Module 6: Poetry Break - Serious Poem

SPEECH CLASS By Jim Daniels
(Found in: Janeczko, Paul B., comp. 1990. THE PLACE MY WORDS ARE LOOKING FOR. New York: Bradbury Press. ISBN 0027476715)

This touching and serious poem exposes the struggles and embarrassment that children with speech problems can face. The author does an excellent job conveying his emotions in a way that both children and adults can easily sympathize with. The poem includes a photograph of Jim Daniels and an excerpt that discusses why he writes poetry as well as the childhood speech struggles that inspired this poem. Daniels openly discusses being rendered speechless whenever someone would make fun of his speech and lying in bed at night practicing his speech sounds. In discussing his poetry writing at an early age, Daniels says that poetry became “the paper that didn’t make fun of what I said or how I said it.” Daniels’ eye-opening poem offers adults and children a personal look at the struggles that many children face.

INTRODUCTION: Ask students to think about what it would be like to have a difficult time forming words and communicating with others. Then, ask them to write a short diary entry from the point of view of a person who has a difficult time communicating. Students can discuss how they would feel about their difficulty, what would be frustrating about it, and ways that they could compensate for their communication difficulty.

SPEECH CLASS
(FOR JOE)
By Jim Daniels

We were outcasts –
you with your stutters,
me with my slurring –
and that was plenty for a friendship.

When we left class to go to the therapist
we hoped they wouldn’t laugh –
took turns reminding the teacher:
“Me and Joe have to go to shpeesh clash now,”
or “M-m-me and J-Jim ha-have to go to
s-s-speech now.”

Mrs. Clark, therapist, was also god, friend, mother.
Once she took us to the zoo on a field trip:
“Aw, ya gonna go look at the monkeys?”
“Maybe they’ll teach you how to talk.”
We clenched teeth and went
and felt the sun and fed the animals
and we were a family of broken words.

For years we both tried so hard
and I finally learned
where to put my tongue and how to make the sounds
and graduated,
but the first time you left class without me
I felt that punch in the gut –
I felt like a deserter
and wanted you
to have my voice.

EXTENSION: After reading the poem, discuss how common speech problems are for children (somewhere around 10% of children might experience some type of speech difficulty). Ask children to discuss how the author felt about his speech problems and brainstorm ways that people around the author might have made him feel less embarrassed about his situation. Finally, remind children that the author was able to overcome his struggles and ended up becoming very successful despite his initial difficulties with speech.