Yesterday, I gave my 11th graders the Time Magazine article by children’s author Matt de la Peña “Why We Shouldn’t Shield Children From Darkness“. It’s my students’ article of the week, and they must come prepared on Friday to discuss it. In this article, de la Peña explains how a publisher essentially wanted to censor an image in his children’s book Love because it was “…a little to heavy for children. And it might make parents uncomfortable.”
Before I gave my students the article, I read de la Peña‘s book to them. Adolescents of 16 and 17 still love to be read to, by the way.
They sat in rapt attention as I turned the pages and the story unfolded. We also used the reading of the children’s picture book as our prompt for writing. The pages that had the disputed image had the following text:
“It’s not only stars that flame out, you discover.
It’s summer, too.
And friendships.
And people.”
I used this text as the beginning or prompt for my writing that follows:
When stars flame out, it’s forever.
But there will be other stars.
When summers flame out
there is usually the next.
And, while we wait a gestation period
of nine months for another summer,
we have the beauties of autumn, winter,
and spring to keep us company.
When friendships flame out,
sometimes it’s forever too.
But other times, the friendships
are born again.
This time, they are wiser, more cautious,
the boundaries requiring, no demanding
respect.
It sounds like echoes of laughter,
It feels like a hug long overdue,
It’s taste is bittersweet,
It looks like love,
It seems like forgiveness.
When people flame out,
you’d think that would be forever.
But, it’s not.
They live on…
in the smiles of their children
in the memories of their lovers
in the laughter of their grandchildren
in the lessons we’ve learned from them
in the land where they lived
in the churches where they worshipped
in the stories that we tell about them
and, in our most cherished dreams.
I love to write while my students are writing. One of the goals I’ve set for myself this year is to cultivate my own writing practice, and this is where I’m starting. Please, follow along with me each week as I reflect on my practice as a teacher and a writer. I will share with you little glimpses into my classroom, and my writing.