Poetry Friday: A Certain Kind of Acceptance

Poetry_FridayWhile I wrote this week’s Poetry Friday poem at an earlier time, it does give a hint about my mood these days. It’s a poem about what I sometimes choose to accept and what I don’t accept.

So, why post such a poem as this now? Hmmm…I wonder. This is the week the kids take the Iowa Assessments at our school. While the kids in my classroom usually do pretty well on them, there are some who don’t. Regardless of the outcome, I end up feeling like a schmuck for putting 8- and 9-year old children through this ritual. I resent taking time away from my instruction to give the tests, the way they disrupt our learning. To compensate for this disruption, the tests reveal that this child can’t read the words of the test well enough to engage her brain productively in the task of deciding “which of the four answers presented is better than the others.” That one devours tests as if they were Hershey’s kisses lined up in a row, with a similar amount of thought. But I knew these things already because I know the kids through their writing, through listening to them read, and through many, many conversations. The tests don’t add anything useful to my understanding, and they put a good-sized hole in our joint quest to learn, and learn better.

Many folks already know about the rising tide of test refusal around the country. Readers of this blog know that I’ve been struggling with what to accept within my profession and within my own work place; with what to try to change and how. While necessary sometimes, being a burr under the saddle of an institution isn’t comfortable for the burr anymore than the horse. And, as Megan Allen said recently, one has choices to make in order to maintain one’s teacher mojo, accepting gentleness and time for oneself are some of these.

So, here’s a poem about a certain kind of acceptance. To change oneself and one’s world, isn’t the first thing to name what needs to be changed?

SepticA Certain Kind of Acceptance

A photo of a billboard
hangs in a narrow space
in a small closet
in my classroom —
Steve’s Septic:
I’ll take Crap
from Anyone.
I was brought up
to accept almost anything
with at least a nod.

Like the waste can
receives the remains of
that man’s lunch;
Or the apple trees,
their pruning.
Yes. In an old movie, a man
closed his eyes,
arched his spine to bare
his neck for the barber’s razor.
Yes. Like these.

But not like the
stigma welcomes
pollen borne
on the spring wind.
No. Not like waves
clap rocks
on broad shoulders;
Nor like the spider
embraces the lacewing.
No. Not like these.

© Steve Peterson

PS. For some great poetry, please visit the good folks at Teaching Authors.

10 thoughts on “Poetry Friday: A Certain Kind of Acceptance

    • Tabatha, thanks for stopping by to read and offer a comment! I’m not as much of a curmudgeon as this “rant” makes out, but the whole testing thing always gets me down. My goal was to help the kids (and me) laugh today. We did that. Many times.

  1. Interesting insights into the dilemma of testing. As a former elementary teacher and now mom, testing has never made sense. The picture and poem are fabulous – I, too, “was brought up
    to accept almost anything with at least a nod” to a certain extent. Thanks for sharing. =)

    • Bridget, thanks for leaving a comment. So you know of what I speak, the testing stuff? And from the inside (and the parent side.) I’m in the process of figuring out what I’ll accept and what I won’t. Being brought up Swedish-Lutheran in the Upper Midwest makes me a bit susceptible to accepting some things, and not others. I’m trying to learn the right balance…while still smiling and laughing. Those are important for third graders, too. 🙂

  2. Our fourth graders were just subjected to days on days of testing. And our ELL students are facing days of state language proficiency tests. And then, of course, all our 3-5ths will have the state tests, while as teachers, we look ahead (not forward) to the PARCC assessments.

    Your poem is so powerful, so perfect. Those last two stanzas wow me with their images. I’m printing this one. Thank you.

    • Mary Lee, thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! Ugh to the testing situation that you describe. 🙁 We haven’t gotten to that level of testing quite yet, but we are sprinting in that direction. Smarter Balanced testing is in our future, which I’m sure will be both smarter and more balanced. And probably as useful. Yep.

      As always, your comments are encouraging. You are a champion encourager. Thanks for that!

  3. Steve, I’m new to your blog–so glad PF has sent me here. Your loving kindness bubbles up from every word of prose and poetry. Love the similes…you inspire me to reach beyond the obvious for original comparisons.

    The big book of Alcoholics Anonymous includes an inspiring quote on acceptance….I just googled it and there are lots of places it’s quoted. Here’s one:
    http://www.corileefox.com/2006/03/acceptance-is-the-answer-to-all-my-problems-today/

    • April, Thank you so much for the kind words. The folks I have “met” via this blog (and PF!) have been wonderful additions to my life. Perhaps you’ve experienced the same “awakening” and know what I mean? And thanks, too, for the link. What a fine way of thinking about acceptance.

      When writing the poem, I remember trying to search for the images that felt correct. In the search, interestingly, I discovered something about myself. I love the way writing can do that. It’s almost magical.

      Thanks again for stopping by!

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