While we did not have lots of rain in April, we have had a few drops this weekend which made me think of this poem. Please comment with your thoughts. If you like the poem, tell me why; don't just tell me that you like it. Explain your thoughts. Please give good effort to your comments. Remember, all comments should be at least four sentences.
Rain by Naomi Shihab Nye
A teacher asked Paul
what he would remember
from third grade, and he sat
a long time before writing
"this year sumbody tutched me
on the sholder"
and turned his paper in.
Later she showed it to me
as an example of her wasted life.
The words he wrote were large
as houses in a landscape.
He wanted to go inside them
and live, he could fill in
the windows of "o" and "d"
and be safe while outside
birds building nests in drainpipes
knew nothing of the coming rain.
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This poem is a little confusing but it is a good poem. I think that the teacher thinks that she wasted her life because Paul didnt get anything out of third grade but a touch on the shoulder, which he spelled wrong. When it says that the words were large, I dont think they mean large as in size but large as in awakening. Those words had a huge affect on the teacher and they told her that her life had been a waste, loud and clear. I also think that it is saying that the boy is afraid to do something, but I'm not sure what that something is. He is afraid to take a chance because he is afraid of what might happen to him.
ReplyDeleteI liked this poem a lot. I believe the woman was only looking at the sentence the boy wrote to assess her worth in his learning when she should have noticed that the boy felt happy when someone touched his shoulder. Maybe it made him feel secure. I think he wrote the letters that big because he felt like he didn't belong anywhere (this is why he was happy when someone touched his shoulder) and felt safe in writing, a skill she helped him develop.
ReplyDelete@ ashleyzp
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said the teacher based her success on his. All the teacher saw was the mispelled words and not the meaning behind them. I don't understand what you meant by the boy was scared. Why do you think he was scared? I wonder....
I thought that this poem was great. It makes us think, did we get things accomplished this year. Well when this teacher heard the answer from this boy, which was "this year sumbody tutched me
ReplyDeleteon the sholder", she probably thought that she had wasted her time teaching because he didn't learn a lot and couldn't think of anything to say when she asked the question of what he had learn, but on the otherside, I think that she was happy because the boy probably felt secure when he had a touch on his shoulder. I also think he wanted attention because he probably felt left out and wanted to get attention by writing his letters large. Overall I think that this poem was a really good one to be going over and I really think that it was a good poem.
-Addison Helms
Savannah and Ashly, I thought that both of your comments were exactly what I thought that the poem would be like. Ashly, I thought you were right when you said that he spelled things wrong so the teacher probably thought a little uncomfortable because Paul hadn't learned anything. But Savannah, I thought you were right also because I think that the teacher needed to know that he had a "touch on the shoulder" because she knows now that he felt secure and happy. Overall I think that this poem is a very good one because of all of the showers coming and also since the school year is coming to the end.
ReplyDelete-Addison Helms
I didnt understand the meaning of this poem. When the teacher said that was a waste of her time I think it meant that he could have done better. I think he wrote big letters because maybe he didnt really take it seriously. I think that him talking about living in the letters was maybe him not wanting to do his work or not caring about it. This poem was sort of interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Paul is scared of going to the next grade. The last lines say that birds are building nests in the drainpipes not knowing of the coming rain and I think he meens that all the other kids are ready but he isn't. I think he believes the rain is going to be a bad thing and he does not want it to come. When he wrote this year somebody touched me on the shoulder the teacher thinks he just wrote something down with bad grammer so he could leave but I think he didn't know how.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on Addison's poem,i agree the same with the teaching feeling like she didnt do her job by him writing that one sentence. I also think that the boy was happy because someone touched him on the shoulder. I think maybe he might have been a shy person. After looking at the poem a couple of times I kinda view it in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI liked this poem, it made me open my imagination to new things, as if I was 5 years old again. I think the author meant to show you how reading something simple like a poem, could open your thoughts into your own world of imagination. That is basically the only thing I got out of this poem. Without imagination, you have empty thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning, I thought that the poem was going to be about what the kid wrote. It turned out to be about what the narrator thought about when reading it. She imagined the kid living in the "house" of the sentence. I think this is an example of reading between the lines, or rather living between the lines. -Randy Bridges-
ReplyDeleteI read the poem and I though that it was little hard, but it was a really good poem. The poem tell us about student teacher interactions. I think that the teacher wasn't happy and comfortable when the student didn't anything from class and from third grade. all but a touch on his shoulder, which makes him happy and confident. He writes the letters big to show how he fells. This poem makes me think of everything we did in this school year and I think that it all comes down to this poem.
ReplyDeleteDavid s.
I think that paul wanted to escape reality. He learned throughout the year, but feels he is not ready to follow on somewhere else. He has fear resting inside him and wants to escape inside his paper. Where he'd be free from reality and fear of not suceeding.
ReplyDeletesarah fooshang
Well this was another on of those kind of poems where i'm just like what, but then I guess I can kind of get a fill of what the writer is saying. In this poem I guess from the kids huge terrible handwriting you could actually draw like windows and other housing appliances inside the letters. This poem also kind of brought back memories of my third grade year and how much me and my teacher hated each other and how bad my handwriting was, and still is. At the end I still don't neccessarily get the poem but I guess it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteSHAMAR WILLIAMS
After reading Kevin's comment I completely agree with it. I mean going back and reading the poem all over and then reading what Kevin saiid made me view the poem in a whole new way. I can see how the rain is like a metaphor for being the next garde and I can see how the nest is like his current grade and likehe's getting comfortable with it. So yeah I liked what Kevin said and I agree with it.
ReplyDeleteSHAMAR WILLIAMS
I believe that this poem was meant to show how such little things used to bring us happiness. This little kid was able to see and elaborate on what he believed in and saw. He saw a house made out of words. He had created a house from letters. He had created a paradise on a page.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is difficult for me with a strange title and ending. i think that the house on paper was his imagination and also distracting the teacher from the real point. having done the same maneuvers to get certain things i did in 3rd grade to pass as work for an assignment. EX "explaining" to Mrs Archer that the reason the flower on my paper the was related to picasso was it was blue abstract and was a different take on concepts. really it was just a badly drawn flower on my sheet.
ReplyDeleteSo i can understand where paul is coming from.
Also the teacher thinks that she has wasted her life teaching 3rd graders and because of Paul's simple answer.
The real point of this story is the showers that paul is at the end of the year and the whole year the teacher has been preparing the kids for the rain but really the showers are the 4th,5th,and 6th grades. because its not just about who is america named after its the skills the kids learn about how to study and be successful in later grades. she trying to teacher paul on how to get through school not just the answers to questions.
This poem puzzled me because I don’t really see the connection between the student and the rain. I don’t understand why the 3rd grade teacher showed the author the boy’s paper as an example of a wasted life. The little boy may not have learned how to spell correctly, however, the teacher may have made an impact on his life by comforting him or being the one to touch him on the shoulder. The fact that someone had paid attention to him by touching him on the shoulder could have made him feel safe so the little boy made the letters as large as a landscape to represent his feelings of having a haven. By having someone on his side, he felt secure. This reminds me of the saying “touched by an angel.”
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand the poem. What I really don't get is "Later she showed it to me as an example of her wasted life." On the brightside it does have good imagery. I could really picture huge sloppy handwriting. Overall this was pretty confusing but it makes you think.
ReplyDelete~Kara Williams
I wonder what you would say the tone of this poem would be? Is it a happy poem or does it seem sad in parts? Could the teacher feel that her life is wasted for other reasons besides Paul's spelling mistakes? Why would Paul want to climb inside of the houses that his letters made? How significant can a touch on the shoulder be to someone? What are other ways that you can relate to this poem?
ReplyDeleteI thought this poem was extremely confusing at first. After I read it the first time I was thinking it was a pretty bad poem since the boy didn't really learn anything in the class. It made the teacher think she was doing a bad job teaching anything and/or maybe he just wasn't a good student and he never paid attention. I think the boy also felt loved in a way. When he said he felt a touch on the shoulder, maybe he did learn other things but that was his most vivid memory because maybe he never knew what it was like to fit in at school but he did once somebody touched him on the shoulder. Maybe he was really happy and the teacher couldn't tell.
ReplyDelete-James Cannon
(Responding to Addison Helms)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I think that maybe he was really lonely and he did just want attention, just like you said. The poem did make me think as well. What was this boy's real meaning in what he put? Why did he want to "hide" in his letters? Maybe he really was a very shy boy and didn't have that many friends. He might have loved that one touch on the shoulder he had.
-James Cannon
@Savannah
ReplyDeleteI agree that the teacher was only basing her life on how well the student wrote and spelled instead of how he has grown mentally and individually. I also concur that the little boy printed the letters so large because they gave him a measure of comfort or the meaning behind them did. On the last two lines, I think the author is saying that the birds building their nests in the drainpipes have no idea that the rain is coming. While the little boy is housed and sheltered from what is to come, the birds’ nest will be washed away by the rain. I still wonder if the rain in the poem is symbolic or not.
@ James Cannon
ReplyDeleteI read his comment and I agree with his veiw on the poem. The poem talked about the teacher and the student and that the student didn't learn anything from the class, maybe because the teacher couldn't teach well. That is a second thing that came to my mind about the poem. I was wondering if the touch on his shoulder was like a complient to him or to make himself feel better about his learning skills in class.
David s.
I liked this poem. It brought me back to the fifth grade. I think he wrote in big letters because he wants to go inside them and leave. I think he really wants to graduate the fifth grade. I thoroughly enjoyed this poem.
ReplyDelete-- Robert Fernandez
I didn't really like the actual poem that much, but I loved how it made me think of a meaning. After reading it several times I think the boy saw scared of many things in his life. He felt comfort in the third grade when someone "tutched" his shoulder. When writing the sentence in big letters symbolized a safe place to live. The out side of the sentence home was considered like outside of the third grade, and out side sentence home a bird was building its house in a gutter where rain was going to flood.
ReplyDelete@ Leigha
ReplyDeleteI had a very hard time trying to connect the boy and the rain too. I think rain symbolized like sadness or something not good. I think that is why he wrote about the touch on the shoulder because he felt safe. I still don't understand why the teacher showed the Author this writing, but maybe it was just something they were talking about. I'm not sure why, but maybe the Author was throwing in the inspiration of the poem in the actual poem.
This poem was not very clear until the 3rd or 4th time I read it. It's sort of depressing. The teacher seems to be depressed and feel that her life has amounted to nothing because her student could not spell. I think she felt that she had not left an impression on him. I think the boy might have felt afraid of writing down what he really remembered from 3rd grade. Maybe he didn't want to talk about what he remembered. I wonder, though, if what he wrote down was the most important thing he remembered from 3rd grade. Sometimes simple things are the things we love most.
ReplyDelete~Emily
@ Jacob McDaris
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think that he was scared of a lot of things, and sort slipped into the paper. He hid in his words, in the thought that someone had cared enough to touch him on the shoulder, and maybe say hello. I think he was hiding in the houses of his words, resting in the thought that he was safe, at least for a little while, before the storm came. I didn't love the poem either, but I do like the doors it opens up. It really makes you think and wonder about the teacher, Paul, and the oncoming rain.
~Emily
I really liked this poem alot. I think he did learn something is third grade, but he didn't learn how to spell. When he says "this year somebody touched me on the shoulder" I think that means somebody tried to help him in third grade, and that impacted on him. I think the teacher took it as, "he hasn't learned anything and wasted his time this year." I think in the ending, he was scared to come out of his bubble, and just wanted to hide.
ReplyDelete-Julia
I thought that this poem was relating to some people in school. I believe that his poem was about a kid who really couldn't pay attention in school and he basically told the teacher that he hadn't learned anything. But the only thing the teacher sees is that the kid will have problems in the future, and she knows he will have a hard time in school. I didn't know if touched was supposed to be spelled wrong.
ReplyDeleteBY: jamie Condon
@ Jacob McDaris
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I didn't really like the poem either, but I did like how it made me think of a meaning. I also thought he was scared of something when I thought about it. I think it is interesting how you thought the big letters symbolized a safe place to live. I think it makes sense when you think about it. Good job with your poem this week :)
-Julia
I enjoyed the youthfullness in the poem. Also the fact the author was in 5th grade. He seems very excited to graduate the 5th grade. He seemed like he didnt want to learn
ReplyDelete-Ben Sessions
@Ben Sessions
ReplyDeleteI also think that The student was very excited to graduate. I also agree that he did seem like he was careless in wheather he wanted to learn or not. I think that you could have said more about the words the student wrote on the piece of paper. Also the teacher had a big role in the poem to. But I know that you get the point of the poem.
BY: Jamie Condon
@ jamie condom
ReplyDeleteI agree its about a kid who cant pay attention. Hes probably bored inschool. I also think the teacher sees no potential. I think that is wrong.
-Ben Sessions
@ shamar williams
ReplyDeleteI believe your right about the metephors about the childs bad handwriting. He found his own playland inside of them. Large things could fit in there. Like you said about the household appliances. You made me look at this in a more humerous way.
sarah fooshang
I agree with Holland completely. Paul is much more smarter then his teacher could ever imagine. He has made a simple answer into an elaborate trick, a scheme. The student has outsmarted the teacher to the point where he was smarter then her.
ReplyDeleteThis poem left me puzzled. I thought it was going to be about the little boy, but then it seemed more like the teacher showing it to someone about her own life. I'm not exactly sure what this peom was about. Although it seemed to not make any sense to me, it seemed to all flow well together.
ReplyDelete@ Ben Sessions
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how you got the idea that the author is in the 5th grade. In the poem it said the third grade. But I do agree with the fact that I also think the child in the poem was excited about ending another school year. Although I don't think thats exactly what this poem is about.
I think that Paul didn't have a good third grade year.Maybe it was hard for him.maybe something at home.maybe he was different. then
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone important touched his life by touching his shoulder.
Maybe she felt like she was teaching Paul for no reason.Paul wanted to curl up in a ball and protect himself from other people.
I agree with liegha. I see how you think that a touch on the shoulder isnt a complete waste. Whether we know it or not, when we are with a teacher for a year, we get to know them and they get to know us. Not only on a student-teacher level but on a personal level. Some teachers become mentors and others can or may become our bestfriends.
ReplyDeleteI think in this poem it was about a lady that did'nt feel very successful. As the little boy brought his paper to the front to the teacher they made it seem as if she was not happy. I could see why she would'nt be happy, because if the little boy did'nt do any of the grammar right then that would make her feel like she did'nt teach him anything. Rain reminds me of a kind of down day and I think comparing this to rain it is very similar to some people. I loved this poem.
ReplyDelete-Henry Hill-
Henry @ Ben
ReplyDeleteBen put the story in a way that I really did'nt see in the story.It's a good thing, because people do get so excited that they just feel careless about doing the last thing. When he says this, it reminds me about the EOC's and things coming up. It seems that this poem is warning us students to not rush and turn in things carelessly.
Henry Hill
I think that this poem is talking about a guy that didn't listen to what the teacher was saying. I also think that this poem is about the teacher not doing her job on teaching the third grade. This poem never tell you what the other student said, so you can't really blame the teacher on what this person said, cause he might have been the only person that didn't listen to what she was teaching. I have always heard people say that April showers bring May flowers, and this poem fit perfect for that title. This poem did a great job on this topic even though I had to read it a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteMolly @ Ashley P.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with what you are saying. I really liked how you talked about the big letters in the window and how he spelled things wrong. I also enjoyed how you said that he didn't remember anything about the third grade, but a tap on the shoulder. I don't think that you can blame the teacher unless you know what other students said in there paper. He could have been the only person that wasn't listening. I also think that what you said about the large words and how they aren't big in size, but are large in life, I really enjoyed that line in your comment. Keep up the good work..
This poen is confusing. I think they were comparing the rain as coming and going to the teachers wasted life. But she did not waste her life. I think a 3rd grader probably does not remember a lot and also they do not realize why things happen the way they do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashley a touch is never a waste. This child remembered something about it. Teachers do get to know us and they make decisions that are not always correct about us.
Michael Holland
@ David S.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I totally agree with you, I feel like you hit this poem on the head with what you said. I think it is taking about how the teacher feels about the kid having no friends, maybe. I think that is why it was such a big deal that someone touched his shoulder. I also agree with when it comes down to it, this poem is talking about the end of the year.
--Robert Fernandez
I just am not able to get a grasp on this poem. I can't understand if its trying to tell us about a kid in school. It seemed to me that the kid is trying to joke around with his teacher. What does the kid mean by being safe in the writing.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Lawton
I agree with Jamie Condon. I think this kid could be a kid that sits in the back of the classroom. This kid is probally one of those type kids that stare of into outer space all day. This kid could be also a kid who tries to be a class clown for the pleasure of his fellow classmates. This is something I also think this poem could mean.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Lawton
@ Henry Hill
ReplyDeleteHenry i think thats true. The teacher thinks the kid did not learn anything. in his answer he didn't bother to put grammar or spelling. But i also think that the little boy didn't think that the teacher wanted him to put something he learned.
I liked this poem even though it took me a while to get. I believe that the teacher believed her life was wasted because her student didn't write down anything he learned that year he just wrote that someone touched him on the shoulder. I think the teacher thought that the student was incapable of learning and that he was going to be rudely awakened when he had to learn a whole lot a one time in later grades. I also believe that Paul was spending more time having fun that year than he was leanring and that he would not try to learn in the future. This poem was loaded with metaphors and false meanings and it could be interpreted many different ways.
ReplyDelete~Jesse Estry
This is a really intresting poem. I think its kind of funny how the kid didnt think of what the teacher did that year but what somebody else did. This is kind of what some other kids think after there year of school. The teacher also takes it to far in saying its her falt but other kids might of learned from her class.
ReplyDeleteGreg Trykowski
Jesse I agree that the teacher believed her life was waisted because of what the kid had wrote. I however dont agree that the teacher thought bad about the child I think she was takeing all as her fault. I do agree that paul didnt lean what he would of. I also think that it is only 3rd grade and he deserves a slight brake.
ReplyDeleteGreg Trykowski
I liked this peom a lot. It took me a while to get what the poem was trying to tell me, but I finally got it. I thought that the poem was describing how the teacher felt like she didn't really teach anything this year. But, on the other hand, I thought that the teacher also felt happy since she knew that the kid felt secure when he said that somebody touched his shoulder.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Simpson
I agree with Addison Helms. I think that we both mostly agree on the same opinions. I do think that the teacher in the poem thinks that she didn't teach much at all. Along with that, I also agree that the teacher also feels happy that the kid felt secure. The only thing that I don't know about that you agree on is that I don't know if the kid felt left out, but you may be on to something.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Simpson
I liked this poem. I thought it was very good because you could take your own perception of it and it still relates.It is about a little boy who is asking for security in his own way. In the house of the words he feels safe and secure. He feels protected for the on coming problems or "rain". He feels the bird is nieve and blind to the fact that he doesn't know how to protect himself from the rain.
ReplyDeleteTerah Gamble
I liked this poem. I thought it was very good because you could take your own perception of it and it still relates.It is about a little boy who is asking for security in his own way. In the house of the words he feels safe and secure. He feels protected for the on coming problems or "rain". He feels the bird is nieve and blind to the fact that he doesn't know how to protect himself from the rain.
ReplyDeleteTerah Gamble
I agreed with Holland Morris' blogpost. I felt like the teacher was feeling like she was wasting he time teaching because all he remembered about his third grade year was a touch on the shoulder. If I was to put myself in a third grader shoes I would understand how he felt. I would feel upset and wanting to say something back if the teacher to told me I was a waste of her life. How Holland put himself into Paul's shoes made me understand more of how Paul felt.
ReplyDeleteJATAVIUS LLOYD-JONES
This poem was very confusing for me. I think it is about how the little things we do can affect someone else in a big way. When the teacher reads what the boy wrote the teacher felt like a failure because the boy didn't write anything about her class. The narrator saw that someone had done a simple act that made the boy feel secure, and that meant a lot to him.
ReplyDeleteROBERT THERRELL
@ Emily
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that sometimes it's the simple things that make us the happiest. That is really the main thing I took away from this poem. I never really thought much about the teacher while reading this poem. Now that I think about it I feel sorry for the teacher because she doesn't understand that she did leave an impression on the boy.
ROBERT THERRELL
Chris Meindl
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was a little weird and it made me mad. I would say that the teacher was a big jerk. If thats all the kid thought of the teacher should taken it easy on the poor kid. He is only a third grader too. But I did not like this poem.
This poem kind of confused me. At first I thought that it just meant that with a kid's imagination you could make a house out of some words. Reading over it again, I believe now that this isn't the case. I think that the kid was really pretty smart and the teacher just didn't realize it because he couldn't spell.
ReplyDelete@Michael Holland
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I don't think that it was a waste at all, and the teacher shouldn't either. A touch is never a waste, and should be treasured. The teacher needs to realize that, because her year wasn't a waste if that's what the student took away from it.
This poem was somewhat confusing to me. I had to re-read it a few times to comprehend it. I believe the teacher thinks he didn't learn anything his third grade year. Possibly, the touch on the shoulder could have meant something to him. That might be the reason why he wrote it down on his paper.
ReplyDelete@ Greg
I agree that he is writing about what someone else did and not what he did. Our generation usually does not remember what we learned in our past year of school. Everyone's opinions have opened my eyes up to more on what this poem could have meant, and I agree the most with Greg.
Mica Clark
I think this poem is about how the teacher spent her time trying to teach the child and then he cant spell a couple of words right. The task of righting about something that he remembered from the 3rd grade was like all the taskes of life. When he couldnt spell right that was like he failed. The rain in the end of the peom represented all the hard times that will come in the future because he still cant spell right.
ReplyDelete-sara damas-
I agree with Henry. The teacher does seem very unhappy at Pauls grammar. Rain usually does meen something sad is happening so it fits the poem. For a teacher I can se how a failed student would be very dissapointing and depressing. Maybe he did learn something just not grammar but she still doesnt seem happy.
ReplyDeleteWas the child trying to tell the teacher that she was an important character in his life? I think that's what he was trying to say when he said "this year somebody touched me on the shoulder." For some reason, i'm not totally sure why, she didn't agree with what he said so she told him how upset she was. When she said this it hurt his feeling so bad he is ready to cry. After all he is only in 3rd grade.
ReplyDelete~katie cumbia
Wow.... I was so lost on this poem in a way you couldn't understand. It didn't make sense to me after the kids writing. I kept up with the story at first, but then the meaning fell off the face of the earth. I guess it could mean what he said was big and not the letters.
ReplyDeletexXBoboXx
This poem was kinda confusing. I'm not sure if it was the teacher or the student who was telling the poem. I did like the metaphors. This poem was ok for me.
ReplyDeleteI am commenting on Ben Session's comment. I did not know that the author was in 5th grade. I guess that we see things differently. I agree on the last sentence. I hope i can understand it better in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis poem didn't make any sense at all. I thought about it for a minute and I tried to think about it. I think it means that the boy doesn't like to share personal experiences. I also think it means to get inside the the text, like when you refer to " a picture is a thousand words." That statement comes to play in this poem because of the way he says that the words were as large as houses and how he wanted to go inside the letter o.
ReplyDeletethis poem confuses me very much. the things that it says doesn't make much sense to me. i tihk that the kid wanst to be safe. i also think that the teacher si trying to motivate him. that is as much sense as i could make of it.
ReplyDelete@ Andrew S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because the teacher does make him feel secure about himself. Also because of the fact that the teacher didn't teach anything because the boy could not spell. If I could change it I would tell you to put more detail about the last three lines. I think that you should put something on the fact the teacher thought about the letters not the words.
I agree with Terah. The little boy does show a sign of needing security. I think he takes comfort in his own words. Even though I felt that the teacher didnt appricate it. I also felt that the rain stood for problems that may occure in the future. Rain is always associated with sadness and pain. So thats how I got the idea.
ReplyDelete-sara damas-
I think that maybe the poem was supposed to be confusing perhaps. It was weird, but it was poetry nonetheless. I think that it was about the mind of the author who was confused and childish. I like this poem,but it was still confusing.
ReplyDeleteHannah McKeel
I think that the poem talks about how the teacher was dissapointed about her teaching abbilities. The only thing that had happened for Paul was that he got a touch on the shoulder. Even that was misspelled. To me, I think that the touch on the shoulder was some encouragenment that he had received. The teacher hadn't really failed him. She had given him some encouragement for the year to come and of all the things he learned that year, that was more important to him.
ReplyDeleteI think that this poem is saying that the small things in life can mean huge things to others. For this little boy he thinks that hidding in his words is what he feels he needs to do. The teacher was excpeting him to write about his whole year but him only writing one sentence disappointed her. I think that the teacher thinks that wasted her time trying to teacher this little boy. This poem confused me because I wasn't sure what the central meaning of it was untill I took the time to think about what the poem was trying to say. I think it is saying that the little things in life mean more than what they seem.
ReplyDeleteCasey Jeanfreau
This poem was very different! I thought it started off good, but then as it went on I was just confused. Something about the beginning made it seem like it was going to be a good poem. I think I thought that because I was following it good and could picture it, but I was disappointed in the poem.
ReplyDelete--Kaitlyn Nycole Henderson !
@ Leigha
ReplyDeleteI think you might be one of the only ones that thought the same as I did. The teacher thought that the few words on his paper meant she had a wasted life but really it was the opposite. She had changed the life of Paul. Being there for him is about as important as teaching him things throughout the year.
I've always been told I have an artist's soul. This poem makes me think that the boy has one too and is so imaginative and creative that when he "paints a picture", he sees hills, valleys and oceans; others only see plain words that don't make sense.
ReplyDeleteI think that a drop of rain is what touched him on the shoulder, and it changed everything for him, maybe because he was shy. But others do not understand that. They don't think it's worth analyzing, which is why the teacher said she wasted her life.
~Becca - 6th<3
I have to say that, I didn't reallly enjoy this poem. I thought this poem was very confusing. It took me a while to understand what the point of the poem was suppose to be, I had to read it more than once to figure out what this poem could possibly be about. I came to a conclusion that the poem was taling about how kids sometimes don't remember what they have learned through out the year.
ReplyDeleteEven though this poem was a little confusing I think I know what it is taling about.
Victoria Hayes
Ashley Pilgrim,
ReplyDeleteI agree that it seems like the teacher thought she wasted her life teaching the boy. He didn't get anything out of third grade, so she thought that she failed him. Then she believe she wasn't as good a teacher as she could be. She just doesn't understand that the touch on the shoulder meant the whole world to him.
~Becca - 6th<3
I agree with Addison Helms, when he was talking about the teacher felt that her time had been waisted because the boy didn't know anything or couldn't remember anything that she had taught him. I think that Addison was going in the right dirrection in explaining the poem. I can relate to this poem, because when i'm in class; I sometimes tend not to pay attention to what the teacher is saying, and when my mom asks me what have I learned today, I can't tell her. With Addisons help he made me understand the poem a lot better.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Hayes
I agree with Robert Therrell because he sees this poem the same same way that I did. The author knows that this little kid sees more behind just being touched on the shoulder he sees that behind those words is a deeper meaning. I think that the teacher didn't see this meaning because she was so disappointed at what he said. But saying that the little things mean a lot more I think is very true because little things mean a lot to people who only have the little things.
ReplyDeleteCasey Jeanfreau
@JUCA
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. This poem was very confusing! I was the most confused when it said "Later she showed it to me." At that point I was confused on who was suppose to be telling the poem or who it was talking about. I was disappointed in this poem.
--Kaitlyn Nycole Henderson !
I didn't like this poem. I thought it was really confusing.I didn't understand the part about the letters being houses. I also wasn't sure who was telling the poem.
ReplyDelete~Courtney Allen~
I really didn't get much of this poem, it's not meaningful at first. The fact the all the kid said is "Someone touched me..." really scares me. And if it mean what i think it means, then the teacher was either the "someone" or just didn't care, which isn't cool. If it means what it's saying straight up then that must mean that this kid is very lonely and not many people interact with him. But the fact that he wrote the words so big and that he needed safety from it, it probably isn't good. but i don't know for sure...
ReplyDeleteThis poem was a bit confusing. I think she feels that the whole third grade she made him waste his life. Also he is letting her know that he didnt enjoy her class and that he didnt learn anything. I think the poem also explains that he just wants to be in his own little world and that he doesnt have anyone that understands him. This poem was pretty good.
ReplyDelete@Juca
ReplyDeleteYes this poem was confusing. I do actually agree with you about who was telling the poem and who wasnt. I wasnt completely disapointed because when you focus on the point of the poem and what the person is feeling it in you forget about the rest. You had a great opinion though.
I did not really understand this poem. I think they were making fun of this kid's paper. I did not understand this poem. I did not like this poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with ashley. I think the teacher think she wasted her life. I did not understand this poem at first. Now that i have seen ashley's comment i understand it.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is about how the teacher is sad that she was not able to reach out to her student. I also think it is saying that words can hurt people, no matter what they are. It is also about how you need to reach out to people so that they will listen to you I like this poem because it was a challenge to read and comprehend, and rewarding when I finally did understand it.
ReplyDelete~Brandon Rader
I think the poem is talking about the freedom of writing you had in third grade. You could get away with sloppy hand-writing and creative thought as long as you tried. The freestyle type of mind set you once had, is gonna be rained on once you get old enough. People will begin to critique and add new rules to every piece of literature you right from then on.
ReplyDelete-Davarius Hampton
@ Ashley Pilgrim.
ReplyDeleteReally showed me another side I never saw. The teacher does feel like a failure probably. The thing she hasn't realized is that the touch she gave the student on the shoulder made his life a whole lot better. Yes she knows he isn't where he needs to be, but he's probly gonna strive to that now.
-Davarius Hampton
@Julie Ramirez
ReplyDeleteI can see what you mean, but I think this poem is more about the teacher than it is the student in this story. I think the teacher is sad because she couldn't reach out to the student, and the student didn't learn anything because of it. I also think that the student wasn't sad or felt misunderstood, he simply wrote down what he remembered from third grade. I don't think that he wanted to be in his own little world, he just didn't remember learning anything.
~Brandon Rader
I think this is a very interesting poem. I'm thinking that it is metaphorical. I think that the boy in the story is a little bored in his class and he feels like he's wasting his time. Also that he just daydreams when he doesn't want to listen to his teacher.
ReplyDeletechelsey a.
I agree with Julie Ramirez. The poem was confusion andI think the teacher did feel like the whole third grade was a waste of time for her. I also agree that maybe the boy does want to be in his own little world, that he's not just day dreaming. And also that he's gotten to that point because no one really understands him. Understands that third grade is just not his cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteChelsey A.
Chris Meindl @ Stokes
ReplyDeleteI think the kid was lonely. When some touch him on the shoulder it could have been in a good way. he was thinking that becuase the became friends probably. So im agreeing with Stokes.
This poem was confusing the first few times I read it. I think that the teacher feels like she has wasted the year trying to teach the boy since has has not learned anything. I also felt that the rain symbolizes the hardships the boy might face later in his life due to having learned little that year. The touch on the shoulder might also mean that the boy is very lonely and doesn't interact with many people.
ReplyDelete@Justin Hathaway
ReplyDeleteI agreed with your comment for most of it. I did not, however, agree that the touch on the shoulder was encouraging him. I also disagree with the idea that she didn't actually fail to teach him. On the other hand, I do agree that the teacher feels like she failed him since he did not learn much if anything that year.
@ Justin
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that the teacher was disappointed in her teaching abilities. I also agree when you say that the touch on the shoulder was encouragement. Though it was completely obvious, I believe the student was proud of his teacher and what she had taught him. The teacher was wrong to be upset in her disappointment.
~Jesse Estry
sam shaw
ReplyDeleteThis poem was kind of confusing. When he said that someone touched him, that kind of made me wonder what he meant by that. Weather he was talking about the past or about something that he was just thinking about. In my opinion I think that he is a lonely boy and just thinks of random stories to write about. It could mean that the teacher tapped him on the shoulder telling him to write the story and then she wasted her life waiting on him to finish it.
comment on casey jeanfreau
I agree with casey, I also think that the poem is saying that the small things in life can make a big difference to others. I also agree that hidding in his words is what he thinks that he needs to do in life. I think that casey is right about saying that the teacher thinks that he is going to write an entire story but instead he just wrote one sentance.
sam shaw
This poem was a little strange because it was talking about a boy and all he can remeber from a whole year is someone touching him on the shoulder. I definately see why the teacher is angered with him. I would be too! But it was a cute poem ans i enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteKristin Bayne
I agree with Kevin Agosto. He does seem scred to move on to the next grade haha. Everything he said about the arin really did make it seem as if he were scared and wasn't ready. Thats cute, poor kid.
ReplyDeleteKristin Bayne
This poem is really confusing. I don't really know what to think about it because it didn't make sense at all. I get where it talks about the boy in 3rd grade. I think it's telling us how the boy didn't learn anything and was letting the teacher know that. I think she feels like she wasted her time teaching because obviously no one learned anything.
ReplyDelete@Julie
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree, this poem was confusing. I think that she thinks she wasted a lot of kids life and that one kid was just one example. I'm not really sure it's about him being in his own little world but it kind of shows that he was a little creative when it talks about the letters being windows to houses and stuff. I thought it was O.K.
I think that the poem is him saying that he only remembered being touched on the shoulder when he should of said some sort of work. This is like the bird building it's nest on a drain pipe and being washed away by rain. I thought it was interesting that he compered himself to the bird being stupid and how it makes him look kinda stupid. I thought that the poem was very insightful and interesting.
ReplyDelete~~Anthony Gelardi~~
I think that ashleyzp was very insightful. Her blog helped me understand the poem. I disagree with the fact that the words were metaphorically big i thought that he actual drew them big. I agree that the poem was very hard to understand and a bit confusing.
ReplyDelete~~Anthony Gelardi~~
I didnt really undestand this peom. I had to re-read it a couple of times, but i think this poem is about how the teacher was disappointed in the student because she taught him for a whole year and it's as if he didnt learn anything.So the teacher feels like she wasted her time on the student. It wasnt very clear on who was telling the poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jacob McDaris. I think the touch on the shoulder could symbolize a safe place to live. I like how you explained how the title of this poem actually works for this particular poem. After reading your comment i had a much better understanding of the poem. Thanks Jacob!
ReplyDeletei agree with julie. i think that the teacher hates her class. i also think that she thinks the students are a watse. this is the only thing i really understand about it
ReplyDeleteThis poem was very interesting. I think that it was talking about a student that the teacher asked him what he learned. The student bearly learned anything. So he told the teacher that the only thing he experinced ws that the teacher touched his shoulder. I'm not sure if this poem is right, but when I read it that's all that came to mind.
ReplyDelete@Julie
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Julie says about this poem. I think that the poem was talking about how he really didn't learn anything in school. The little kid makes it seem that his teacher never tought him anything useful during school. I also think that the little kid really didn't care about school either.
This poem was really confusing for me. What was most confusing to me was how the person that was showed the paper said that the third grader wanted to live in the letters. I think that what the student is saying is that its not that he learned much in 3rd grade but he was touched deeper than that. I think he also shows this by spelling the word touched wrong.
ReplyDeleteAshleys comment really helped me better understand this poem. I see how in this poem the teacher is saying that her life had been a waste of time. Or at least that year of teaching has felt like a waste to her. Ashley also said that she thinks the boy is afraid of something , maybe he is afraid of what is next in his life like a harder grade.
ReplyDeleteWell I thought this peom was a whole lot different than other poems I have read. It was not to hard to understand the beginning of the poem put at the end I didnt understand that much what is was trying to say. This poem was ok for me. To me it felt like they were going to one thing to another. Like going off topic. Daniel Taverna
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that I agree with Julie Ramirez. In the part about how this poem was a little confusing. How that 3rd grade was a waiste of time for this person, yet the teacher wants the person to right about it. I would have to say that is poem was alright for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kaitlyn Henderson. At the beginning of the poem,I thought it was going to be really good. As I started reading it I got more and more confused. It might be just me that didn't understand it but I think it just wasn't good.
ReplyDelete~Courtney Allen~
Honestly, the first 6 times I read this, I was like, "What on earth?! This is complete nonsense!" But I kept reading it, and reading it & I finally got a little something out of it! When I kept reading, I felt really bad for the teacher; she felt like she had wasted her life, but honestly, I thought she was just being WAY too harsh on this kid! I think Paul really did get the assignment, he just chose to neglect what he was really supposed to do & being imaginative.
ReplyDelete-Ashlie Renae
@ ashleyzp:
ReplyDeleteWow, Asley, I had never thought of it that way! I like your way of thinking, & I agree that the words were more of an awakening as in "large" to the teacher. Although I really do believe the teacher was being harsh. I think though, hat the showers that the teacher was talking about were the comming years of school, and how she thought that poor paul was just going to fail miserably.
-Ashlie Renae
The poem here is very thick with meaning. I cant grasp all of it but theparts i do get are very comforting. To others those few misspelled words are just words but to that student they mean a whole lot. For him to contemplate for a time and write thsi year someone touched me on the shoulder that must be a big deal to him which tells me he must be ver isolted in his thoughts and bieng. The poem is sad to me but i really enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete@ liegha
ReplyDeleteI agree with you again liegha. I too think those few worde mean a lot to paul and writing those letters big to show how important they were was a new thought to me. I agree how those words were a haven to him and how little things make big impacts on people. I also think i know the connection of rain and the student, paul is those birds mentioned in the poem blissfully playing on the edge of the words he made his haven hes not looking into the future where ther is sure to be rain i think its not good that a third grader cant spell correctly maybe he has a learning dissability and its hard to function normally like that. I think the rain is all trials he will have to face but for now hes a happy bird and thats all that matters to him.
I didnt really understand this poem at first so I had to reread it a couple of times. What I got out of this is, that no one liked him. He thought he was a loser, untill that one day that some one touched him on the shoulder. I think that ever since that day he has a little more confidence about himself and that he isnt such a loser anymore. I think this whole poem is a metaphor saying that no matter what, just the simpliest little smile of touch can make some ones day.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Symons :)
I really agree with Josiah on a lot of points. I agree that it was kind of hard to grasp. I also agree with him about saying that the little boy in 3rd grade must be very gaurded or something along that lines for that to be what he wrote for what he remembers. I think that the person that touched him on the shoulder must have realized that even if he is a little different he shouldn't be treated that way.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Symons :)