A monthlong celebration of poetry

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:

Here are two sonnets on grading and one on learning poetry in summer school. The word ’grade’ comes from the Latin ’gradus.’ 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.

INSTRUCTIONAL GRADING STAGES – 102 PAGES – a sonnet on it

if in daily practice you’re using summative form
while you may be close or just about getting there
the ’Repair Kit for Grading” says you’re getting warm
as you determine grades from your teacher’s chair

emphasize recent achievement, the later the better
in developmental learning – which in time will grow
your scholars may still be behind the ears wetter
more opportunities to try will put them in the know

in the role of assessors as your students evolve
let them play more roles in the process of grading
let them find a way that they all can involve
themselves in those worksheets they’re all trading

and just when you thought your grading was all through
start rereading Quality Assessment, # of pages? 102

* * *

P.O.E.M.—p.OORLY o.RGANIZED e.VIDENCE m.ATRIX

do not,do not do that, do not do this
best not try and guess what is meant
guarantee you will find grading amiss
using anything less than quality assessment

refrain from organizing info (in grading student souls)
by summarizing assessment records into a single grade
organize evidence by standards and learning goals
state clear expectations—you have it made in the shade

in order to provide good grades more than fair
assign no grades based on students vs. students
to preset standards their performance compare
thus adhering to your grading jurisprudence

start and stick with high standards of quality
your grading may trend towards degrees of jollity

SUMMER SCHOOL – POETRY 222

I ask them to break a poem
and hold it up and fight
like a bird inside a net
like a clutch pressure plate
like a no seeum bug inside their ear
I say mop up the floors with it
ring out the syllable suds
dust the poem’s broom
and sweep its halls
with a hickory switch
I want them to surf
across the surface of the poem
waving and riding the words ashore
but all they want to do is fry the poem
and eat the oil soaked sound
they begin eating it with a rose
to find out about love and death
and what that break up
really means for this summer

* * *

Diapers, Grandparents, Jeopardy: 3 more Boomer Sonnets

By JOSEPH B. CONNOLLY
Special to the Saipan Tribune

GRANDPARENTS – BOOMER SONNETS, THE ’G’ LIST

Do you remember your grandparents? even grandparents-in-law?
both sides from your biological mother and dad?
Did you have special names for them? Opa, mamaw, and Papaw?
Did they always hug and comfort you when you were sad?

Did they favor an older sister or a younger brother?
Were some dead before you were born or after?
Did they give you all the same presents or one thing then another?
When they came by did you know you were in for laughter?

Are you one now? Do your grandkids live very far away?
Do you enjoy the drive to see them? like to watch them play?
Are your own kids not happy when for a week you’ll stay?
Are your grandkids the smartest and cutest no matter what others say?

So Gramps, Grams, grumpy Grandpa, and gentle Grammies
Enjoy your grandkids: sleepy, shining, dirty, or in their jammies

DIAPER DITTY BAG? DEPENDS… BOOMER SONNETS, the ’D’ LIST

So it’s down the road with a heavy load in my diapers dear
More baby swipes and constant gripes to clean up my arrears
It won’t be long till I sing that song of cowboys out on the range
Then you’ll know that my backside was powdered with a change

Oh there’s plastic Huggies available now for horse & man and cow
Fast and quick to cover up your buns no need to show you how
In the old days we used cotton ones held together with a diaper pin
You only needed one to get the job done unless diapering a twin

When on a horse you’ll bounce of course and likewise on a bike
After a while you’ll find the style of diaper riding that you like
If you don’t know when you start to go just use some common sense
Just admit the fact that you’ve been plagued with adult incontinence

Well enough of all that chewing the fat as the daylight ends
I’ll just go home, no more to roam, and change into Depends

JEOPARDY – BOOMER SONNETS, the ’J’ LIST

In danger of finding out what the pain is all about
Afraid to ask the question? but what the heck
Get two diagnoses if you’re still in doubt
Better than you’ll get from Alex Trebec

We’re all in jeopardy now in one way or the other
From head to toe old bodies feeling more and more troubled
Bad teeth, knees, something’s wrong with sister and brother
Our crime? Growing older. Fear increases – jeopardy doubled

So when the MRI’s and X-rays come back with prognosis made
And you know you’re in danger of getting something new
Don’t wait around for those swellings or aging spots to fade
Pay attention to about 50% of what the Doc tells you to do

Nothing wrong with being in danger, go outside and take a whiff
You’ll find the entire country’s in jeopardy teetering on a fiscal cliff