TEACHERS

I've read lots of books; they've structured my ways

Some sonnets, short stories, an occasional play

But Shakespearean literature never could say

The things that I'm going to tell you today

I read the newspapers; I read magazines

I watch All My Children, I loved watching "The Scene"

I watch daily news on WDIV

And I like watching westerns on TNT

And I've been lots of places; I love New York City

I went down to Florida; it's too hot, but still pretty

I grew up watching scandals with Nixon and Liddy

And I dreamt bigger dreams when I read "Walter Mitty"

But wherever I go, whomever I see

Whatever I dream or aspire to be

No newspaper, commercial, TV, or degree

Could ever teach more than what my students have taught me

They urge me to look past their hair and their looks

and the coats and the bags they have hung on their hooks

And whatever I've needed, whatever it took

They taught me the things that I can't learn in books

Perhaps I encountered an angry, old grouch

My head may have hurt or my stomach was pouched

And the days I am tired I might slump or I'll slouch

Yet the students do more than any nice bed or couch

And though all days are good, there are days I see rain

With traffic and paperwork, my back feeling pain

Yet I look to my students again and again

to help keep me smiling, to help keep me sane

So each school year ends and the summers be

And I think of my students and all that I've seen

And I tell you, even with all of my college degrees

I will never learn more than what my students have taught me!

WELCOME to Mr. Novak's web site, and to our wonderful world of learning! Simply click on one of the links to the left to enjoy the poetry, pictures, quotations, and activities!

... And please remember, it's all about THE KIDS!