13 Ways of Looking at the Teacher

June of 2020 – Responding to the prompt: Using William Carlos Williams’ 13 Ways of Looking at Blackbird as your model/frame/template, write a 13 stanza poem offering your 13 ways of looking at your first year of teaching

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1.  Often the student 

Learning the most 

Is the teacher 

Learning their students 

2.  The teacher must 

Pay attention 

To 

How they express 

How they decompress 

How they learn 

How they live 

3. The teacher must 

 Not 

Take 

Their 

Words 

Personally 

4. The teacher must 

Be 

Flexible 

Humble 

Gentle 

Firm

Understanding 

A student 

5. The teacher must 

See 

Their humanity 

Their resilience 

Their brilliance 

Their words 

Their growth 

6. The teacher must 

Name what they see 

Celebrate 

Victories 

Celebrate 

Joys 

Celebrate 

Community 

Celebrate 

Hard Work

That otherwise may go unseen 

7. The teacher must 

Take care 

Of 

Themselves 

8. You cannot put others masks on 

If you 

Yourself 

Can’t breathe 

9. The teacher must

Ask 

For help 

For support 

For encouragement 

For listening ears 

For criticism 

For a community 

10. The teacher must 

Write 

Their way 

Through 

11. The teacher must 

Be okay 

With not being okay 

Somedays 

12. The teacher must 

Be friends 

With 

Failure 

13. The teacher must 

Celebrate 

Their own 

Victories 

Their joys 

Their push through the pains 

Their resilience 

Their brilliance