Transitions
When did you last contemplate the doors in your life?
This week my students were concerned with revision of their rhetorical analysis essays and we used two poems to explore the transitions that our chosen stories have inspired in our lives and futures.
I have always loved Doors opening, closing on us by Marge Piercy as an invitation to write and today i asked my students to write about
- What kind of door does your chosen story open up?
- Who do you want to open that door and what do you hope they will find on the other side?
One of the new poems I added to my teaching toolbox this semester is On Finding My Father’s First Essay by Brandy Nālani McDougall. I used this poem to jumpstart the reflection I ask students to write at the end of every unit. This poem hits me so deeply as a teacher and as a writer. I too have searched for a glimpse of understanding in a reader’s face and found none and I hope that my students always find it in my face.
On Finding My Father’s First Essay by Brandy Nālani McDougall
