Makeshift Education

Native Americans of old- At least in this we have been told- Would fling their children to the sea And hope that they would swim and be As safe on water as on land. The Greeks- I have heard talk- Would lay their babes out on a rock Exposed to cold and then at length Would hope that chance would give them strength; For strength alone would stand. These practices, decried as cruel, Are nothing to the modern rule Where babes, who’ve barely learned to speak, Are wrenched from mother’s arm and cheek To march abroad, a mottled band, Exposed to every whim and tool Of other adults in a school Which seems to fail consistently To teach these babes progressively Yet hope they’ll understand. Faith is strong in parent’s heart For children all show at the start An aptitude which soon will be Confused and crushed insolvable; And none of this is planned. The course of wisdom should be clear From this, and yet we know and fear That all will wait and pass the buck And trust to fate and makeshift luck; Thus the cycle does expand.