Save the Children

Our children are truly our most precious resources. They depend on us - the adults to help them find their place in life, to care for them, guide them and prepare them for the world that awaits them. We all have a responsibility to the children. Each day, I strive to make a difference in the life of someone, especially children. So many children and families feel "voiceless" - "powerless" in the educational arena in America.  My next book - "Who Speaks For Me" tells many of the stories of the voiceless people in education; with the goal of helping to give voice to them.

who speaks for me

Copyright 2011 by Helen Tinsley

i am the voice of the voiceless

i am the voice of those students 

who are uneducated, miseducated

or simply not given the tools 

to be successful in society today.

i am the voice of those students 

who languish in special ed classes,

remedial programs, alternative classes

or other structures that marginalize

 & demoralize their essence.

i am the voice of students 

whose spirit is squashed

by uncaring adults, low expectations 

& pervasive disregard

in inner city schools throughout america.

i am their voice & this is their story.

stop 

u don’t know me

u only make money off me

yea, tho i walk thru the valley of public schools

i shall fear no evil for i am black 

& my God is with me.

i sit in classes, raise my hand, draw my pictures,

want to read my story & u don’t call on me

music teacher – u give out instruments & u bypass me

math teacher ― u have calculators i never see

art teachers – your closets r full of papers, paints & clay

u think r too good for me

principal – u create cracks to push me in

breed academic gaps & try to limit me

what is your problem 

& whose agenda do u follow?

i am strong, powerful & smart & i’m gonna do me

i read the books u hide

understand the knowledge u deny

& recognize today is the day we will not be shy

we will take this information & fly

today we are revolving, slowly evolving 

& the lies are dissolving

the revolution was televised 

when the levees broke & america choked

langston hughes wrote the ways of white folks

& the Hon Elijah Muhammad spoke 

told us wake up black folks

this is the final Call!