Planet Literature

Discussions about a „child-centred approach to education“ date back to the 19th century. Nevertheless, even today, teaching often tends to follow the principle of a performance-oriented selection process, in which more sensitive pupils fall by the wayside.

The Underachiever

Enclosed by yawning clocks,
he crouches his way through the morning maze.
His mouth freezes in the blizzard of questions,
his fingers scrawl fragments of letters
like frantic cries for help into his exercise book.

Circled by his classmates‘ comet swarms,
he traces his path through the schoolyard cosmos,
lost in the darkness of a foreign galaxy.
Invisible walls enclose him on all sides,
his gloomy gorge is filled with solitary summit air.

Trapped in the rhythm of the school bell,
he struggles through the lessons‘ jungle.
And from the thicket of the crammed curriculum,
he is haunted by the sparkle of reproachful glances
and the marks‘ relentless sword of judgement.

German Version on Literaturplanet

Image: Nikolai Petrowitsch Bogdanow-Belski (1868-1945): School Boy (Detail)