What Exactly Do You Teach Us – Nivedita Kapoor

You tell us to fill pages with notes,
But not to fill our hearts with things that we are passionate about.

You tell us to understand the word limits for full marks,
But not to understand ourselves.

You tell us to memorize the theories,
But not to actually experience the practicals.

You tell us to explore web pages about various topics.
But not to explore our world, or ourselves.

You tell us to work hard to be successful,
But not that it’s okay if we don’t.

You tell us to ‘speak out’ about our issues,
But laugh when we actually do.

You tell us to be good citizens before anything else,
But forget to teach us real values.

You tell us to treat people with love and respect,
But forget to teach us how to do the same with ourselves.

Picture credits : Aryaman Trivedi