I am a resistor of the “countdown,” as in counting down the days until the end of school. I am anxious as nearly 600 other educators to dive into Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher’s 180 Days and get the story for my next novel that is waiting impatiently in my mind onto “paper,” but I don’t want school to end. I don’t want to wake up and not rush to the young people twenty miles away with stories to share. There is so much yet to experience together.
So I ignore the numbers and slash marks on the boards of the classrooms I borrow as a traveling teacher and focus on the students still alongside me and the student still within me.
It’s true, students do need something different from teachers in May than they did in September. This may be interpreted as “needing an exit,” which may, in all honesty, come from the vibe teachers are giving off to students about a teacher’s need to exit. Yes. Teachers are tired at this point and do need something different in May than they do in September, too. The experiences and assignments have to respond to the pulse of the class community.
This Tuesday, instead of students writing a short response about their choice novels, I asked seventh graders to write a response to the poems we crafted. We had just finished writing 30 poems in 30 days for National Poetry Month. It was nearly 90 degrees in Chicagoland, so we ventured beyond the stifling concrete walls, sat on benches, and leaned on trees to revisit our poems, moving the verses into portfolios and selecting a couple to revise.
I thought, Why not spend some time uncovering the choices in your own poetry? Why not look to your peers for the craft in their verses? We are all writers. We are all published authors. I wanted them to see that in their poetry rests and stirs technique, meaning, intention, and passion that is worth reading closely and celebrating!
Here is one example of a student R–. doing a close reading of her classmate’s poem. I smiled all the way through the assessment of this assignment. And I think that is the key. Experience, do, assign, and assess what you, as the teacher, want to witness in your students at this point in the school year. And let the students’ be the mentor texts for you.
This week, I’m doing something a little bit different. Instead of analyzing a quote from a book, I’m doing one of the poems that we wrote for our 30-day challenge. I am going to be analyzing A–‘s “Connect the Words” Poem. To summarize, this poem is about a queen who has been through many heartbreaks and hardships. She is standing up for her people, who, like her, have also been through many hardships. The poem really emphasizes how, when given power, one can do great things, some bad, others good, and I think this poem is talking about the new leader is a warrior, not just someone who misuses their power. Also, one of the most important things to consider when reading this poem is that she has been betrayed many times, and she has lost a lot of people close to her.
I can infer that the people of the town that she is leading had a ruler who was a tyrant, who was cruel, misused his/her power, overcome by greed. I can infer this because of the line, “She hears the cries /Of the families who’ve lost/ So/ Much.” I think the previous king or queen was controlling and cruel to his/her people and cared only for the crown, not the title of being a leader. I think that the town needs a leader like her because they have been through war (“Won through pain/ and loss/ and bloodshed.”) ,and so they’re in need of not just peace, but someone who can make their town or country better by ensuring that tyranny or corruption never happens again in their government. Something I really like on this poem is the last stanza: “She promised to make her own path/ She promised to not be used and tossed/ She promised/ And so/ She did.” A– uses the technique of anaphora with the words “she promised”. That adds a lot of emphasis on the overall message of perseverance even in the face of pain. It also ends the poem on a powerful note, so it stays with the reader. I can connect this poem to a Hindi movie I saw called Bahubali 2: The Conclusion. In that movie, a young man heroicly overthrows a town’s ruler, who is a power-hungry tyrant (aka his evil uncle). In the ending scene, the new ruler (the hero) makes a powerful speech to his people, promising that he will be a good leader. I can connect that to this poem because the focus of both is being a better ruler and serving for your people. Lastly, I can connect this poem to the one we read in class today, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes. I can connect these poems because one of the subjects of both is perseverance and determination.
I completely agree with the countdown business. I think it’s a good idea to celebrate the successes of the school year, but that ‘s not what is being communicated sometimes. Too often it seems like we’re celebrating a time when school will not be in session. What does that convey about our attitude for when school is in session?