Slam+Poetry

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Sunday nights I lie awake— as all teachers do— and wait for sleep to come like the last student in my class to arrive. My grading is done, my lesson plans are in order, and still sleep wanders the hallways like Lower School music. I’m a teacher. This is what I do. Like a builder builds, or a sculptor sculpts, a preacher preaches, and a teacher teaches. This is what we do. We are experts in the art of explanation: I know the difference between questions to answer and questions to ask. That's an excellent question. What do you think? If two boys are fighting, I break it up. But if two girls are fighting, I wait until it’s over and then drag what’s left to the nurse’s office. I’m not your mother, or your father, or your jailer, or your torturer, or your biggest fan in the whole wide world even if sometimes I am all of these things. I know you can do these things I make you do. That’s why I make you do them. I’m a teacher. This is what I do. Once in a restaurant, when the waiter asked me if I wanted anything else, and I said, "No, thank you, just the check, please," and he said, "How about a look at the dessert menu?" I knew I had become a teacher when I said, "What did I just say? Please don’t make me repeat myself!" In the quiet hours of the dawn I write assignment sheets and print them without spell checking them. Because I’m a teacher, and teachers don’t make spelling mistakes. So yes, as a matter of fact, the new dress cod will apply to all members of the 5th, 6th, and 78th grades; and if you need an extension on your 55-paragraph essays examining The Pubic Wars from an hysterical perspective you may have only until January 331st. I trust that won’t be a problem for anyone? I like to lecture on love and speak on responsibility. I hold forth on humility, compassion, eloquence, and honesty. And when my students ask, “Are we going to be responsible for this?” I say, If not you, then who? You think my generation will be responsible? We’re the ones who got you into this mess, now you are our only hope. And when they say, “What we meant was, ‘Will we be tested on this?’” I say Every single day of your lives! Once, I put a pencil on the desk of a student who was digging in her backpack for a pencil. But she didn’t see me do it, so when I walked to the other side of the room and she raised her hand and asked if she could borrow a pencil, I intoned, In the name of Socrates and Jesus, and all the gods of teaching, I declare you already possess everything you will ever need! Shazzam! “You are the weirdest teacher I have ever—” Then she saw the pencil on her desk and screamed. “You’re a miracle worker! How did you do that?” I just gave you what I knew you needed before you had to ask for it. Education is the miracle, I’m just the worker. But I’m a teacher. And that’s what we do.

On your page discuss the use of poetic devises. Discuss the overall meaning of the poem (theme). Discuss why you choose this poem. Of course, use specific examples from the poem!

Poetic Devices:

Simile: and wait for sleep to come, like the last student in my class to arrive. Simile: and still sleep wanders the hallways like Lower School music. Rhyme: Like a builder builds, or a sculptor sculpts, a preacher preaches, and a teacher teaches. Hyperbole: who was digging in her backpack for a pencil. Hyperbole: now you are our only hope. Irony: So yes, as a matter of fact, the new dress cod, will apply to all members of the 5th, 6th, and 78th grades Irony: If two boys are fighting, I break it up. But if two girls are fighting, I wait until it’s over and then drag what’s left to the nurse’s office.

In my opinion, the theme behind the poem "Miracle workers" by Taylor Mali is that Education is a miracle, it is the key to success, and teachers are the people that can make that success possible. The title has a connection to theme in that teachers are miracle workers because without them the future generation wouldn't have a reliable source of education and knowledge. I choose this poem by Taylor Mali because I truly believe on what he said near the conclusion of the piece; how education is the miracle and that teacher are only the workers that can make that miracle possible. The theme of education being a miracle is brought up on multiple occasions throughout the poem. An example of the theme is when Taylor Mali states that he likes to lecture on love and speak on responsibility (“ I like to lecture on love and speak on responsibility”). This demonstrates the theme because without teachers like Taylor Mali students wouldn’t have a place to learn love and responsibility. During the school year, teachers play a more important part in a child’s life then parents do. Therefore, teachers have a much more powerful influence on how each student’s character changes. Teachers put effort into teaching their students valuable skills so they can become successful. The most evident example of this theme occurs near the cadenza of the poem when you can really feel the shift of attitude coming from the poem; When Mali clearly states that education is a miracle and that teachers are only the workers (“Education is the miracle, I’m just the worker. But I’m a teacher. And that’s what we do”). The level of Education a person might have, defines that person(s) and their ability to succeed. Education is a miracle, and that’s why there needs to be workers to deliver that miracle.

Analysis done by: Razvan Bezna