Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment, Laura. You raise valid points.

To put my poem in context, we're talking Melbourne, Australia in the 1960s. There was no such thing as educational programs to facilitate social inclusion. In class, it was all about learning the 3Rs. If we were lucky there was one teacher on yard duty at recess times to cover the whole school yard. Playdates were like special occasions, in the same league as birthday parties.

Since then, schools in Melbourne have become increasingly multicultural and children have had the benefit of social skills training through play-based developmental learning. It's a constant work in progress - that's part of what it means to be human.