I have the privilege of teaching a Special Education Behavior Improvement Class (all boys) in a low-income, high minority middle school. My students haven't yet found poetry that speaks to them. Tupac writes about the life my students live. His poetry may be the key to unlocking a love of reading.
My students - almost always male - have a variety of issues that make it difficult for them to behave appropriately.
Most of them are angry - at themselves and the world - and see no future for themselves beyond a life on the street. Our area is very low income, with almost no jobs available. The students feel like the requirements of school are totally irrelevant to their lives. They enjoy rap music, and know Tupac Shakur the rapper. I would like to introduce them to Tupac the poet. Tupac writes about events that are familiar to my students, problems they are living with, and challenges they see every day. I hope that if I can reach the students with a book of poetry about their lives, they will see the benefit of reading other things as well.
My Project
When I receive these books, I will use them as an introduction to a poetry unit. We will read Tupac's poems, analyze them, use the poetry to improve our knowledge of figurative language, and write our own poems. Once the students see that poetry can be relevant and fun to read, we can expand into the more traditional forms of poetry found in standard textbooks.
Your donations will allow my students to see that there are books and poetry written by and for young African-American men.
Once they realize that education is for people like Tupac, and by extension for people like themselves, I will encourage them to continue to explore other types of literature. They need hope. Seeing the positive things that have been accomplished by a rapper may be just the thing to give them that hope for a better future.
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