Caren Krutsinger | + Follow Poet |
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The Great Idea

He is young, excited, thrilled, with his clipboard and new almost-position.
His own idea, he wants to be in charge of the focus room, a place for out-of-control children
during the school day.
He is full of glossy ideas
About how terrific it will be for the misbehaving children,
And for him, as he can carry around the clipboard and he will have a title.
Under his guidance, these children will play chess, and board games, and they will laugh and sing
While their classmates, who are behaving, do not play, instead spend their well-behaved time,
listening to a teacher ramble on about math, something most of them believe they will never use.
In case you did not understand, this means that the child who wings a water bottle at a teacher,
And the child who makes the class amazingly difficult for all of the others,
Will get rewarded by going to the Focus Room to watch a movie, eat popcorn, and play
with the coach while the others are bombarded with math and science, and other boring stuff.
You can use the focus room, he told me.
Why would I want to? I asked. I have my own room.
Because we are making it nice with a cushy couch, bean bag chairs, and a movie theater,
With a popcorn making machine, he answered.
His great idea.
I do not know about you,
But as I child, I would
Have never left the
Focus Room for math or science or any of the other boring stuff I knew I would never use.
I did not say a word, not wanting to spoil his great idea.

Copyright © Caren Krutsinger | Year Posted 2018

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M. L. Kiser Date: 10/12/2018 10:32:00 AM I think some kids will do anything to get into the focus room! It certainly sounds like a fun place; it's a long way from the punishments they had when I attended school. I enjoyed this great poem. Login to Reply Caren Krutsinger Date: 10/12/2018 3:06:00 PM I want to start my own focus room, but I want to only invite the ones who make our jobs easier.

Rhona Mcferran Date: 10/12/2018 10:23:00 AM He will learn... sometimes experience teaches the most enduring lessons! ;D (I was a pretty well-behaved kid most of the time, but I would do about anything to escape math class- and that room would've been my haven!...) Login to Reply Caren Krutsinger Date: 10/12/2018 3:07:00 PM I still will do anything to escape math class, and some of these people think I am a grown-up. Luckily, the children know otherwise.