Yesterday being the day before spring break, I decided to have my intensive readers do some creative writing. I put two Judith Viorst poems in front of them: “What are You Mad About? What are You Glad About?” and “If I Were in Charge of the World.” All 18 of them dove right in and got to writing their own versions. The boys would speak out loud as they wrote:
“If I was in charge I’d drop 80 polar bears into China…” and other typical 12-year-old boy stuff. They were laughing and giggling like evil geniuses. It was a sight to behold.
The girls were different. They focused in quietly, each taking a slightly different approach. The first one to walk up to me with a finished product was a girl that has a lot of behavior issues. She isn’t even allowed to leave the classroom without an escort. I have no idea what all her infractions are, and I have seen the good and the bad sides of her.
On this day, she had been rather quiet and self-contained: none of the snark I sometimes get with her. She walked up to me and quietly handed me her poem. (I have typed out below for easier reading.)
Maybe it was the space I was in, but I could not contain my tears. I was extremely moved by her insights and honesty. Her ability to balance the positive and the negative, and recognize what is driving her. I also am impressed by her ability to put it on the page in a way that adds meaning and purpose. I told her again she is a writer, and that she needs to be writing more. She agreed.
I don’t have but a handful of weeks left with her, but I’m hoping to find ways to keep some creative writing as a regular part of the class. This day showed me once again—young people need expression. And we need to provide a container for that to happen.
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