I teach high school English and a few week's ago we started our poetry unit. Before jumping into Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet I decided that we'd explore Spoken Word / Slam Poetry, which my students have really enjoyed. We'll also study three other poetry genres: Concrete Poems, Free Verse Poems and Odes. In the coming weeks my students will have to write their very own poems for each of these genres. I've toyed with the idea of having my students make a video recording of one of their original poems - as part of a multi-model text (i.e., combination of words, images and text). Like so many of my iPad dream-projects this year, I figured it would be best to go through the process first to see just how "manageable" this project would be. So, last night I just started writing and words started to fill my page. Before I knew it I had my own Concrete poem - where the words spelled out END.
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| END IT! |
I then went through the process of speaking these words that were on my heart. What came from that was this video. Let's be honest - it's raw, it's flawed, and it was simply suppose to be an "example" to show my students. And yet, it also reflects my honest, heart filled desire to see the Fight for Freedom be more then just a "Red X" trend. I'm not a writer, a poet or even a slammer. I'm simply a high school teacher that has a heart for social change and a desire to see human trafficking abolished in my lifetime. If you don't like the words, the flow, the images or the message - that's okay - but please don't blast me with hurtful comments! Just turn off the video, leave this blog site, unsubscribe from my FaceBook feed. But if this message hits home, please consider sharing it or supporting one of the amazing organizations out there fighting for freedom!
-Buen Camino
