advent journal: public instruction

    2
    1098

    public instruction

    as I drove yesterday to the
    Department of Public Instruction
    I imagined a building filled
    with finger-pointing people
    telling other people what
    to do and how to do it
    I was going to be told
    what I needed to do to get
    my state teacher’s license
    the security guard instructed
    me to take the first left
    the man in the licensure office
    instructed me to wait
    sixty working days
    (I had to do math)
    for their response
    I found my own way out
    and back to my car where
    the GPS voice instructed me
    how to get back home
    though she did lead me
    down Peace Street . . .
    the dictionary says
    instruction is a synonym
    for teaching — I don’t think so
    telling people what to do or
    how to do it or to sit up straight
    is not the same as teaching
    trust me I’ve tried them both

    Peace,
    Milton

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