Sunday, November 24, 2013

Sanctuary...


 SANCTUARY
By Robert John Meehan

In the stillness of the moment
Our eyes quietly meet
A nod from me approving
Good behavior in their seat

La Tisha and Amanda
Quietly working at their task
While Frederick and La Tonya
File up for questions yet to ask

Robert and Desmond
With counselor soon to meet
As Brian and Krisha
Resist playing footsie with their feet

In the solitude of the morning
My class is all on task
A smile from me conceding
There  will be time for questions yet to ask

I can hear Michael sighing
As yesterday's homework's done
While noticing all the while
That Sara's just begun

With pencil to the paper
A whispering sound I hear
As Clarissa and Latoya
To Ronda lend an ear

Niki and Lakisha
This quiet moment to invest
Both silently preparing
Knowing tomorrow brings a test

Brandon and Malinda
Their attention never waning
Even Tyrone and Kevin
New knowledge are obtaining

While Anthony intently studies
The biography of Dr. King
Jackie's yet perceiving
Her book's new wonders soon to spring

Nodding and affirming
My smile fans the class
Not a sound unconfirming
That they're mindful of their task

THE SOUND OF SCREECHING TIRES
Interrupts our private life
As little bodies scramble
To the gunfire's ambient strife

Glass shattering around them
Each immediate sanctuary sought
As frightened eyes search out mine
Wondering what of this we wrought

NO..Not just another drive-by
But the unveiling of a not so innocent truth
NO..Not just another drive-by
But a vile invasion of our precious youth

Copyright 1993-2015
This particular work was first published in 1993 and can be found in the following:

THE TEACHER'S JOURNEY
Copyrighted 1993-2015
BY ROBERT JOHN MEEHAN

   $7.99/paperback
$6.99/eBook 

Click here to learn more.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Those Unforgettable Truths...


     At a recent trip to the store, I had a chance to meet a student that I had in my kindergarten class nearly two decades earlier. In the coarse of our short conversation I asked him what he remembered about our class. Without hesitation he responded with"Those Unforgettable Truths"!  I fully expected that answer, because I get it almost every time I get to ask that question to former students of mine. There was no escaping these "Unforgettable Truths" in any of my classrooms for the four decades I taught in inner-city schools. My walls were posted with these "Truths".  These 'Truths" went home with all newsletters and reminders. I made it a personal endeavor to mention each of these truths at least seven times each day either directly or indirectly. They were forever a part of our daily classroom conversations. To an outsider these constant reminders may have seemed quirky or silly, but it worked. It worked to the result of 75% of my Kindergarten students year after year making the academic honor roll the following year in first grade. It kept the children constantly "checking" their behavior and attitudes. It made a difference that stuck with them, yet it was so profoundly simple. Even with the fact that 40% or more of my kindergartners initially came to my classrooms not being able to identify a single color. 75% had never held a crayon or a pencil, swung on a swing, or had been read to. Yet the vast majority of these children left my kindergarten classroom as life long learners. These "Truths" became the norm for their own classroom expectations.
These were my "Unforgettable Truths":

STOP...THINK...MAKE A GOOD CHOICE
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
NEVER GIVE UP, TRY, TRY AGAIN
NEVER KEEP OTHERS FROM LEARNING

Any teacher should be able to come up with a better list of "Unforgettable Truths" for their own classrooms. My students couldn't escape them. My students apparently couldn't forget them. 

Robert John Meehan


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$6.99/eBook

 Click here to order

Monday, November 11, 2013

A RESILIENT CHILD By Robert John Meehan


 A RESILIENT CHILD
By Robert John Meehan

Positive outlook initiative and effort
Progress and friendship encouraging more effort

Expanding my interests building my skills
Effectiveness in work no longer just frills

Humor and focus with higher esteem
Critical thinking my teachers will gleam

Problem solving thinking abstractly
Handicaps dissolving progressing exactly

Now in control... My feelings to share
No one's to wonder...MY POTENTIAL BEWARE




THE TEACHER'S JOURNEY
Copyrighted 1993-2014
BY ROBERT JOHN MEEHAN

Sunday, November 10, 2013

It shouldn't matter how slowly a child learns...



"It shouldn't matter how slowly a child learns as long as we are encouraging them not to stop." Robert John Meehan

"When we strive to become better teachers than we are, everyone in our classroom becomes better too." Robert John Meehan

"Teach as if what you are doing makes a difference. It does." Robert John Meehan

"Where your talents and the needs of your students intersect, there lies your calling as a teacher." Robert John Meehan

"To be a success in the classroom, a student's attitude is equally as important as his ability." Robert John Meehan

"A well prepared and engaging teacher is a catalyst... a spark that creates the desire to learn in our students." Robert John Meehan

"A teacher needs to have the vision and conviction that dreams can and will be achieved."Robert John Meehan

"Nothing that the political ed reformist mandate can match the results of a dedicated teacher in a supportive school environment." Robert John Meehan

"True educational change or reform is only applicable when all stakeholders are actively involved in its creation." Robert John Meehan 





Friday, November 1, 2013

The Teacher's Journey / The Road Less traveled by Robert John Meehan


Now available from
Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC

Teacher's Journey
Teacher's Journey
The Road Less Traveled
by Robert Meehan
Robert John Meehan's poetic insight into the heart and soul of both teacher and student tugs at readers' emotions like few writers can. His depth of experience as a teacher in some of the nation's most difficult schools over a period of four decades is deeply embedded in each of his selections of poetry. His ability to share the joy, sorrows, and at times, the horror of teaching in today's inner city schools is brought to the forefront in each of the poems included in his The Teacher's Journey.
Meehan has accomplished much over the past decades in encouraging other teachers to share their feelings, emotions, and experiences in working with students. Follow Meehan as he inspires students and teachers alike in The Teacher's Journey to understanding the meaning of being an authentically effective teacher.
52 pages - $7.99 (paperback)
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Welcome to the world of eBooks where instead of receiving a physical paper book in the mail, you will receive access to the eBook file for this complete book. Within minutes you can be reading this book on your computer, PDA, cellphone or a stand-alone eBook reader—at a reduced cost! Unless otherwise noted, all eBooks are in the PDF format which is compatible with most eBook readers including Sony Reader, Nook, Kindle 2, iPad, and iPhone 4. Click the "Order Online" button below to purchase this eBook download today!
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