Intuitive Roots

The Clown, My Heart (p. 9)

]]> The poem, "The Clown, My Heart" by Sandra Cisneros, describes the variety of feelings that our heart can experience. What are some of the adolescent experiences that kids hearts are effected by in our world today? As teachers of adolescents' what directions do you think the hearts of kids are turning to most in our society?

Growing

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]]> In Keesha's House the author paints a vivid picture of the difficult, emotional problems that the teens go through. There are six characters that all in some way are related to the place called 'Keesha's House', and throught the novel they grow from one another and work through some of their problems. When was a time you were going through a rough time emotionally and another person (a friend, family member, or community member) helped you through it? Did you grow from the expereince? How?

Growing

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Planting Initiation Song (pg.8)

]]> In the poem, Planting Initiation Song, by the Osage People, it talks about all the types of foot prints they've made in their life time, what types of footprints do you think you've made in your life, or someone elses'? What type of footprints would you want to make in the future?

The Nailbiter ( p.33)

]]> Have you ever done something hurtful to a friend that you regret? Did you try to resolve the issue and how did you do it? If not, why didnt you and how has it affected you to this day?

Scars by William Stafford (P 24)

]]> The poem talks about the different attitudes people have towards scars. How do scars change the way you feel about certain things? How does a person attain a scar? Can a scar be a good thing? Do you have a scar?

A Mother's Love

A Mothers Love
____________

A Mother's Love,
Curves around the skin of a child,
Tangles in their hair,
Holds their hand when they leave your side,
Prayers sent up for protection,
What do you do when your child is gone?

What would you do when your child is gone?
Would you have the strength to stand up?
Bruised and battered,
A wake up call,
To a nation tangled in fear and hate,
I cry for the mother who must bury her child.

The mother who must bury her child,
Feels grief like a knife,
Cradles it like a newborn baby,
Wears it like a threadbare dress,
Carries it on her bowed shoulders,
Uses it as lamplight on a nation under seige.

A light on the seige that enveloped a nation,
An ugliness that still stains,
The cast of characters ever shifting,
We rage against a nameless enemy,
All we are looking for,
Is a mother's love.

]]> Hatred can come in all shapes and sizes, from a snide comment to an act of incredible violence, like what is described in "A Wreath for Emmett Till". Have you ever witnessed an act of injustice or hatred? What did you do or would have liked to have done? There are many instances of discrimination that still exist in our world today. What can we do to help right these wrongs?

Corruption Collage

]]> By looking at this collage we can see that acts of violence, hatred, and corruption seem to prevail throughout our world. These elements have been a part of our past history and are inescapable. Spend some time analyzing this collage; after doing so you may realize gang violence, hatred, and racist acts exist in your own life. Where and when have you witnessed these devastating acts? What caused these events? How do these events accumulate hatred in our world leading to war?

Spectrum of Change

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]]> Meanings of the colors: Red=War, Green=courage, Blue=Unknown, White=hope, Purple=loss, Yellow=Unjustice, and Black=violence.
Keeping that in mind, with the war going on today, how do you think they are dealing with the loss and violence from their own people in the middle east? Do you think they are able to find courage and hope given the unknown of the aftermath of the war? What is the most dramatic thing that has affected you and your life?

Bridge

]]> I chose this poem because it seemed very interesting. It made me think of different bridges we use in our lives. What kind of bridges do you see in your life? For example, the bridge to your future may be for education.

Bridge

]]> This poem is about crossing over bridges to the unknown. This can be a scary concept, especially for adolescents. What bridges have you had to cross to the unknown in your life? Were you scared? How di d you deal with it?

]]> For our entry we used objects to represent all the different people that the Little Prince encounters along his journey. With this in mind, think about all the different types of people you've met in your life. The Little Prince took his impressions from all the people he met, what kind of foot prints do you think you leave in your life? What type of person do you want to be remembered as? As we learned in the book, there are some traits you don't want to be associated with, so think hard of the type of person you want to be.

Concrete Poem

cartoon for Pedro and Me

My education on what HIV and AID's are has been a set of steps that led me to where I am now. Where are you now in your level of knowledge about HIV and do you feel a responsibility to do something about the current situation. If so, what do you plan to do?