Teachers

The 6th grade Poetry unit is wrapping up at school. We had just finished reading "Laughers" by Langston Hughes. The original title of the poem was "My People". I assigned my ELA class the task of writing a poem about who they felt their people were. The variations were wonderful and surprising. I explained that we have many different people with whom we identify as we are many people within ourselves. I didn't want them to feel they were excluding any part of themselves in this one poem.  

I am never one to skip out on a writing assignment, so I share with you a poem about who make up one group of my people.

Teachers ~ inspired by Langston Hughes’ "Laughers”

Knowledge-givers,

feelings-healers,

speakers,

believers in the future in a closed in box-

my people.

Secret-keepers,

notebook-finders,

students’ fans,

pencil-sharpeners,

nurses,

parents,

friends,

supporter of dreams,

implementors of consequences,

laughers,

lesson writers,

lighthouses in the storm

and hand-holders in the background-

goal-makers, all-

my people.

Tireless-workers, all-

my people.

Talkers-

God, what talkers!

Dreamers-

God! What dreamers!

Dreamers and talkers

talkers and creators.

Creators?

Yes, creators...creators...creators-

stepped-on believers in the future in a closed in box.