Powerful Poem

I have come across some really great reading in my blog travels and the below poem is one of them.  I saw this over at My Eclectic Blog and thought it was very powerful.  Thanks to Heather for posting it.  I plan on printing this out and letting my kids read it.

The Little Boy
by Helen Buckley

Once a little boy went to school.
He was quite a little boy
And it was quite a big school.
But when the little boy
Found that he could go to his room
By walking right in from the door outside
He was happy;
And the school did not seem
Quite so big anymore.

One morning
When the little boy had been in school awhile,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make all kinds;
Lions and tigers,
Chickens and cows,
Trains and boats;
And he took out his box of crayons
And began to draw.

But the teacher said, "Wait!"
"It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now," said the teacher,
"We are going to make flowers."
"Good!" thought the little boy,
He liked to make beautiful ones
With his pink and orange and blue crayons.
But the teacher said "Wait!"
"And I will show you how."
And it was red, with a green stem.
"There," said the teacher,
"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at his teacher's flower
Then he looked at his own flower.
He liked his flower better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just turned his paper over,
And made a flower like the teacher's.
It was red, with a green stem.

On another day
When the little boy had opened
The door from the outside all by himself,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make something with clay."
"Good!" thought the little boy;
He liked clay.
He could make all kinds of things with clay:
Snakes and snowmen,
Elephants and mice,
Cars and trucks
And he began to pull and pinch
His ball of clay.

But the teacher said, "Wait!"
"It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.
"Now," said the teacher,
"We are going to make a dish."
"Good!" thought the little boy,
He liked to make dishes.
And he began to make some
That were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said "Wait!"
"And I will show you how."
And she showed everyone how to make
One deep dish.
"There," said the teacher,
"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish;
Then he looked at his own.
He liked his better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just rolled his clay into a big ball again
And made a dish like the teacher's.
It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon
The little boy learned to wait,
And to watch
And to make things just like the teacher.
And pretty soon
He didn't make things of his own anymore.

Then it happened
That the little boy and his family
Moved to another house,
In another city,
And the little boy
Had to go to another school.
This school was even bigger
Than the other one.
And there was no door from the outside
Into his room.
He had to go up some big steps
And walk down a long hall
To get to his room.
And the very first day
He was there,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
And he waited for the teacher
To tell what to do.
But the teacher didn't say anything.
She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy
She asked, "Don't you want to make a picture?"
"Yes," said the lttle boy.
"What are we going to make?"
"I don't know until you make it," said the teacher.
"How shall I make it?" asked the little boy.
"Why, anyway you like," said the teacher.
"And any color?" asked the little boy.
"Any color," said the teacher.
"If everyone made the same picture,
And used the same colors,
How would I know who made what,
And which was which?"
"I don't know," said the little boy.
And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.

Comments

[Penney]

Thanks for posting that Joy. I know a few friends that will be getting that. I hope they get the meaning behind it. hugs

[sheryl]

VERY powerful!

[Heather]

I even see individuality and creativity stifled in homeschooling circles with children's own parents. I have seen moms hover over the kids telling them not to scribble...to be neat...that clouds aren't purple...to make their letters a certain way...or help their child make their project so the child isn't even making it on their own...I'm always the mom saying that purple clouds are cool...that you can make it however you want...etc...etc...

[Steffi]

Yes,it´s a really beautiful poem!I like to read poems too.

[Debbie]

This IS a great poem. I emailed it off to a few friends.

My daughter is a bit of a perfectionist (gee I wonder where she got that from?) when it comes to drawing. We have a few different drawing books where it shows in steps how to draw a cat, cow, or whatever. She really gets hung up if doesn't look like the book so I keep reminding her that the book is just a guideline. Or even just an idea book. This is her art - her creation. She can make it however she wants. Fat legs. Skinny legs. Even no legs.

Maybe it's a personality thing or maybe I modelled the behaviour for her. I don't know. Funny because when I decided to home school my kids, one of my thoughts was that I didn't want some teacher screwing them up. Now I realize they'll still get screwed up, it'll just be in my unique way. I'm kidding, of course...kinda. ;)

[Sirdar]

Ya that was a good one. Printed it for my wife...but of course she saw it already. Oh well...I tried.