Busy Work: Teaching in a Middle School, Poems by Dave Kemper

From the introduction…”The subjects of these conversational poems are students I taught and staff I worked with during my first few years as a middle school language arts teacher. In one way or another, the poems honor, celebrate, apologize to, commiserate with, or simply comment upon these special people. (Names have been changed to respect the privacy of each.) “Anyone interested in education–current teachers, soon-to-be teachers, retired teachers, parents–may find the poems of interest. In fact, anyone who has attended a public school should be able to identify with the poems. At least, that is my hope.”–Dave Kemper