To get my students thinking about how they are going to perform the
poems they have chosen to memorize for the last day of National Poetry Month, we watched a few Def Jam poetry performances in class yesterday.
One particular poem intrigued them so much that we had quite an
extensive discussion about what the poem means and they just seemed
genuinely concerned for the poet. They wanted to know more about him and
the story behind the poem. Both of my literature classes felt equally
drawn to this poem and each class initiated a discussion where everyone
took their turn speaking, asked thoughtful questions, and gave equally
thoughtful responses.
It was one of those moments
you have as a teacher where you consciously stop and remind yourself,
"This. This moment right here is why I stay."
The poem we watched and discussed was "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty.
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