Eloquence

Introduction

"I am not an object." ¹

That line was written by budding Spoken Word poet Charlotte Murphy, an upcoming eighth grader who I was privileged to have had as a student. Her words resonate with me for many reasons, my chest swelling with pride at her bravery, yet protectively puffed, wishing none of my students ever need-be burdened by the objectification of which Charlotte's line speaks. But let's get real—try as we might, we cannot shield students from all that society imposes. We can help by listening—listening to students' struggles, their life rhythms. We can honor their realities by offering them a place to speak and by guiding the craft of their words so that those who are not-so inclined to listen will also hear and respect students' words. I can't do justice to an explanation of Charlotte's aural performance, though I must say that she delivered the words with a locked glare, her thunderous voice rolling like an approaching storm. She was calculated, controlled. Her seemingly rebellious words and delivery point at an understanding of baseless societal pressures. Like so many other students, Charlotte sees and hears these things. She feels like an outsider. Poems like Charlotte's need to be heard, performed transparently from memory with all the ethos that carefully voiced, truth-filled words have to offer. This unit is for the Insurgent Listener in all of us—the ears of longed-for acceptance that bends to understand ourselves, those around us, and how we all enter in. ² It makes use of rhetorical tropes and theory to help students create and perform truth-filled Spoken Word poems.

This three-week, 90-minute block unit on Spoken Word has been designed for middle-level gifted students within the Humanities Department of the Pittsburgh Public Schools gifted education program. All units created for this program must be reflective of a gifted model of education which places emphasis on cross-curricular, project-based learning. It is my job to make the students aware that how they work toward and through production is as important as the product itself. Teacher-to-student ratio varies between 1:12 to 1:20.

The students in this program span the spectrum of abilities and backgrounds. Though grouped by perceived intellectual strength, they each have a wide array of talents and challenges. They need academic strength and/or interest-based enrichment and, at times, acceleration to satisfy the curiosity of their ever-wondering minds. They are not, contrary to popular assumption, 'all good students', nor do they all 'instinctively know everything'. They all are also not capable of 'getting it all right on the first try'. They really like to ask questions. A lot of questions. Though most cherish their intellects, they struggle with the oft-negative reactions that others have to their seemingly-precocious perspectives. Thus, each teacher writes course material suited to the students' specific academic needs and interests. Students select courses similarly to choosing college electives. Thought-provoking units seem to be the most popular. Most of the students subscribe to my philosophy that great intellect is tethered to great responsibility, but many lack the academic confidence to speak out. This unit serves to build that confidence.

When I roll out this unit, the mainstream teachers will be working through Laurie Halse Anderson's Revolutionary War era novel, Forge, which is told from the perspective of Curzon, a soldier who is a run-away slave passing as free. ³ After I teach my unit, the mainstream curriculum moves on to speeches, including the Gettysburg Address. The Spoken Word unit fits well in between these—as the main character in Forge is reflecting on his position in society and the following unit on speech writing will be enhanced by use of the rhetorical tropes.