WEBVTT

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At 7:45 a.m., I open the doors to a building

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dedicated to building, yet only breaks me down.

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I march down hallways cleaned up after me every day

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by regular janitors,

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but I never have the decency to honor their names.

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Lockers left open like teenage boys' mouths

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when teenage girls wear clothes that covers

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their insecurities but exposes everything else.

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Masculinity mimicked by men who grew up with no fathers,

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camouflage worn by bullies who are dangerously armed

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but need hugs.

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Teachers paid less than what it costs them to be here.

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Oceans of adolescents come here to receive lessons

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but never learn to swim,

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part like the Red Sea when the bell rings.

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This is a training ground.

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My high school is Chicago,

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diverse and segregated on purpose.

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Social lines are barbed wire.

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Labels like "Regulars" and "Honors" resonate.

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I am an Honors but go home with Regular students

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who are soldiers in territory that owns them.

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This is a training ground to sort out the Regulars

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from the Honors, a reoccurring cycle

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built to recycle the trash of this system.

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Trained at a young age to capitalize,

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letters taught now that capitalism raises you

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but you have to step on someone else to get there.

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This is a training ground where one group

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is taught to lead and the other is made to follow.

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No wonder so many of my people spit bars,

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because the truth is hard to swallow.

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The need for degrees has left so many people frozen.

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Homework is stressful,

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but when you go home every day and your home is work,

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you don't want to pick up any assignments.

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Reading textbooks is stressful,

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but reading does not matter when you feel

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your story is already written,

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either dead or getting booked.

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Taking tests is stressful,

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but bubbling in a Scantron does not stop

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bullets from bursting.

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I hear education systems are failing,

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but I believe they're succeeding at what they're built to do --

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to train you, to keep you on track,

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to track down an American dream that has failed

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so many of us all.

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(Applause)