Skip to main content

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. ;-)
Labels:

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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Professional Practice Dissertation Pre-Proposal, Part 1 of 4

My dissertation proposal as a culture-based education (CBE) version of Chopped All-Stars Please indulge my need for metaphors and analogies to make sense of my world. This is Part 1 of  4 blog posts to clarify my thinking on my proposed dissertation topic.  How will this study work? Gather strong chefs, leaders and innovators in their own right and challenge them to create synergistic culinary masterpieces in the CBE Project,  a professional development program. change chef to teacher; change culinary masterpieces to culture-based education-infused practices and curriculum )  The parameters:  time (Kamehameha Hawaiʻi 4-week course with deadlines for teachers' own action research and learning portfolio to follow) key ingredients ( CBE practices , moenahā framework, makawalu ,  and the   National Writing Project program model) the course (teachers' own content area and current curriculum) The question: How doe...
6 comments
Read more

Dissertation Proposal 4 of 4: Timeline

Timeline Summer 12 - pre-proposal, lit reviews, submission for B-credit, negotiations for a course (place, time) Fall 12 - build the course using the village, build in  indigenous, developmental evaluation and sustainability Spring 13 - submit IRB approvals, pa ʻa the logic model, recruit teacher leaders Summer 13 - Alana Summer Institute Fall 13 - teacher action research and gathering of data Spring 14 - analyze data, write Summer 14 - write, collaborate, present This is a "in an ideal world" timeline that does not take into account the village, the permissions from higher ups, the ability to exist on a non-budget, the recruitment of teachers willing to participate in this work with me, the full time job duties that I already have AND the fact that Iʻm supposed to be in 6 or 9 credits worth of my own courses in the Summer of 13 on Oahu when I want to serve my Big Island teachers. Any suggestions?
3 comments
Read more

Dissertation 3 of 4: Research Methods

"From the vantage point of the colonized, a position from which I write, and choose to privilege, the term 'research' is inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism. The word itself, 'research,' is probably one of the dirtiest words in the indigenous world's vocabulary." ( Tuhiwai Smith , 1999) Paula Moya, a Chicana researcher says, "identities are fundamental to the process of all knowledge production" ( p. 102 ).   Like Tuhiwai Smith, I must also embrace my identity as a colonized researcher.  Moya goes on to say that education,  "should not be about merely inculcating status quo values,"  but to reject the status quo as a way to inculcate a "transformative multicultural education" that will educate all learners for democracy and social justice  (p. 109). The Alana Project, starting with this professional development course, which becomes my dissertation action research, sees transformative multicu...
3 comments
Read more