Who We Are, as Told by Who They Are

There are moments when I seriously consider giving up teaching. There are days when a teacher feels as though she is rowing a rickety, heavily laden boat against a current of ever-changing demands. The list of what I’m required to teach keeps growing. So does the number of kids unable to meet the requirements of what they are taught.

However, when I take the time to really see and hear my students, I realize the true value of teaching--a value not measured by any standardized test or government task force.

With their permission, let me share with you excerpts from poems my students wrote about themselves. Their words not only reflect images of our nation’s youth, but, if you look closely enough, you might just see yourself.

*

I am the daughter of great parents

Living in a beautiful community

With happiness and harmony around my family.

-- --

I am the middle child

The one who had to sit back and watch my world fall

Into the abyss of a divorce that broke many bonds.

-- --

I am the daughter of hard-working field workers

In the burning sun,

Picking strawberries, celery,

Doing the work no one wants to do.

-- --

I am tolerance

A small grain dissolved in the sea of life

My peers are afraid to do the same--to be a part of everyone else.

-- --

I consider myself micro compared to the MACRO world in which we live.

-- --

I am the little, big guy

The one to have no fears but can be found

In a corner, cowering and shivering when it gets unbearable.

-- --

I hid behind the bottle

Booze helped me to speak the crazy language of teenagers

Eased the loneliness,

No shyness.

-- --

I am the teenager who has a 4.0 GPA

Is president of a club

Got married

Has a child

Got divorced

All before finishing high school.

-- --

I’ve learned two languages

Learned to fight for my goals

Learned to survive the struggles and the desperation

And, I am noble and I will make my parents proud.

-- --

Now comes the Marine Corps--the future

Did I make the right decision? A damn mistake? Who knows?

Lord, take pity on me

I’m trying to do one right thing.

-- --

As a child, hate was my ration, love my famine

I was confined to my malice

A recluse to my paranoia

But now I’m a survivor.

-- --

I have problems learning

But I worked hard

Got lots of help

I overcame

I will succeed and be a mentor to all who have the same problems.

-- --

My parents taught me to like everyone

No matter if their skin color is different

Poor or rich

physically disabled or mentally challenged

I’m grateful for what they taught me.

-- --

I am the twinkle in my father’s eye and the arms that hold my mother when times get tough

I am the angel who is yet to be seen.

*

These are the voices that call me back from the temptation of seeking greener pastures. And every day--if I choose to stop, look and listen--I can behold our greatest dreams, our worst fears and our only hope for the future: our children, the most verdant pastures of all.