If you know me, you know I like poems. If you read this blog, you know I like using poems when I teach. The first poem I ever taught was The Dream Keeper by Langston Hughes.
The Dream Keeper
Bring me all your dreams,
You dreamer,
Bring me all your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world
I did the explication of this poem with a group of 10 year old boys from Chester, PA. It did not take them long to uncover Hughes' meaning. However, what has stuck with me about this first experience is the response one boy gave to an off-handed question I asked at the end of our discussion.
Erin: Now that we have figured out what this poem means, what do you guys think about the idea of a person who protects other's dreams?
Darien: Erin I think that's stupid. No one can protect a dream for you. You have to take care of it yourself.
At that moment, I knew I wanted to be an educator. Not only that, but I knew what kind of educator I wanted to be.
Today I stood in front of my room full of sixth graders and did another "poetry activity." We compared the lyrics of two different love songs. One of them dealt with romantic love (All My Life by KC & JoJo) and the other with familial love (A Song for Mama). As I watched eager hands shoot up in the air and listened to the connections and observations my students were making, I felt a desperate longing that I am very familiar with.
My heart ached with the desire to be their dream keeper.
But Darien was right. That is something I cannot be, and trying to take on that role would be doing my students a grave disservice. Instead, it is my job to help my students develop the perseverance and passion they will need to fight the sparkle-dousing cynicism the world will inevitably throw their way.
As a teacher, I cannot buffer my students from disappointment and disillusionment. However, I can do everything in my power to prepare them to be brave and vigorous protectors of their own dreams. I can help them discover the strength and beauty that I already see in each and every one of them.
In the end, why would I ever want to keep their dreams when it is so much more amazing to watch them become their own keepers?
Dear Erin. This will come as no surprise to you. I believe our job is not to show them their "castles in the air" or protect those dreams but to show our students that they CAN dream those dreams and also help them understand what they need to build the foundations under them. Nicely done, my friend.
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