You Cannot Make Me

You cannot make me he said Forehead tight, his face all red He was quite bright And was so right I will not do it He would not sit. You can’t make me! He kicked and bit His parents came to school one day They were having trouble too They came to see if we had a way They did not know what to do He runs from us, the daddy said He respects us not a whit. A team of teachers gave them many suggestions. We cannot. They replied. He would throw a fit. So they kept rewarding his behaviors, bad. And now ten years later I am truly sad To report that you-cannot-make-me is in jail. Some of us teachers send him regular mail.