This week in poetry: leadership! Darwin Elementary teaches leadership qualities at every grade level. As the school got ready for a leadership writing contest, the 2nd grade teachers asked if we might switch up the plans and create “leader” poems. I brought in a truncated version of Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise. The second graders and I discussed the strength of the speaker in the poem: where she summons her power from and how she shows her strength. And we discussed strength amidst adversity as a quality of leadership. I asked the students: what is a challenge you’ve found yourself facing, where you stood up for something? Write a poem about a time when you were a leader, by standing up for what you believe is right, even if its hard to do so.
Ms. Garcia
2nd Grade
You Are Not Me
Fatima A.
Even if you tell me
they don’t have
to or that’s how
they are I will
Still I will stand
up and not
care because you are
not me
So leave me alone
and go away
from me and don’t tell
me what to
Do because you
are not
me because no one else
is just like me
Not even you
so go and never
do that
again
Standing Up for Someone
Elijah G.
When all of the
boys in my class
we were playing
soccer we were
winning and the other
team got really mad
and one of the students
pushed one of their
teammates and the other
student started to
cry and then
me and all of
the boys stood up
for him and the
other student stopped
and he never did
that again.
Sister
Miley S.
You can stand up for
my sister but I can
stand up for her because
she’s my sister
so don’t bully
her
Blue eyes and don’t
say a word to her
a person doesn’t
bully so I am a
leader to me
Ms. Palacios
2nd Grade
Untitled
Branden E.
I almost lost my brother at
monkey island I went into a jumpy
house I lost him but I found him
right when I got right out
I found him by running around and
I found him at the slide. We played
a few times with the slide.
Untitled
Chazahyah B.
When my brother fell
and he hurt his hand
and I gave him an ice
bag
Standing Up for Myself
Kaylee Q.
When someone say something mean about
me I just walk away and even if
they say something about me it doesn’t change me
and also you should not say
something mean and if they say
something mean just walk away or
tell the teacher and don’t listen to
the mean people.
When I was playing basketball
someone said I made an ugly shot and I said,
“If I said that to you wouldn’t you be sad?”
and then I walked away and said, “think about it.”
