In an age where everything has been done, I offer this–when something is done well, steal it and use it yourself.
My kid is in 7th grade and, because he was a GATE kid at one point (we wonder sometimes), he gets to do things after school at Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach that extend his education, so to speak. Last year, he was in a class where he got to create beats via Soundcloud, or something of that ilk. At the end of the quarter, the teacher invited all the parents to hear what the kids created. Seemed like a good time, but not much for me to steal.
This year, he signed up for certain classes, but got Poetry Slam instead. No big deal, since his father is only the greatest poet ever (um, no) and his mother is a speech teacher. Get ready to be taken down, Slam Poetry, for it is in our boy’s genetic code. Today was the culminating event of the class–the Slam itself. He got second. Third wasn’t even close. A girl barely beat him, but she was really good with her poems and delivery. Still, it was nice seeing him in front of an audience of peers, teachers, and parents, dominating his way to second place. No, really, the girl who beat him was pretty darned good.
We had Poetry Out Loud at North High this year, but that’s not the same. Kids choose the poems they are to read from Poetry Out Loud’s database. And though there are some good poems from which to choose, it pretty much ends up being an acting contest of other’s words. Today the kids read three original poems that they wrote–two on specific themes and one “free” poem. It was about as you would figure a middle school Poetry Slam would be. All the kids read pretty well, some poems were better than others, some deliveries better than others. The usual.
But I was impressed at all the people that were there, and the civility and easy-going nature of the kids. There were also four or five teachers there, after school, willing to judge the poems. At the end of the Slam, all those teachers spoke and told everyone there how much they enjoyed teaching their kids, how nice the event was, how happy they were to be a part of it. They spoke to the group and then individually to certain parents and kids. Everyone involved seemed happy.
So, I’m stealing that assignment. I only wish I could steal everything else, too.