Another Poet in the Family

I'm not very good at producing readers, except for my youngest who had a goal to read a million words by the end of his school year and he made that amount by the end of September. Hey, he's a 5th grader, not much social life at that age. Still, even if the other two aren't reading for lifers, it seems writing and poetry run in the family.

Ahi participated in a local event called 16 Bars (he tells me that's a typical length of a freestyle rap). He's not a rapper, but he likes to write slam poems which could sound like rap, but they aren't restricted by a certain beat and they don't necessarily rhyme as much. Long story short, there were 4 boys from Kamehameha in this round and they were all poets (boys + poets = one happy English teacher - even if I only taught 3 out of 4 of them). The guys were judged by the emcee and one mystery judge, and audience response was factored in. Ahi was one of the two that moved on, but the other two have a chance to battle out of the lower bracket.

All in all it was an enjoyable night, and not because my son moved on. I thought all the boys did exceptionally well. I was proud of their vocabulary usage and the results may have been different if all of them memorized their pieces. Congratulations go out to Clint Anderson, 11th grade English teacher, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii. He couldn't be there that night because he was at his 10th high school reunion. As a slam poet himself he's doing a lot to give the boys the confidence to express themselves. They call themselves the Live Poet's Society. Yikes. ;-)

Comments

Anonymous said…

We were lucky enough to see Ahi's performance online and it was great!!(Go to www.fearlesshawaiian.com and see events.) The "Spoken Word" ... the power of it through three generations. What a high to see the hua (fruit).
I think a lot of our teenagers would be less rebellious if we gave them this kind of outlet to be heard!!
Good going to the blossoming poet!! Continue to spread the "Spoken Word!!"

October 14, 2008 at 12:42 PM

Liana said…

That was GREAT! WOW!!!! And how's the Bily Kenoi sign up in the back? He is EVERYWHERE, even at Ahi's great slam poetry exhibit!
I love how Ahi got in all that Hawaiian mana'o AND Hawaiian words! I MUA!!! and always look back...

October 20, 2008 at 12:18 PM

Kino (an indigenous logic model): post 1 of 4

Passion I have. What I need is to practice my elevator speeches, those short informative program synopses that can be done in the time it takes to ride the elevator. Of course it will take me 4 posts. Post 1: The honua: building on solid ground The Alana culture-based education course is graphically depicted by the above logic model. The honua (green box), the earth, represents the mo'ok ūauhau, the geneology of this program that informs and guides the building of this course. Dr. Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni and her team lay the foundation for culture-based education (CBE) modeling and immersion within the course. Dr. Walter Kahumoku and Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, in consultation with Dr. Bernice McCarthy (4Mat) bring to the geneology the work of moenahā, a curriculum planning concept based on the way kupuna taught. Makawalu, literally eight eyes, is a concept practiced by Kaʻimipono Kaiwi and her teachers at Kamehameha Kapālama to encourage multiple perspectives in the standards-b...

The Last Teacher

6/4/24 Anna's last day was Friday, May 31, 2024 She collected all of her gifts and notes from her students Took pictures with her seniors who she had as freshmen four years ago Turned in her keys and walked away from her Georgia classroom made up of predominantly black and brown students who needed her to stay. She is not (really) leaving because of the constant shift of politics/policies/procedures of her school district She survived that. She is not (really) leaving because she suddenly lost her colleague and mentor last year, her marigold. She survived that. She is not (really) leaving because of the overwhelming needs of her students Who continue to need her even after they have left her class. She did this tearfully because she was both too empty and too full to stay another year. She is going to graduate school for counseling in the fall Her next dream is to do horse therapy for children and young adults. She sees this as a failure on her part. ...

Battle of the Sexes

Ok, it's not a battle, but after being married for 20 years, I realize that there are some things that fall into the "mom's job" category, and there are some things that are strictly dad's domain. Mom's job is to find things. For 20 years I have lived in a male dominant household. The fact that the majority of the toilet seats in my house remain in the down position is a testament of the power of the one and only alpha female. However, what I can't do is teach my children (and my husband) how to do what I call "mom looking" versus "man looking." I don't need to explain this for the moms. They know exactly what I'm talking about. The guys are slower to catch on. I'll type s-l-o-w-l-y. Here's a typical "man looking" conversation: "mom! (or Cat!), where's the ______ (insert anything from socks to the car)?" "It's in the _________ (insert my instructions like refrigerator, garage, o...

Pure Manaʻo

Search This Blog