Education's Failed Promises The poem is named "Education for Leisure," therefore education is a recurring subject throughout the composition. Throughout the most literal sense, the protagonist is a teenager who has recently dropped out or been expelled from school, hence scenes of teaching and learning are significant in the poem. However, this interpretation fails to account for some of the more obscure references made by Dickinson throughout the work. In addition, there are several allusions made by the poet that go beyond simple symbolism. For example, she refers to "schooling his young mind" and "teaching him to read." These lines could be interpreted as statements about her own education, but it is also possible they refer to the need to educate society's children. If this is the case, then the poem could be said to be educational in the broader sense of the word- that is, trying to improve the understanding of how to educate people so that we can better our world. Finally, it should be noted that the poem was written at a time when American schools were just beginning to adopt a system of standard grades between kindergarten and college graduation. Before this point, students usually stayed in school until they graduated with a certificate indicating their profession after taking additional courses during the summer months. Thus, the idea of teenagers leaving school before they became adults is not unusual.