In Honor Of National Poetry Month - And Tears. So Proud of Hill Central Slam Poets #WalkMyWorld

The woman next to me, a high school administrator in New Haven  also invited to judge the 2015 Hill Central Poetry Slam, whispered halfway through the performance, "This is what students can do when we invest in them, when we trust them, when we allow  creativity to grow, when we support the arts, and we believe they can make magic. A performance like this goes unmeasured by state assessments and the mythology that young people can't -- and don't want to -- write."

Bingo. Wusah! Shazaam!

She was right.

When curriculum is shaped to meet the needs of kids rather than force kids to meet the needs of curriculum, artistry explodes.

Such was the case for the 2015 Hill Central Poetry slam hosted yesterday in New Haven, Connecticut. This year's performers raised the bar for sure. It's year four for the event and last year CWP-Fairfield, with support from a NWP Supporting Effective Educator Development in a High Needs School grant and expertise of Kwame Alexander (who debuted of The Crossover), the SLAM took on a life of its own. This year, Donna and Nicole, two teachers invested in the excellence of young people and writing, proved once again what can happen when teachers raise the bar for performance, poetry, and having something to say.

From the first poet to the last, I kept looking over to Attallah Sheppard, a spoken poet who works with me, saying, "Wow. This is just wow." On several occasions, too, I found myself welling up with tears - the poetry was that powerful and I was beyond proud of the kids.

Yes, the doctor would probably frown that I left the couch to enter a school, but as I told Attallah, Nicole, and Donna, I wouldn't miss an opportunity like the Hill Central Poetry Slam for the world. It truly is a remarkable occasion and a reminder that the deficit constructions created by politicians, test-makers, and high-brow reformists haven't a clue about the capabilities of young people in our schools. When tools are provided to youth by their teachers, they soar to their talents. When limiting writing, thinking, speaking, and reading to test-taking, alone, the kids have their wings clipped and never show what they're truly capable of.

Congratulations, young poets! You make the universe a more spectacular place!