Our Host
Denise Neal is currently the principal at Our Lady of the Way RC School in Belize. She has been in the education field for 29 years at the primary level and continues to do adjunct lecturing at the University of Belize from 2014 to the present. Her research interest centers around writing instructions at the primary level. Presently, she provides PD (professional development) for primary school teachers to develop their writer identity. She enjoys meeting new people and strongly believes in the power of writing to transform, liberate, and bring awareness to those who are often neglected because of their status.
Inspiration
As a woman of color being raised on the southside of Belize, I was faced with the hardship of having to do with the little my parents could provide for my siblings and me. I wanted more, I was hungry for greater opportunities, and I knew that education would open up the space for me to not only gain knowledge but to develop the mindset to become a productive citizen and allow me the opportunity to aid the underprivileged children in my community. My journey at Oklahoma was rigorous, but I endured the process and can now serve as a mirror for my students who have hopes for a better future.
Process
Think about your educational journey. In Aristotle’s words, “ The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Because we all have different experiences, our stories will be a collage of joy, success, pain, sacrifice, opportunities, and commitment. I encourage you to write in 4 lines and have a minimum of five stanzas.
However, you are also welcome to write freely to TELL your STORY.
Denise’s Poem
My Story
Education is valued and nurtured by the privileged
While the underprivileged are restricted
Due to the financial disadvantage
Which causes those in power to take advantage.
Education should be a right
But is it a RIGHT
The marginalized group has to struggle
They struggle for FOOD, HEALTH CARE, and EDUCATION!
As a student, I had to work hard
I struggled with the effects of being labeled
Growing up on the northside of Belize was rough
So I had to double up and became tough
The academic discourse in High school was English
I was made to feel like Kriol was inferior
I had to speak the language that my colonial masters enforced
Which caused me to feel like I had to deny my cultural identity.
Because my parents never went to high school
I wanted to be the first to achieve that milestone
So I labored, persevered, and went through the rigid process
I kept going and going and going.
I believe in Education
Education is the path to liberation
But very COSTLY!
The cost is a major factor that hinders marginalized groups
Oh, how I wish my mom was alive
Alive in the flesh to witness my greatest lifetime achievement
While it was an intense, rigorous journey
God led me through the fire and was merciful
I had support from my family
I had support from my advisors and committee members
I had support from my colleagues
Thank you, Lord, YOUR MERCY NEVER FAILS me.
© Denise Cumberbatch Neal, PhD 10/18/24
Your Turn
Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human, and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. For suggestions on how to comment with care.
Denise – Your poem narrates a real, a marvelous story of strength, grit, and spirit. I’m inspired and hope to join in later today. Thank you for a terrific prompt.
Susie
Denise, thank you for this wonderful prompt. I’ve been writing away in my journal…first your prompt from the point of view of a character which led to an article and finding words for a found poem which led to a photograph. I don’t have anything to share publicly. But, it’s been a good time of writing this morning. Thank you! I’m so glad you are a teacher and that we get to call the profession we work in ours.
Denise, so many facets of your educational journey reflect my own – the cost of the education as a barrier, the longing for someone who loved, supported, and sacrificed for you to see “my greatest lifetime achievement.” What a great invitation today – for I believer we are all knot together by our stories, and therein lies the greatest reason for sharing them. “Thank you, Lord, YOUR MERCY NEVER FAILS me” – Amen.
Latecomer
in the eleventh hour
of eleventh grade
I decided to
go to college
it had never been
discussed or encouraged
at home
it was a thing
for other people
with money
(be a secretary,
said my dad
so I begrudgingly
signed up
a business typing class
and promptly
failed it)
I had to have
an appointment
with the AP English teacher
who didn’t want
to let me in
due to my lack
of preparation
I love books,
I told him.
I’ve loved writing
all my life
he sighed
and said
all right
but only on
a trial basis
I nailed that course
tying with two others
for the highest GPA
at home
my father frowned
and reluctantly co-signed
for the student loans
you’ll have to pay for itz
he said
because I can’t
and I did
because my grandmother
secretly helped
I lost motivation
and my way
after the first year
it would be
twenty more
before I returned
in a cohort
for teacher assistants
to become certified
on the day I graduated
my oldest was taking
his first semester
college exams
in the end
the eleventh hour
turned out to be
perfect timing
What a tough road you had to get where you are. Thanks for sharing your story.
Denise, what an amazing journey you have had! Your story is an inspiration, and I certainly understand wanting our moms to be back, if only for a day. I’m grateful that you had support along the way. The power of encouragement and having a team makes all the difference! Thank you for hosting us today and inspiring all of us to share our journeys.
What Mattered
not the classrooms
not the worksheets
not the crayons
but the experiencing
not the posters
not the desks
not the chalkboards
but the reading
not the papers
not the assignments
not the projects
but the thinking
not the textbooks
not the answers
not the calculating
but the writing
Amen and amen, Kim – I started trying to write my own stories when I was six years old, and specific teachers appeared along the way like sages to guide me onward and upward with the craft. For Scout in TKAM reading was like breathing – for me, as for you, writing was and still is my breathing. I cannot imagine my life without it. This poem sings to my very soul, friend.
Kim, I love the structure you chose for writing this morning, the short clips using not, but. I try to provide these important things to my students.