then when it came to the big dance? It was miraculous what I did.
They didn't teach me how to potty train an 18 year old
It wasn't in the manual either, go figure, but candy bribery worked just fine
They didn't teach me how to behavior manage a person with schizophrenia
I had to split my attention between the two; now second nature
They didn't teach me what to say when a girl watches her mother get murdered
She came to school the next day, and I cried while she comforted me, so mature
There are a lot of things you don't learn in school
There are even more things they don't tell you
It's your privilege and demise to be introduced to them
At the least convenient time, in the worst location. You won't know what to do.
What separates the Haves from the Have Nots?
It's what my best teachers taught me in school.
The Have Nots don't care, don't listen, and don't worry
About much more than looking cool
To either their colleagues or the students.
The Have Nots are the names of teachers you don't remember
Of the ones that made minimal impact.
They were given a sledge hammer
Only to leave the surface unbroken.
The Haves shattered your perception of realty
Brought you back to the casualty
Of your former self, abandoning your propriety
Making you face the rest of society
With you acting so defiantly
When faced with the difficult decisions, justifiably
Standing up for those who don't know better, who quietly
Sit in the corner, being overlooked, and notably
Look to you to lead them out of the emotionally
Terrifying place they're sitting in: ignorance
The Haves taught me how to educate
They taught me how important it was to celebrate
Myself, because we are only as good as our reflection
You can't love others if you don't show yourself affection.
So once I learned to love myself I opened my eyes
They taught me how to see, I became baptized
In the fountain of knowledge, learning how to dedicate
My life to acquiring and sharing, trying to replicate
A love for learning in others, lighting a fire that would detonate
The bomb that we need to blow up this system
Let the ashes fall and shower everyone with the wisdom
That we are only as good as we make our children.
The Haves taught me how to lead by example
If you don't walk on the right path, The Have Nots will trample
All over you, and no one will win.
Please don't misread this message and think that I'm saying something else.
It's not that the Haves didn't teach me how to read, write, and calculate.
They did - but that is not what made them the Haves.
It was that they taught me how to eradicate the hate.
They taught me how to love someone so deep, in their brain and soul
That you could mistake them as your own family, your child.
They taught me that if you show someone how to value themselves
And help them find their confidence, their imagination will run wild
They will blossom and grow, not like a weed but ivy
That will slowly grow up our stable foundation, and after some time
You become consumed and when you look in the mirror to see your reflection
You see the most beautiful product, a picture truly sublime
As you are no longer looking in a mirror at you
But your accomplishments, the beautiful souls that you fed
The Haves look in the mirror and see the lives that they changed
Not because of the content they taught, but by the example they led.
So what separates the Haves from the Have Nots? It's simple.
Love.
Love of education, love of a challenge, love of the battle
Love of knowing that someone else's life is just slightly better
Because you met them, taught them, lead them on the right path.
When it came to the big dance, it was miraculous what they did.
Because love is a miracle. Love makes a person do crazy things.
Mix love and education, and you have a kid's dream come true.
This piece is dedicated to the staff of The Harvey School from 1998-2005.
A whole lot of useless stuff, that I've never used a day with a kid
I'm sure it was important at the time, which is why I complied
But then when it came to the big dance? It was miraculous what I did.
They didn't teach me how to potty train an 18 year old
It wasn't in the manual either, go figure, but candy bribery worked just fine
They didn't teach me how to behavior manage a person with schizophrenia
I had to split my attention between the two; now second nature
They didn't teach me what to say when a girl watches her mother get murdered
She came to school the next day, and I cried while she comforted me, so mature
There are a lot of things you don't learn in school
There are even more things they don't tell you
It's your privilege and demise to be introduced to them
At the least convenient time, in the worst location. You won't know what to do.
What separates the Haves from the Have Nots?
It's what my best teachers taught me in school.
The Have Nots don't care, don't listen, and don't worry
About much more than looking cool
To either their colleagues or the students.
The Have Nots are the names of teachers you don't remember
Of the ones that made minimal impact.
They were given a sledge hammer
Only to leave the surface unbroken.
The Haves shattered your perception of realty
Brought you back to the casualty
Of your former self, abandoning your propriety
Making you face the rest of society
With you acting so defiantly
When faced with the difficult decisions, justifiably
Standing up for those who don't know better, who quietly
Sit in the corner, being overlooked, and notably
Look to you to lead them out of the emotionally
Terrifying place they're sitting in: ignorance
The Haves taught me how to educate
They taught me how important it was to celebrate
Myself, because we are only as good as our reflection
You can't love others if you don't show yourself affection.
So once I learned to love myself I opened my eyes
They taught me how to see, I became baptized
In the fountain of knowledge, learning how to dedicate
My life to acquiring and sharing, trying to replicate
A love for learning in others, lighting a fire that would detonate
The bomb that we need to blow up this system
Let the ashes fall and shower everyone with the wisdom
That we are only as good as we make our children.
The Haves taught me how to lead by example
If you don't walk on the right path, The Have Nots will trample
All over you, and no one will win.
Please don't misread this message and think that I'm saying something else.
It's not that the Haves didn't teach me how to read, write, and calculate.
They did - but that is not what made them the Haves.
It was that they taught me how to eradicate the hate.
They taught me how to love someone so deep, in their brain and soul
That you could mistake them as your own family, your child.
They taught me that if you show someone how to value themselves
And help them find their confidence, their imagination will run wild
They will blossom and grow, not like a weed but ivy
That will slowly grow up our stable foundation, and after some time
You become consumed and when you look in the mirror to see your reflection
You see the most beautiful product, a picture truly sublime
As you are no longer looking in a mirror at you
But your accomplishments, the beautiful souls that you fed
The Haves look in the mirror and see the lives that they changed
Not because of the content they taught, but by the example they led.
So what separates the Haves from the Have Nots? It's simple.
Love.
Love of education, love of a challenge, love of the battle
Love of knowing that someone else's life is just slightly better
Because you met them, taught them, lead them on the right path.
When it came to the big dance, it was miraculous what they did.
Because love is a miracle. Love makes a person do crazy things.
Mix love and education, and you have a kid's dream come true.
This piece is dedicated to the staff of The Harvey School from 1998-2005.
