A Thousand Kids Remember

You're packing up the classroom But you can't pack up what you did There were granola bars kept hidden in the bottom of your drawer For the kids who came in hungry — you never kept a score You stayed past five on Tuesdays for the boy they'd given up He owns a shop downtown now, says you never let him drop You think you taught us lessons You taught us we were worth one A thousand kids remember you, though you never kept the count The one you fed, the one you saved, the ones you turned around Some of us teach classrooms now because you taught us how A thousand kids remember — and we're all singing now Chalk dust and dry-erase, the smell of pencil shavings sharp Your handwriting on report cards that lived in dresser drawers like art You learned a thousand names and never once forgot a face Tomorrow some new teacher tries to fill that kind of space The bell rings one more time today Listen what comes after A thousand kids remember you, though you never kept the count The one you fed, the one you saved, the ones you turned around Some of us teach classrooms now because you taught us how A thousand kids remember — and we're all singing now Somewhere right now a kid you taught is teaching one of theirs The lesson keeps on traveling — it goes where you can't go A thousand kids remember you, though you never kept the count The one you fed, the one you saved, the ones you turned around Some of us teach classrooms now because you taught us how A thousand kids remember — and we're all singing now Class dismissed, dear teacher Look at all you set in motion