Mar
27
Mentoring Notes
Filed Under Mentor Blog
(posted by Poetry Lab Volunteer, Trisha)
This week, I had a good mentor experience. I wasn’t sure it would turn out that way. When I got to my school, one of my students was on her way to the front office. I headed upstairs to meet with my second student. She seemed a little distracted, but she said she was ready to write, so we headed down to the library. The minute we walked in, the PA came on to announce a school lockdown. As soon as that was over, a group of students came in, sat at the table next to us, and started reading stories and goofing off…
Despite all the distractions, my second student got serious when we started writing. She wrote one poem, then shared a longer one she just “had in her head.” We also took some time to talk about Tracie Morris’ “Project Princess” from the “United States of Poetry.” I had heard a recording of her reading it on the radio, and from the opening line, her wordplay and delivery grabbed my attention:
Teeny feet rock
layered double socks
popping side piping of
many colored loose lace ups …
My first student never did write that day. But at least two staff members told me what strong writers both of the girls were and how glad they were to see them writing. “They’ve got a lot of talent,” one TA said. “They both do.”
I left with huge respect for the student who shared her work with me – someone she barely knew – and the realization that finding ways to challenge her will challenge me. I’ve already picked up a new spoken word anthology to see what might stick …
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