Boxes
We are all born curious, with a mind that is free
And the world is our playground, with wonders to see
We’re explorers and searchers, yearning with desire
To see, touch and feel, to communicate and inspire
We want to understand and to be understood
And by teachers in schools we are given the tools
To express ourselves
And we learn the rules
And we break them.
If we ask why the rules are the rules
Sometimes there’s no answer.
But we learn to be kind
and to express our mind
In a way that won’t hurt but will help us to share
And when we are small they won’t always compare
But when we are bigger
They put us in boxes
that we might not fit into
Because it is quicker to measure the marks from a test
Than to search for the thing where we shine at our best
Writers or fighters, makers or bakers
Pretenders and defenders, musicians, magicians
Don’t always catch up as fast as the rest
Don’t always do well in a numeracy test
Sometimes the minds that are brilliant ones
Get left by the wayside for doing it ‘wrong’
But playtime can help us recapture that light
Can remind us of times when we get it just right
When we see different colours or make people laugh
We are all born curious, with a mind that is free
And the world is our playground, with wonders to see
We’re explorers and searchers, yearning with desire
To see, touch and feel, to communicate and inspire
We want to understand and to be understood
And by teachers in schools we are given the tools
To express ourselves
And we learn the rules
And we break them.
If we ask why the rules are the rules
Sometimes there’s no answer.
But we learn to be kind
and to express our mind
In a way that won’t hurt but will help us to share
And when we are small they won’t always compare
But when we are bigger
They put us in boxes
that we might not fit into
Because it is quicker to measure the marks from a test
Than to search for the thing where we shine at our best
Writers or fighters, makers or bakers
Pretenders and defenders, musicians, magicians
Don’t always catch up as fast as the rest
Don’t always do well in a numeracy test
Sometimes the minds that are brilliant ones
Get left by the wayside for doing it ‘wrong’
But playtime can help us recapture that light
Can remind us of times when we get it just right
When we see different colours or make people laugh
When we dance or we doodle or discover new crafts
When a table and chair make a ship with a mast
Or a mountain to climb, or a rocket to blast
Climb out of the box that the world put you in
Listen to music, let stories flow through
Sing a song, climb a tree
See the light and the dark
setting you apart
from the rest
and at best, just ask questions.
Ask why.
We can all be intelligent, ingenious, inventive
if we remember to play and to let the fun live
Yes, for some of us, greatness is easier to see
But as they say we can’t judge a fish climbing a tree
If science and maths are what make you the best
Then explore and experiment, find out the rest
But if you are good at a thing that’s not cool
Or a thing that they don’t give rewards for at school
Just be proud you stand out and never stop playing
And people will want to hear what you are saying.
Or a mountain to climb, or a rocket to blast
Climb out of the box that the world put you in
Listen to music, let stories flow through
Sing a song, climb a tree
See the light and the dark
setting you apart
from the rest
and at best, just ask questions.
Ask why.
We can all be intelligent, ingenious, inventive
if we remember to play and to let the fun live
Yes, for some of us, greatness is easier to see
But as they say we can’t judge a fish climbing a tree
If science and maths are what make you the best
Then explore and experiment, find out the rest
But if you are good at a thing that’s not cool
Or a thing that they don’t give rewards for at school
Just be proud you stand out and never stop playing
And people will want to hear what you are saying.
