If you teach a child to read, then their opportunities in life will be endless.
Barbara Bush (1925-2018)
"Endless"
sometimes it seems as if
there is no way you
will be able to teach
that recalcitrant reader how a
single book can change a person's entire world because that child
resists endlessly, but you hold big truth, and so you are compelled to
keep looking for that perfect read
and then
one magical and unforgettable day their
eyes are opened to the opportunities
waiting in
books and all of a sudden, that student's life,
previously limited, will
never be
the same, the horizons have become endless
(C) Carol Wilcox, 2018
Love the quote, love the poem, love the message!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Love that you even got some current events woven in (RIP Barbara Bush).
ReplyDeleteYour poem is a beautiful tribute to Barbara Bush. The golden shovel is perfect here, and you capture the struggle teachers face in the line about recalcitrant readers. That one child who doesn't read always makes me feel like a failure.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking a lot about Barbara Bush. I remember her well but was not a fan; still, I think I might have missed something important in her tenure as first lady and wonder if I'd think about her differently had I been older at the time or if I had not been teaching while she was first lady. These notions about the way perspective, time and place, etc. influence our points of view.
What a wonderful quotation and I love the way you create your golden shovel from it. Your inventiveness around the topic of reading has engaged me throughout the month!
ReplyDelete