Pen a Poem about Poverty

The thing about poverty is that is indefinable, untenable, unreachable, and untouchable
But never ineducable, is it?
Poverty is that thing I am said to deal with, though I never see it.
No one says I am poor. No one says I live in poverty.
When in fact, no one really does.
We talk about poverty. But where is poverty?
Have you seen him? Have you met him?

Poverty is bankruptcy. Now that’s poverty.
Poverty is that students are bankrupt.
Bankrupt of critical thinking skills.
Bankrupt of reading comprehension skills.
Bankrupt of basic levels of literacy and numeracy.
There lies poverty. Right there. It runs perpendicular to its
Cruel first cousin, ignorance.

Poverty is in the dearth, the dearth that surrounds the
Earth where I teach. The dearth of intellect.
The dearth of administrative oversight to know
that I teach students, not content.
The dearth of intellectual curiosity.
The dearth of logic, reason, and passion.
And not the passion the students have for each other.
The passion this teacher has for the content.
The dearth of best practices and common sense.
I wrote common sense not Common Core.

Poverty has a conceptual framework
Nowhere to be found in the state frameworks
Poverty is sly, quick-witted, and slow-footed
Poverty is deceptive, expensively clad
Hold up, wait
Maybe not.

The thing about poverty is that is definable, tenable, reachable, and touchable
It is educable, yes?
Poverty is the thing I am said to deal with and I see it daily.
No one says I am poor. No one says I live in poverty.
When in fact, everyone does.
We talk about poverty. Where is poverty?
It is here. It is there. It is without care. We stopped
Saying poverty and got socially conscious

Critical needs are needs that are indefinable, untenable, unreachable, and untouchable
Hold up, wait
Maybe not.

Favorite Student

Describe one of your favorite students. It seems easy enough. If I think about it, I can write and say they are all my favorite students, but honesty appears. In truth, I do have a favorite, and I try not to let it show. I think sometimes it does show. My favorite lamb is fresh out of alternative school, sent there last year for a seemingly innocuous crime. He one day brought a knife to school to show off. Violating a zero-tolerance policy, he was shipped off to Holly Springs for the alternative program. He returned this year, a free man, happy to be back out among his classmates.

Said student comes to school just about every day. After is, it is Mississippi. Who in these parts has perfect attendance? He is in my first period class, the class is unusually quiet not because they fear me, but rather it is first period, and they are still half-awake, half-dead. He sits in the front near the projector, where I placed him. He is of great assistance, which explains why he has such prime real estate. He scrolls down for me, adjusts the display, and tinkers with the cords when need be. Reading is not his strongest subject, but he tries. And trying is what counts. I know I can expect effort from this student.

There are days when he is a little grumpy and will express that he cannot do the assignment because it is tough or difficult or confusing. That is when old Mr. Farmer trudges out the student’s nickname and urges the student to get back on task and work diligently. This grumpiness has lead to a few disciplinary issues for the student. With other students, he is not as attentive or respectful as he should be. Thus, he has taken a couple of trips to the wood shed and had his behavior modified. Indeed, the favorite student has been on the receiving end of some tough love. Being the good kid that he is, he shrugs it off and chalks it up to momentary lapses in judgment (my phrase, not the student’s, though he will agree that is what it is). Work and behavior are improving for him.

Finally, my favorite student is reliable and helpful, always there to help me change my bulletin board or pass out papers or sweep the room. I am pretty grateful for this student. Preconceived notions laid bare, I fully expected this student to be trouble when I met him. Granted, he is small for his age, the stigma attached to a stint in alternative school was ever present.

In sum, my favorite student is a good kid. There most of the time to handle his responsibilities and work, he is average and decent, interested in sports and girls, wanting to go pro and leave his small burg and chase dreams in the big city. I know not what the future holds in store for him, but I hope he does well in all his future endeavors. He is a good kid; he deserves it.