Mr. Ivan, The Principal Poet
Crayons
I busted up my crayons
Colorin' maps and doin' art,
So I keep the pieces in my pocket,
And I think that's pretty smart.
That way they're real handy
When I need them real quick.
I just peek into my pocket
And decide which one to pick.
I use magenta for my homework,
And for science I use green.
But for spelling I need yellow
So my mistakes are hardly seen.
Black is what I use in history…
All them men and wars and dates.
I also press down real hard
(It helps to keep things straight!)
Now, blue I save for numbers
'Cuz that is how I feel.
My math grade's always sorta low,
So blue's perfect…it's ideal.
I write stories in all colors,
Saving orange for nouns and such.
And brown I use for adverbs
'Cuz I don't understand them much.
My teacher mustn't like my work,
For he only shakes his head.
He takes my colorful papers,
Then he marks them up in RED!
Copyright © 2006 Ivan Kershner, reprinted with permission.
Meet Ivan Kershner
Ivan Kershner, known to students and colleagues alike as Mr. Ivan, has been writing poetry for more than 40 years. During that time he has also been an English teacher in Wyoming, a high school principal in Nebraska and Colorado, an assistant superintendent in Nebraska, and a middle school assistant principal in charge of curriculum and instruction in South Carolina. In 1995, Mr. Ivan received a National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation. He also received the Governor's Award for Excellence in Education from Colorado's governor, Roy Romer. Schools or teachers wishing to contact Mr. Ivan may reach him at kershneri@anderson1.k12.sc.us.
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Article by Ivan Kershner
Education World®
Copyright © 2006 Education World
08/18/2006 |
