november fifth

I walk into the class--into silence.

Mr. Cohen has the students completely captured in what he's saying. The election was the night before. More than the issue of which candidate stands for what, Mr. Cohen was addressing the social implications of what having a president of African American descent be elected. He read a poem from Langston Hughes:

Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!

O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!

This poem had them completely held. As he read this, the students were really thinking about what he was saying. The hope is that some of them were even realizing what all of this really means. When I was a student Mr. Cohen was teaching us "so what", which is what he calls how to make your writing matter to someone the way it already should matter to the writer. Even as a teaching assistant, I'm able to see how that same "so what" leaks into everything. To him, the "so what" is what makes art, science, literature--everything matter.

Later today, I sat in on two of Ms. Ohle's classes, which today, are in the computer lab. Middle school has really changed since I was a student in that everything is getting a lot more technological. Discussions, homework, and work can all be posted online. There's a lot more convenience in being exposed to these kinds of things so early. The fact is, the world itself is getting a lot more technological in most things that we do.

The discussions, which feature questions, comments etc., are available online in what is called a wikispace. To ensure safety, last names are not posted and although it is available for public reading, posting is exclusive to the classroom.

http://missohlesclass.wikispaces.com/message/list/home

Today though, the reason the class is in the computer lab is because they are beginning creating their blogs, on which they will post their works (right now they're working on persuasive writing). The assignment is as follows:

	Welcome! We will begin a project that will be similar to a writing journal. To begin, each student will be responsible for creating a personal blog. The first entry will be an abstract of your persuasive essay. Your abstract should include your thesis and three main ideas. Remember, your goal is to persuade your readers with compelling arguments. Once every student has posted their first entry, I will pair students to react to the writer's point of view and make constructive comments and counterarguments on the blog. Here are some guidleines: The blogs are only for work and writings associated with language literacy class. Do not reveal any personal information about yourself: full name, address, phone number, etc. Do not post anything that breaks a school rule: swearing, inappropriate content, gossip, etc. Do not post comments to this blog that are inappropriate or disrespectful. Immediately report any inappropriate comments left by others to your blog. Feel free to post personal writings that you want to share with others, as long as they relate to the language literacy curriculum. Please post a comment on my blog!

This is kind of a cool project because of the creativity it allows a student to exhibit. I don't know if they really feel it, because mostly the teacher is reading, but it is interesting that a student is--published. When a person's work is available online it's a weird feeling. They are published. When that first happened to me, there was a strange feeling that I had finally been recognized. I'm just wondering if they see that. Or maybe they think no one will read it and it's just another project--I'm just thinking.

Just as I'm typing this, the student next to me frequently glancing at my screen trying to read what I'm writing. It's kind of adorable. Then the student turns her screen away from me so she can show something to one of her friends.