STICK YOUR STICKERS!

She’s a sticker addict,

By seven she was hooked,

No longer reads for pleasure,

Paid in stars for every book.

He’s a sticker addict,

He’s on his seventh chart,

He writes to please, he writes for praise,

But never from the heart.

You made us sticker addicts,

Even put them on our clothes,

We have to smile and show our thanks,

For stars we never chose.

But they weren’t sticker addicts,

The new kids at our school,

They came from countries far away,

Where stickers didn’t rule.

So we get stars for learning,

And the new kids aren’t impressed,

They want to learn and don’t get why

we’re bribed to do our best.

Here’s an idea, teacher:

We too could work towards

A mindset like our new friends have,

Not sticky star rewards.

We’ve had years and years of stickers,

So quitting could be tough,

We know you love them, teacher,

But us kids - we’ve had enough!

We don’t want to see your stickers,

They’re not welcome in our class.

We’d be better off without them,

Stick your stickers up your arse! 

© Sarah Ogilvie 2024