After On Body and Soul, with its scenes of long suffering cattle, waiting to be slaughtered, this poem by Les Murray seems perfect.
The poem and students' reaction to it is mentioned in this interesting article, which, despite its use of the Marxist term "capitalism" (I would substitute "business practices where profit is the solitary motive, rather than the triple bottom- line", but I acknowledge that that is less catchy) makes, among other things, an excellent argument for the great importance of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to be taught how to read, write and think.
The students sound badly malnourished; spoon-feeding might be in order until they get their health back.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, George
DeleteThank you for mentioning this article which I would otherwise have missed. How sad that we can't hold back the tide.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
EH
Happy new year, EH
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