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Theme for English B by Langston Hughes
The instructor said,Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you--
Then, it will be true.I wonder if it's that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem,
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:It's not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me--we two--you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York, too.) Me--who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records--Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me not like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white--
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That's American.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me--
although you're older--and white--
and somewhat more free.
This is my page for English B.
I feel everyone in society is an educator. We learn from each other on a daily basis. On Saturday, I contacted some of my educator friends for help (Thanks!!). Each week I try to have a theme that ties my journal entries together. Early in the school year, our principal shared a picture he took in Tanzania of a boy doing his math on a chalkboard in a stick/mud hut. Basically, I wanted to use Malala Yousafzai's story (listening journal) to show the importance of education and having a voice, so the picture worked for Perceive. Finding a quote was easy, Nelson Mandela's, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Finding a poem was difficult. I looked through some poetry books and spent too much time on the Google machine (education, learning, school...). At this point, I sent the e-mail out for suggestions. Although I knew I could use Tupac's "Adversity over Ambition," I knew there had to be something better. JDoc came through with, "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes. This morning when I arrived to school, I received an e-mail from a brilliant former colleague who also suggested "Theme for English B." As I read his e-mail I smiled and added it to the Notebook file. I have worked with wonderful, wise people, and I am truly blessed. Plus, the journal entries this week will be full of thought and learning. Woot Woot!
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