{"id":31873,"date":"2014-04-09T08:25:55","date_gmt":"2014-04-09T00:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tribune.ctsi-logistics.com\/?p=31873"},"modified":"2014-04-09T08:25:55","modified_gmt":"2014-04-09T00:25:55","slug":"monthlong-celebration-poetry-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/monthlong-celebration-poetry-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A monthlong celebration of poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

April is National Poetry Month, a monthlong, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. To mark the occasion, Tinian English teacher Joseph Connolly submitted the following poems for publication:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are two sonnets on grading and one on learning poetry in summer school. The word \u2019grade\u2019 comes from the Latin \u2019gradus.\u2019 I wonder how many teachers have ever heard students say, “Grade us.” Grading papers for teachers is an omnipresent task. The methods we use are in constant flux depending on the assignment, type of quiz\/test, and au courant philosophies. In 2007, while teaching English in the fifth largest school district in the nation, a “Repair Kit for Grading” consisting of 102 pages was distributed to us teachers employed there. I wondered whether the writers ever tried using it themselves or wished to have it used on them for grading their work? Summer school, for those students who grudgingly attend, is usually just a matter of killing time until the bell rings. Enjoy the poems.<\/p>\n

INSTRUCTIONAL GRADING STAGES – 102 PAGES – a sonnet on it<\/strong><\/p>\n

if in daily practice you\u2019re using summative form
\nwhile you may be close or just about getting there
\nthe \u2019Repair Kit for Grading” says you\u2019re getting warm
\nas you determine grades from your teacher\u2019s chair<\/p>\n

emphasize recent achievement, the later the better
\nin developmental learning – which in time will grow
\nyour scholars may still be behind the ears wetter
\nmore opportunities to try will put them in the know<\/p>\n

in the role of assessors as your students evolve
\nlet them play more roles in the process of grading
\nlet them find a way that they all can involve
\nthemselves in those worksheets they\u2019re all trading<\/p>\n

and just when you thought your grading was all through
\nstart rereading Quality Assessment, # of pages? 102<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

P.O.E.M.\u2014p.OORLY o.RGANIZED e.VIDENCE m.ATRIX<\/strong><\/p>\n

do not,do not do that, do not do this
\nbest not try and guess what is meant
\nguarantee you will find grading amiss
\nusing anything less than quality assessment<\/p>\n

refrain from organizing info (in grading student souls)
\nby summarizing assessment records into a single grade
\norganize evidence by standards and learning goals
\nstate clear expectations\u2014you have it made in the shade<\/p>\n

in order to provide good grades more than fair
\nassign no grades based on students vs. students
\nto preset standards their performance compare
\nthus adhering to your grading jurisprudence<\/p>\n

start and stick with high standards of quality
\nyour grading may trend towards degrees of jollity<\/p>\n

SUMMER SCHOOL – POETRY 222
\n<\/strong>
\nI ask them to break a poem
\nand hold it up and fight
\nlike a bird inside a net
\nlike a clutch pressure plate
\nlike a no seeum bug inside their ear
\nI say mop up the floors with it
\nring out the syllable suds
\ndust the poem\u2019s broom
\nand sweep its halls
\nwith a hickory switch
\nI want them to surf
\nacross the surface of the poem
\nwaving and riding the words ashore
\nbut all they want to do is fry the poem
\nand eat the oil soaked sound
\nthey begin eating it with a rose
\nto find out about love and death
\nand what that break up
\nreally means for this summer<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Diapers, Grandparents, Jeopardy: 3 more Boomer Sonnets<\/strong><\/p>\n

By JOSEPH B. CONNOLLY<\/u><\/em><\/strong>
\nSpecial to the Saipan Tribune<\/em><\/p>\n

GRANDPARENTS – BOOMER SONNETS, THE \u2019G\u2019 LIST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you remember your grandparents? even grandparents-in-law?
\nboth sides from your biological mother and dad?
\nDid you have special names for them? Opa, mamaw, and Papaw?
\nDid they always hug and comfort you when you were sad?<\/p>\n

Did they favor an older sister or a younger brother?
\nWere some dead before you were born or after?
\nDid they give you all the same presents or one thing then another?
\nWhen they came by did you know you were in for laughter?<\/p>\n

Are you one now? Do your grandkids live very far away?
\nDo you enjoy the drive to see them? like to watch them play?
\nAre your own kids not happy when for a week you\u2019ll stay?
\nAre your grandkids the smartest and cutest no matter what others say?<\/p>\n

So Gramps, Grams, grumpy Grandpa, and gentle Grammies
\nEnjoy your grandkids: sleepy, shining, dirty, or in their jammies<\/p>\n

DIAPER DITTY BAG? DEPENDS… BOOMER SONNETS, the \u2019D\u2019 LIST<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s down the road with a heavy load in my diapers dear
\nMore baby swipes and constant gripes to clean up my arrears
\nIt won\u2019t be long till I sing that song of cowboys out on the range
\nThen you\u2019ll know that my backside was powdered with a change<\/p>\n

Oh there\u2019s plastic Huggies available now for horse & man and cow
\nFast and quick to cover up your buns no need to show you how
\nIn the old days we used cotton ones held together with a diaper pin
\nYou only needed one to get the job done unless diapering a twin<\/p>\n

When on a horse you\u2019ll bounce of course and likewise on a bike
\nAfter a while you\u2019ll find the style of diaper riding that you like
\nIf you don\u2019t know when you start to go just use some common sense
\nJust admit the fact that you\u2019ve been plagued with adult incontinence<\/p>\n

Well enough of all that chewing the fat as the daylight ends
\nI\u2019ll just go home, no more to roam, and change into Depends<\/p>\n

JEOPARDY – BOOMER SONNETS, the \u2019J\u2019 LIST<\/strong><\/p>\n

In danger of finding out what the pain is all about
\nAfraid to ask the question? but what the heck
\nGet two diagnoses if you\u2019re still in doubt
\nBetter than you\u2019ll get from Alex Trebec<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all in jeopardy now in one way or the other
\nFrom head to toe old bodies feeling more and more troubled
\nBad teeth, knees, something\u2019s wrong with sister and brother
\nOur crime? Growing older. Fear increases – jeopardy doubled<\/p>\n

So when the MRI\u2019s and X-rays come back with prognosis made
\nAnd you know you\u2019re in danger of getting something new
\nDon\u2019t wait around for those swellings or aging spots to fade
\nPay attention to about 50% of what the Doc tells you to do<\/p>\n

Nothing wrong with being in danger, go outside and take a whiff
\nYou\u2019ll find the entire country\u2019s in jeopardy teetering on a fiscal cliff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April is National Poetry Month, a monthlong, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[163,64,492,57],"class_list":["post-31873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-and-style","tag-kids","tag-oil","tag-test","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}