Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/5535
LEfT: Megan Bohigian, a Fresno Teachers Association member, leads her Creative Writing Group at Roosevelt High School. Xiong reads a poem she has written ti- tled “Mom’s Lost Tears”: She walks in, A moment of silence, Her face hung low, Watery eyes, ready to drip. “That’s a beaut iful poem and a beautiful start,” says Bohigian, an En- glish teacher and Fresno Teachers As- sociation member. “The rhythm is huge in that. There’s a lot of feeling in that poem.” Bohigi an, a fe l low of the San Joaquin Writing Project, is a published and award-winning poet. She holds an MFA degree in creative writing with an emphasis on poetry from CSU Fres- no. Somet imes she creates poems about her students. She encourages students to write their own, although they may be resistant at first. “Kids say, ‘I don’t like poetry.’ I ask Poets flourish It’s 100 degrees and lunchtime at Roosevelt High School in Fresno. The loudspeaker blasts an- nouncements throughout the campus every few min- utes about t r youts for sports teams or students who should report to the principal’s of- fice. One at a time, students enter a class- room with food piled on trays or stuffed into brown bags. They huddle around a table and eat without much conversation. After a few minutes, they fish papers out of backpacks and fold- ers, clear their throats and prepare to bare their souls. It may be an odd set- t ing, but the Creat ive Writing Group has come to order inside Megan Bohigian’s classroom. Between broadcasts on the loudspeaker, students share their work. Tenth-grader Der how many songs they know and ex- plain lyrics are a form of poetry.” Writing poems allows students to relive events and emotions that have had a powerful influence in their young lives. It’s a vehicle for express- ing teenage angst. Poems occasionally describe violence in the home and have prompted her to call Child Pro- tect ive Ser vices . Bohigian doesn’t grade their poems and she doesn’t judge them. Neither do students in her group, who of fer support and con- structive criticism when asked. december 2009 • january 2010 | www.cta.org 23 Continued on page 38