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Here in America, in every single state,
There's a set of standards for every subject
A collection of lessons the teacher is required to teach by the end of the term
But the greatest lessons you will ever teach us will not come from your syllabus
The greatest lessons you will ever teach us you won't even remember.
We weren't told what not to say
We just learned to hold our tongues
Now somewhere in America there's a child holding a copy of Catcher and the Rye and a child holding a gun
Only one has been banned by their state government
And it's not the one that can tear through flesh
It's the one that says Fuck you on more pages than one
Because we must control what the people say, how they think
Because if they want to become the overseers of their own selves
Then we'll show the a real one
So somewhere in America there's a kid on his mother's computer reading the homepage of the KKK website
And that's open to the public
But that kid would have never read To Kill a Mockingbird
Because schools have banned it for its use of the N Word
Maya Angalou is prohibited because we aren't allowed to talk about rape in school
Because we are taught just because something happens, doesn't mean we are to talk about it
Transcontinental railroads to Japanese internment camps
There are things MISSING from our history books!
Somewhere in America, a private school girl looks for hours to find the prom dress of her dreams
While on the South side kids are digging through the Lost and Found because winter's coming and that's the only coat they have
Somewhere in America, coaches hide star players raping freshmen after the dance
Girls get killed for rejecting dates
But Lord forbid I bring my girlfriend to prom
The greatest lessons will not come from your lesson plan
The greatest lessons, you won't even remember learning.
