Irish Poetry

Several years ago, I was in an airport in Ireland waiting for a flight. While I was sitting having an early morning coffee, long before I had a cell phone to distract me, I began to read the posters throughout the terminal. Each of the posters were Irish poets or authors and pieces of their famous works. The one that really caught my eye was a picture of William Butler Yeats with the poem "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" on it. I was struck by the picture of Yeats as an older man, but with a look in his eyes of a much younger man. I read the poem several times. In fact, I looked at the poem so long that I almost had it memorized by the time I boarded the plane (It's a short poem). When I got home, I ended up buying a book of poems by Yeats and discovered several other poems as well. The spark that introduced me to who would become my favorite poet, was a simple poster hung where passersby could catch a quick glimpse of his genius.

Long before my introduction to Yeats, I had been a fan of inspirational pictures and quotes in school. In fact, I often put "pearls of wisdom" in my classroom newsletter. That tradition has now spread to my weekly blog posts. Seeing how a simple poster introduced me to a world I didn't know existed, I'm even more of a fan of placing pictures, artwork, or inspirational quotes where students can read them. Maybe it's in a classroom, maybe in a hallway, maybe it's hearing the "quote of the week" on the morning announcements. I believe in being deliberate in what we expose students to and I also believe that even a random poster or phrase that catches a child's eye can capture their imagination.

As educators, what types of images and words are you exposing your students to? Is your room filled with inspiring quotes or beautiful pictures? Is there a poster that tells children they are special or a picture that inspires their creativity? Sometimes the things that just become a part of the landscape or something that has always been there may be the one thing a students focuses on or catches their eye. Make those images positive ones and words that send the message to students that they are important and that they can accomplish anything they can dream. Maybe like me, they will say that a poster or image exposed them to a world of beauty that they never knew existed!

PEARLS OF WISDOM (from poetry)

"Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run" - Rudyard Kipling

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by" - Robert Frost

"Oh Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done" - Walt Whitman 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, October 3: Student of the Month Assembly 9:05-9:30 am

                                 Crazy 8's Math Club 4:15-5:15 pm

Tuesday, October 4: Parent Meeting (VanDongen) 4:00 pm 

Wednesday, October 5: Parent Meeting (Casucci) 8:20 am

Thursday, October 6: Staff Meeting 8:05 am (5 Dimensions)

                                   Elementary Principals Meeting 1:00-4:30 pm

                                   PTA Executive Committee 5:30 pm

                                   PTA Meeting 6:30 pm 

Friday, October 7: Fun Walk 1:20-3:00 pm (following schedule on flyer)

Monday, October 10: Celebrate Monday Assembly 9:05-9:20 am

Tuesday, October 11: Data Dives in the LMC (rotating subs)

Wednesday, October 12: Achievement Team 8:20 am

                                        Lifetouch Picture Day 

Thursday, October 13: Collaborative Learning Time 7:50 am 

Wednesday, October 26: Parent Teacher Conferences 1:00-4:00 / 5:00-8:00 pm 

Thursday, October 27: Parent Teacher Conferences 1:00-4:00 / 5:00-8:00 pm 

GREAT EDUCATORS TO FOLLOW ON TWITTER

Todd Bloch

Sandy King