Deja Vu All Over Again*
Before the bell rings,
Before the bell rings,
I remind them
There is bell work
There is
Always bell work
To be done
Before
Or directly after
Class has begun
And I find myself,
Again,
Pointing at the power word,
Pointing at the board,
And reading the definition
To the handful
Who actually listen.
The bell rings,
I remind them
There is bell work.
And Ms. D, my CT,
After locking the door,
Tells them
To begin
Their bell work,
And one of them
Acts surprised
By the bell work.
There is always bell work.
And today is Monday,
Which means
A new power word,
A new definition,
And a complete sentence
Conveying comprehension.
And Ms. D will explain
And I will explain
What must be done again
Because,
Somebody always
Goes to the bathroom or
Gets a drink of water
Just before the bell
Because,
Somebody always
Doesn't hear
Or
Doesn't listen
We will
Repeat
The word
Repeat
The definition
Until they all have it down
Or
Move to where they can read it
And no longer require our recitation.
We will
Walk around the room,
Compliment a complex sentence,
Confirm correct usage,
And question syntax errors,
Spelling mistakes,
And the lack of commas.
We will
Wake the sleeping,
Rein in the attention
Of the wistful,
The jabbering romantic,
And the gamer
Who incessantly speaks
of GTA 5.
of GTA 5.
It's Monday
5th hour
And
There is bell work.
*Deja Vu All Over Again- a refers to quote made by Yogi Berra after he witnessed back to back home runs by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. "It's deja vu all over again."
Mr. T,
ReplyDeleteI pity the fool who does not respect your wild beats. It's fascinating how something that happens daily or weekly can be "a surprise" every time it happens. Your poem definitely captures this little detail. I especially appreciate the way enjambment both speeds up the flow of the poem, continuing the train of thought. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this phenomena Mr. T.
Mr. T.,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your poem about how some students are still surprised by a routine. I like the humor that is infused throughout because this is a topic that all of us have seen in our classrooms and frustrates us all. Why are some students surprised by bell work? Sometimes these students can make us want to scream so thank you for putting this frustration into words for us all.
Dear Jake,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your poem “Déjà vu All Over Again.” You capture the frustration and the tedium of attempting to get students to engage in a routine that they find purposeless (perhaps mistakenly so). I like your use of repetition of the phrase “bell work” as well as your structural repetition (“Goes to the bathroom or / Gets a drink of water” and “Doesn’t hear / Or / Doesn’t listen” and “Repeat / The word, / Repeat / The Definition”). And I love the images here: “We will / Wake the sleeping, /Rein in the attention / Of the wistful, /The jabbering romantic, / And the gamer /Who incessantly speaks / Of GTA 5.” Thanks for sharing this, Jake.
Katie