Wednesday, May 17, 2023

#TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge - #Synonyms #poem #poetrycommunity #teacherlife #teacher #AmericanCinquain #Cinquain @ColleenChesebro @YvetteMCalleiro


Hello, beautiful readers! For this week's #TankaTuesday Weekly Poetry Challenge, Colleen Chesebro has asked us to use synonyms for the words work and play. She further challenged us to create three stanzas: one for the concept of work, one focusing on play, and one that blends the two together.

I chose to write about teaching since that is my passion (outside of writing, of course). I have been a teacher for 26 years. I spent twenty years at a high school before transferring to a middle school. I truly love what I do, despite the fact that teachers are underpaid and underappreciated by most of society. I am blessed to be at an incredible school with an administration who truly values and supports our faculty and staff, but many are not as fortunate.

Teaching is a demanding job, and educators often feel the weight of the world on their shoulders, especially when they are expected to jump through hoops and perform miracles with very little support. Still, we consider our profession a work of heart and continue to do what we do because we believe in making a difference in the lives of others. And we do!

I decided to write three American cinquains. An American cinquain consists of five lines with a 2-4-6-8-2 syllabic pattern. 

(courtesy of @sasint on Pixabay)


A Teacher's Life

career
dedication
heart and soul invested
held to higher standards than most
stressful

laughter
echoes off walls
students release their stress
fun challenges expand knowledge
reprieve

gem of
society
builds children's confidence
influences generations
teacher


Do you remember a special teacher from your childhood that made a difference in your life? I'd love to hear from you. :-)

Would you like to join this week's challenge? Click here.

34 comments:

  1. love your poem, Yvette :)

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  2. Lovely, Yvi! Hugs, Harmony 💕🙂

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    1. Thanks, Harmony! I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  3. A beautiful tribute to those who've chosen to give back to our children! I have no doubt that you make a fantastic teacher, Yvette!

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  4. Beautiful, Yvi. A teacher can have a powerful impact on generations. ❤️

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  5. Beautifully expressed, Yvette. Teachers are underpaid and under appreciated. The job is hard, but rewarding and you covered that in your poem.

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  6. Yvi, thanks so much for all your hard work. Teachers have always been important to me. My 6th grade teacher (Mr. Redding) introduced us to writing poetry (haiku) and I've never forgotten his lessons. I've also had many college professors I'll never forget. It was their caring attitude and their dedication to their students that will always stick in my heart. I loved your American cinquain! They are perfect. 🩷

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    1. Thank you, Colleen! I, too, have several teachers who made an impact on my life. One in particular, Mrs. Hoffman, introduced me to the world of fantasy and creative writing. It is through her class that I fell in love with reading and writing. She also was my inspiration for becoming a teacher. Thank you for sharing your special teachers with me. :-)

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  7. I can relate to your beautiful poems Yvette, yes! heart and soul have to go into teaching and the rewards are plentiful, which are conveyed through happy and contended faces of students, some of them remember us all their life. - Balroop.

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    1. Yes, they do, Balroop! I have the children of former students at my school, and each of them tell me that their parent says I was their favorite teacher. It's so sweet! Thanks for visiting and commenting today. :-)

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  8. I always felt you to be the generous kind. I love your kind 😃 and am proud to consider you a friend. I love teachers.
    Your words in these cinquains are extraordinary. And the background gives them resonance. Thanks for being who you are. I love teachers. Xoxo. Selma on phone. Xoxo, Yve.

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    1. Thank you, Selma! I feel the same about you. XOXO :-)

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  9. Yvette, this is so heartfelt. Wonderful job with the prompt--your synonyms are very creative, too. My favorite teacher was my 4th grade teacher who I have written about on my blog years ago. Here is a link, but if that's not ok, please delete. https://writersite.org/2014/03/31/everyday-super-hero/ This teacher rescued me after a horrific experience in the classroom of another teacher the year before (actually I was only in her class from March to June, but eeks). Mr. P was a wonderfully inspiring teacher and allowed my creativity to flourish that year. Thanks for reminding me again about him!

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    1. My pleasure, Luanne! I'm so happy you have those fond memories of the teacher who rescued you. Thanks for sharing your story with me. :-)

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  10. As an aspiring teacher myself, I really loved your last poem, it's too good!

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    1. Aw, thank you, Jay! I appreciate you visiting and sharing that with me. :-)

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  11. Hi Yvette, a very lovely poem. I had some exceptional teachers during my schooling career who gave me some outstanding books to read.

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    1. That's wonderful, Robbie! Thanks for visiting and sharing. :-)

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  12. That is fantastic Yvette and certainly shared both dedication and the laughter Sally ♥

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    1. Thank you, Sally! I'm happy you liked my poem. I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  13. Yvette, I bet your students adore you. You have the dedication to give them the best learning experiences you can and I know they can sense your goodwill. There are few jobs more difficult than that of teacher.

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    1. Thank you, JadeLi! They know I love them, for sure. I appreciate you stopping by. :-)

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  14. (Jules) There were Three special teachers who encouraged my writing in High School, one in Middle School. Unfortunately I belive they have passed on. Two were Englishs teachers and the other more of a permanent Sub. While I myself did not get the basics of grammar down - my imagination was released, and I have been writing (mostly) daily for over fifty years. :D

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    1. I'm happy you had several teachers who made a positive impact on you, Jules! Thanks for sharing! :-)

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  15. Beautifully expressed. I am grateful for teachers of all sorts, and especially those to whom parents entrust our children each day. Blessings to you.🙏🏼❤️✨

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    1. Thank you, Melissa! I appreciate your kind words. :-)

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  16. Yvette,

    I imagine you are a simply wonderful teacher! I love this line:

    "echoes off walls"

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

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    1. Aw, thank you, David! I truly enjoy what I do. :-)

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I love comments, so please share your thoughts with me! :-)