One class assignment is to write a poem about a time when you were waiting to do something, or a time just before something was about to happen. Here are my favorites (in no particular order):
"I Got Arrested"
November 1, 2012
Once in winter
I ran, I tried to get away
It was cold and windy in that winter night
Everything was dark except for me
Blue and white light of the police cars all over
I tried to hide and get away
Everyone around me was scared and asking me where to go
And following me while the police were running after us
I felt adrenaline going through me
I felt scared, nervous, and mad
I knew that very soon they were going to catch up
And everything was going to be over
And I ended up in a green and white jumpsuit
with a $910,000 bond.
(L.A., 17)
"My Father's Murder"
September 2, 1986
Once in summer
I sat around the table with my brothers and sisters
It was raining
Everything was black for me
I only cried
Everyone around me was crying
I felt confused
I knew that everything would be slow forever
And nothing has closed, because I remember my father forever.
(I.G., 39)
"Divorce"
July 1997
Once in summer
I wanted the time to go fast
But it went slow because it was hot
Everything was good
I was at the club at night
Everyone around me was boring
I felt happy
I knew that very soon I would be coming to my freedom
But I would lose my daughter.
(L.G., 37)
"Wedding"
Summer 2010
Once in the summer
I was sitting on the table drinking some tequila
It was sunny and hot
Everything was blue, gray, and white
I got up and staggered over to my friends
Everyone around me was happy and having a good time
I felt excited and happy
I knew that very soon I would have to drive home
And I knew I couldn't cuz I was drunk.
(D.G., 21)
"Christmas"
December 24, 2011
Once in winter
I stood in the middle of my living room waiting to open my present
It was cold
Everything was red, white, and green
I was talking to my cousins
Everyone around me was smiling and clapping
I felt very excited
I knew that very soon I would be spending it
And another party would start.
(J.R., 18)
"First Day of School"
August 25, 2012
Once in summer
I stood outside waiting for the school bus
It was a nice warm morning
Everything was green and tropical
I was talking to my brother
Everyone around me was murmuring and staring at me
I felt strange and scorned at the same time
I knew soon it would be over
And the day would end nicely.
(L.D., with points for using two vocabulary words, "scorn" and "murmur")
"First Day of School"
January 7, 2013
Once in winter
I took a shower and I got ready
It was kind of cold
Everything was orange and white and gray
I was looking around
Everyone around me was sleeping and snoring
I felt excited
I knew that very soon I was about to meet other people
And get out of the dorm.
(P.P., 30)
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
I'll Be In Jail If You Need Me
You remember that one of my ESL classes takes place in the county jail. I started teaching a group of adults there in September 2012--all Hispanic men from various Spanish-speaking countries, who had been in the U.S. for anywhere from 5 to 20 years. The youngest one was 27 or 28 and the oldest well into his 50s. Except for the occasional wisecrack, class went smoothly and for the most part, was really fun.
This semester they've added juveniles to my class load, plus more adults, so I have 14 guys over 25 plus 6 kids between the ages of 17 and 21. Some of these kids have been in the U.S. since they were just babies, so the U.S. is all they know. Some of them speak English better than Spanish, and I think most (if not all) are/were some kind of gang members. They're full of tattoos, piercings (using plastic pieces of a broken comb as jewelry now that they can't get to whatever they had before coming to jail), and huge personalities. I'm not afraid of any of them; they're basically all good kids, it's just that they act like the teenagers they are.
And they make teaching really difficult for me. I'm not good at classroom management: that's one of the reasons why I went into adult education instead of working at a public K-12 school. I want to teach students who want to learn. I know the guys who are in my class do want to learn, but they want to play, too. I feel like I need to have a tighter rein on disruptive behavior. Which isn't even anything I want to deal with!
Also, since they've come in, I feel the double weight of teaching English plus shaping futures. I feel like I'm teaching half a regular adult ESL class, and half 9th grade remedial English. The kids can speak English fine, but their writing is atrocious. I know I'm not a social worker anymore, but I want to do something to change these kids' futures while there's still time. But what can I do besides re-read Literacy With An Attitude and think about Paulo Freire? I never took any special education classes, or how to teach English literature classes. All I know is ESL . . .
One of my younger guys told me today that he's needed glasses for a while. "I always sat in the back at school," he said. "But I couldn't see anything, and the teacher, she never moved me, so I just quit coming after a while." I wonder if he would have still ended up in the Wake County Detention Center if he would have gotten glasses in middle school? That might be too much to ask, but just wondering . . .
What a change in students I've had over the past six months! The switch from co-teaching at a Japanese junior high school to being in charge of a program that serves immigrants and refugees from all over the world has been a big one. Even the mistakes they're making in English are worlds apart, worthy of a separate post.
In the meantime, give me some strategies for working with a multi-leveled, multi-aged class of kids and adults who have been in and out of the correctional system, but who are still trying to dream big. How can I help them without going crazy in the meantime?
This semester they've added juveniles to my class load, plus more adults, so I have 14 guys over 25 plus 6 kids between the ages of 17 and 21. Some of these kids have been in the U.S. since they were just babies, so the U.S. is all they know. Some of them speak English better than Spanish, and I think most (if not all) are/were some kind of gang members. They're full of tattoos, piercings (using plastic pieces of a broken comb as jewelry now that they can't get to whatever they had before coming to jail), and huge personalities. I'm not afraid of any of them; they're basically all good kids, it's just that they act like the teenagers they are.
And they make teaching really difficult for me. I'm not good at classroom management: that's one of the reasons why I went into adult education instead of working at a public K-12 school. I want to teach students who want to learn. I know the guys who are in my class do want to learn, but they want to play, too. I feel like I need to have a tighter rein on disruptive behavior. Which isn't even anything I want to deal with!
Also, since they've come in, I feel the double weight of teaching English plus shaping futures. I feel like I'm teaching half a regular adult ESL class, and half 9th grade remedial English. The kids can speak English fine, but their writing is atrocious. I know I'm not a social worker anymore, but I want to do something to change these kids' futures while there's still time. But what can I do besides re-read Literacy With An Attitude and think about Paulo Freire? I never took any special education classes, or how to teach English literature classes. All I know is ESL . . .
One of my younger guys told me today that he's needed glasses for a while. "I always sat in the back at school," he said. "But I couldn't see anything, and the teacher, she never moved me, so I just quit coming after a while." I wonder if he would have still ended up in the Wake County Detention Center if he would have gotten glasses in middle school? That might be too much to ask, but just wondering . . .
What a change in students I've had over the past six months! The switch from co-teaching at a Japanese junior high school to being in charge of a program that serves immigrants and refugees from all over the world has been a big one. Even the mistakes they're making in English are worlds apart, worthy of a separate post.
In the meantime, give me some strategies for working with a multi-leveled, multi-aged class of kids and adults who have been in and out of the correctional system, but who are still trying to dream big. How can I help them without going crazy in the meantime?
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