Henry's Poem: My Reality
My Reality
My Reality
This is madness
How did we ever get here?
We were on easy street
Do good work, get good grades.
Teach, get paid.
But now we are in a living hell.
Refusing to teach, say not enough pay
Refusing to learn and work, bringing down the grade
Unbalanced pay, that doesn't make sense.
Too many kids to teach.
Boss says there’s not enough resources to go around
The Boss says we need money.
The Boss says if we get money
Things will be better
Boss says volunteer
But here volunteering is mandatory
Where did it all go wrong
It used to be about help
To teach the kids, help them.
Give them knowledge
But now the people in charge
only care about money.
But we persist.
We learn on our own
And we still come out
On top
It strengthens us
But not without setbacks
We are at constant war
Backstabbing, you just
don't know who is your ally
But that isn’t even the worst
Corruption
It is an oxymoron
Boss calls teacher watching test
Corruption, but boss is also corrupt.
We live in fear.
Fear. It defines us.
It drives us
Fear of not advancing makes us work harder
Fear of retaliation drives us to take sides in disputes,
Of which we shouldn’t even know of
Fear of isolation drives us to quick alliances
Fear of judgement forces us to wear a mask,
It hides who we truly are
And Insecurity
We are insecure.
Am I good enough?
Do people like me?
Will I be able to advance higher
The worst part is how we are living in this `
But it never had to be this way
We didn’t always live in fear
But the past is only the past
Now is now
But Now
Where did it all go wrong?
i think that your poem was about cps and to me it kindof didnt mske sense.Also i notice that you hwere talking about Ms.Shelton some.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was good. I liked how you talked a bout an experience we can all relate to and how we feel about these things. You could have done better on the presenting however. But overall your poem was very good.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is amazing and you weren't afraid to say what you want to about somebody even though they hold the most power in this school and can hurt you you still wrote and presented it.
ReplyDeletei realte to this and you kida talking about what happened to ms stevens and how under fnded the cps is
ReplyDeleteGood job Henry. I thought it was interesting how you brought in situations that are currently occurring, and put it into a poem. Nice
ReplyDeleteThis poem had an extremely fine tone for discussing a really important topic in society, where people in Chicago work their butts off but barely get any money. I also saw how you also talked about teacher's not getting enough pay, but in a really concise and neat manner, which makes this poem more intriguing and more serious at the same time. Overall, this is a really good poem.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was great. I think the message, however hidden, got to the whole class. The relevance of this poem was strong, and I think your presentation, with you remembering almost the entire thing was great!! Good job Henry!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were going back and retracing your steps in this poem. I also enjoyed how you explained the cause and effect in your poetry. I think that you allowed others to step inside your thinking which is really cool and unique.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really good! I liked how you talked about something that we all went through. This poem could've been better if you spoke louder, but overall, great poem!
ReplyDeleteYour poem was interesting. I'm not really sure what it's about but it seems to have to do with many things. Overall I would just have to say good job because you seemed to be passionate about whatever your poem was about.
ReplyDeleteI think your poem was connected to Cps and what is going on around us.I also liked how you added rhyme into it.
ReplyDeleteHenry, this is powerful critique, particularly in light of contemporary events. It speaks to your personal experience of school and education, and changing ideas about the system and how it operates.
ReplyDeleteWhere didn't it all go wrong?
ReplyDeleteThe words you use are deep and moving, and add force to your poem. The slideshow adds the perfect amount of visual interest. Nice job!
I thought your poem had a good connection to all of us in the class, it addressed something that happened recently to us that isn't what all children have to go through. It was good and I liked how you brought it back to the point of asking where did it all go wrong? It was also personal in how you referred to people that only we would know.
ReplyDeletewow that was really good i like how you wrote about something that happened recently nice job
ReplyDeleteHenry, this poem goes to show how corrupt people can be even in a so called safe environment. I like the shift at the end and how it focuses on you and on your identity. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was certainly something, I like how you mentioned that someone in higher power can hurt you, it was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is CPS and the way you express this as a teachers point of view then you switch to a sudents point of view and you show where people queston each other and how they compete with others and all about CPS. I like this poem and it hides who you are talking about but in poem form.
ReplyDeleteHenry, your poem was good. You related it to school. You also made it personal and made sure people in your class can relate to and have experienced. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHenry, I enjoyed listening to your poem. I think everyone in the class could relate to your poem because of the whole situation with Ms. Stevens and Ms. Shelton. The topic you chose was unique and something that you are obviously passionate about. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteHenry, the topic you discussed in your poem was clearly a major issue in your eyes and something you are passionate about. I know a lot of people in the class can relate to this and this topic is very different than the previous poems that have been discussed. I like how you completed your poem by asking a question you asked in the beginning of the poem, good job!
ReplyDelete