The Globe Poem by Manjula Reddy

THE GLOBE

All of seven, going on eight
Still trying to understand concepts like height and weight
A great deal have these young ones to learn
At school, out of books and from teachers kind yet firm.

Tests every Tuesday, keep us on our toes
Go right ahead, add to our woes
Learn to read, write and work out sums
Most of the work ably done by stressed out mums. 

Fifty percent is needed to pass
At every stage children judged en masse
'If the others can do it, so can your child'
Get good marks, be a source of pride. 

Definitions are definitely the name of the game
Learn to reproduce, it's always been the same
What it boils down to ultimately
Is to define something correctly and aptly. 

On one such Tuesday Test day
Much feared as is needless to say
Social studies was being tested on
Map work, the continents, seas, oceans and all. 

Asked to differentiate between a globe and a map
My little one answered just as planned
'A globe is a true model of the Earth' she defined
Then added something unique by her own design. 

When I read this on her Tuesday Test
Deleted and marked wrong - by the teacher laid to rest
In amusement burst out I, laughing like a crazed hyena
My daughter had written, 'A globe is a true model of the Earth and is made in China.'

This to my mind is true intelligence borne
Coming from a child with a mind of her own
When mummy had shown her the globe at home
She observed the small print and made it her own!