You look at my paper and say,

It's wrong,

you're wrong,

you fail,

I struggle to learn what I need,

You struggle to teach us the answers to the test,

Tests are more important that my knowledge,

Money rules everything,

That is what you taught me

My friend is a he, 

You're confused so you say she,

When I speak up so he won't be hurt,

You tell me I know nothing,

Life is not what I think it is,

You are what you're born into and nothing else,

That is what you taught me

My peers laughed and teased me,

My skin was not clear and my body was not slim,

I was different so they laughed,

When I turned to you for some solace all you did was shrug,

They're just being kids, 

That is what you taught me

I sat alone in gym class, embarassed to change,

Because when I went outside in shorts the boys would whistle and tease,

I didn't want to be looked at that way,

You never reprimanded them, 

Only me,

I must be doing something to make them act that way,

After all, boys will be boys,

That is what you taught me

Let me teach you something,

Let me tell you now,

Life is not a simple box that we all fit in,

You do not decide what is important in my life,

Most of all, I love myself,

That is something you never taught me

I taught myself