6/6/12
This is the week that many of my students are getting ready for promotion or graduation. Usually when I'm in the classroom, this time is taken by last minute projects, my poetry unit, student expositions, speech coaching, writing letters to my students, etc... This year, I have had a long time to think about the kids that I have taught who are moving on, and I can't be more proud. There are the twin girls, who in 8th grade were phenomenal writers and introduced me to some awesome punk bands, that are now both going to Yale on full scholarships. There's the kid who has been on HBO for his spoken word, now going to UC Berkeley with the Gates Millennium scholarship which pays for his education, house, and board through a doctoral degree should he want one. He told me he plans on being a *sniff English teacher in Oakland. There's the chubby kid from 7th grade who was always in the back cracking jokes, who is now an accomplished boxer and headed to Berkeley as well.
At the same time, I can't help thinking about the kids that slipped through the cracks. The boy who was 13 going on 30, who wrote heart-wrenching poetry about his family, and now at 18 has three kids by three different girls. The kid who could throw the football 70 yards in 8th grade, and dunk from the freethrow line, who has been incarcerated since he was 16, and looks to get out at 27. And then there's the ones who didn't make it to their 18th birthday, who never got the chance to walk a stage or be on their own.
My thoughts go out to all my kids at this time, whether they have "made it" or not, I hope that you have brightness in your life and love in your hearts.
you are so kind
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