My Constitutional Times

Back then, in the 1700, people were wearing baggy clothes, with holes in them. The women wore rags or towels on there heads. When it would rain, or when winter time came people wore shoes with holes in them. Even if they were in the war. They had to use barrels to make fire to keep warm, so everybody could stay alive.

When the British fought with the Colonies. . . The British were bringing in more soldiers to fight the Colonies. When the people at the court house over heard, they got every child and mother out of the village and sailed to Virginia.

At that time I realized, where are my parents? Where are my sister and brother? Why don't I have anybody to lean or cry on, or eat with? I was a 13 year old girl wearing rags, a dirtied holey dress with holes in my shoes. I didn't have any body in my life. At that time I had to do everything for myself. It was hard at first but I had to do it. When I was hungry, I always had to ask people for money to get something to eat. Every time I beg, white people would always throw dirt or beat me with a whip, or make me do something that I did not want to do. As I wake up, I realize that today isn't the year 1700 and I am glad, cause if it were, us black people would be in a lot of trouble. We would be starving and have a hard time to live.

By Kettly Kearney

My World The World Our World

people hatin' an fakin'
don't be creatin' just takin'
people shootin' and lyin'
sittin' there watchin' people dyin'
gangster flippin' twistin'
pistol wippin'
others robbin' and stealin'
people wit feelings
why? dat ain't right, dat ain't cool
blacks in jail? this ain't how we rep our hood
pitbulls repin' the anger we got inside
dreams turn into nightmares that come alive
police knockin' down doors
babies being born
black life that symbolize the rap life
they knew we had to come from the hood
with nines on our side
ridin down the street wit no lights on
killin' somebodies fathers, brothers, mothers, and sons
gettin' hit by bullets and watchin' them run
you ain't got no right to take another life
but you do it
mothers cryin', sayin' oh y?

By Shanique Williams

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This blog is apart of an in school Spoken Word MY WORLD model program at MS 271. Please take a moment to ponder our essential question as you view this blog:

How can I educate and inspire the world, and how does the world educate and inspire me?

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Understanding that language can be manipulated and interpreted to say and mean whatever one chooses it to, students will engage in, in depth discussions, journaling, free writing and essaying to bring organization to thoughts, ideas, and concepts about their world and the worlds that affect them. Students will be exposed to various forms of poetry and will be challenged to translate their work into poetry and even further into spoken word as they gain an understanding of the art of language. By researching and analyzing events in history that changed the world and how the poets of these times expressed their feelings about their world and the world beyond them, our class will focus on using their poetry to change their world and the world in which they live. Also, students will become familiar with modern day poets and rappers who use language to express themselves, their world and the world, and will draw parallels between past and present poetry and spoken word art and artists. Students will participate in several small projects including a class share, spoken word performance, and a culminating collaborative performance with the other groups in their network. At the conclusion of the semester, our students will have a greater understanding of who they are, where they fit in the world and how to express their thoughts and feelings about themselves as well as how to translate these feelings into healthy actions toward educating and inspiring the world.

We hope you enjoy your journey through our world. We aim to educate and inspire, so please let us know if you feel us.