Verse 1

His cup was full before he got to school
And then he showed up late looking like a fool
He had drool on his chin from waking up late
And an aching in his belly because he barely ever ate
The clothes he wore were straight off the floor
There was an odor, pretty hard to ignore
Before he goes to class he’s gotta show ID
But lost it, five dollar penalty
He just wants to sit down and take a deep breath
Forget about his dad locked up for meth
But his homework once again he forgot
And the teacher's gotta put him right on the spot
Like, “Where’s it at? Why’s it late?
How come you can never keep nothin’ straight?”
And he don’t wanna debate, but he gets defensive
Says a couple things you could call offensive
Just like that kicked out of class
And that’s one more class he might never pass
Told he can come back when he’s ready to learn
But what’s he gonna learn if he doesn’t return?
He’ll learn being by himself is much less demanding
No failure and no reprimanding
It also ingrains his understanding
That adults in his life will just keep on stranding
Him on his own, keep leaving him alone
If he wanted neglect he could’ve just stayed home
But he came to school and he wants to grow
And he’s been through things no one should have to know
Now I’m not saying his behavior should be tolerated
But a little compassion is appreciated
Teaching is hard and we get frustrated
But it's so much harder when we’re separated

Chorus

One smile, one minute
Can let him know you’re there and that he’s not alone in it
He looks tough, but he’s not
This chance you give him might be all that he’s got
He needs some hope, give him some hope

Verse 2

If a kid told you that two plus two
Was like twenty-five, what would you do?
Probably teach, re-teach, and then teach again
But if the kid talks back then the lesson ends
Or we send them home, three day suspension
Call it discipline, but it lacks dimension
Completely ineffective in the way of prevention
Provides no process for ascension
Dissension reinforced, daily basis
Detention administered, stuck in stasis
Think if we ministered true solutions
What would that do to our evolution
A restorative practice revolution
Healing what hurts, purify the pollution
Some like to say that the system's broken
That doesn't really help with no suggestion spoken
There's people working hard from the inside out
That the media never says much about
They report the mess and never the success
Because people doing well doesn't sell much press
They stress the kid that got incarcerated
But not the at-risk that graduated
They never show his mom's face so elated
Because the news is negatively saturated
So teachers try to stay positive
Learn to let it go and then to forgive
There's quite a few kids that are counting on you
And there's so many sides to the job you do
You're an innovator, a co-creator
A mentor and a collaborator
Your classroom's a magical incubator
Giving nourishment and there's nothing greater