We Real Cool

 In 1959, Gwendolyn Brooks, the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, wrote the poem "We Real Cool."  In a few lines that push the traditional concept of structure to its edge, Brooks urges all of us to think about our lives, our circumstances, our choices, and the consequences of our choices.  Using her poem as a frame, we've created our own poems about our own lives, our own circumstances, and our own choices.  

"Harlem" Emulation Poem

 Everyone has a dream for their future.  Langston Hughes wrote a poem entitled "Harlem" to encourage the African Americans who migrated there to not give up on their dreams.  Here are our attempts at emulating his poem for our own.

Our Dreams

 Eleanor Roosevelt said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."  We will be sharing our dreams with you.  They are many, and they are great.  Can you tell what I dream of doing?  What is your dream?

2021: Year of Resilience and Hope

 

Like Mauna Kea that stands regally over Hilo Bay, we have stood resilient and hopeful in a sea of uncertainty.  In our blog, we will share what we have learned, what we think, and what we can do.  To begin, we have written our first poems on poetry.  See if you can identify the anaphora, imagery, similes, and metaphors in our free verse frame poems.   

Student Voice on 2020: A Year of Chaos and Clarity

On December 31, 2019, Michael Brown stated that "barring dramatic and unforeseen circumstances, the year 2020 will be one of the most chaotic, divided, and tumultuous years in our nation’s history. It will also be a year of clarity."  Others claimed that 2020 would be a year of clarity.  What do you think?  What do high school students think?  You may be surprised.   Here are some thoughts from some Hilo High School freshmen.

I believe that, in a way, they have been right. People have been able to be alone or with their families for so long that they are realizing that they really do need contact with other humans. The air is also clearing up and our planet is doing better than it has been in a while, which I am absolutely ecstatic about! This probably isn't the clarity that many meant, but it is a sort of clarity.

                                                                                                           Baby Yoda

I believe that their predictions are right so far. During 2020, forest fires, a WW3 scare, COVID-19, etc has happened, impacting the way we live our normal lives. With these dangerous events, it helps us realize how bad these situations could have turned out and how lucky we are to be alive.

-k

I believe that those who predicted 2020 being the year of clarity are absolutely right. As a series of global events continues, more people are beginning to realize what's really going on around them. For example, as of the beginning of the year, Australia's Wildfires and the close call for WWlll was a huge eye-opener for so many people. With the wildfires, people began to realize how bad things really are on Earth and the path it's in. People began to realize that changes would be necessary. During the ongoing battle between Iran and the US, WWlll could have almost became a thing. From then on, people became glued to the news, wanting to know what would happen, scared for the country and their lives. Once things were settled, people were grateful with how it turned out. Currently, COVID-19 is the main event we're stuck in. Thousands have died and unfortunately, more are to go. As a global pandemic, social distancing is highly encouraged. Personally, being stuck at home helped me realize how much I had taken things for granted. I'm more than sure this applies for many others.

These events all have something in common-they all make people grateful for the things in their life. Thus, changes are being made to help the Earth. So perhaps 2020 is a year of clarity after all.

bananak

I believe they were right to think 2020 would bring clarity. In the few short months since this year began, our eyes have been opened to the ways our current system, and humanity as a whole, have responded under times of great pressure. We have witnessed events to a scale previously unknown to mankind, and I believe we will walk away with clarity previously unbeknownst to us. This clarity shows us the flaws in the current operations of our society, but also the hope, resiliency, and strength that humanity is capable of.

Cosmically Cosmic

Yeah 2020 is definitely a year of clarity. Covid-19 will forever change the way we live. We’ll be more cautious of what we consume and how clean we are. It also shows who cares about their money rather than their people. Republicans and democrats on office have been pointing fingers at each other rather than pointing fingers at a solution. Now we have three times the number of cases than the country in second. It also shows that we shouldn’t believe everything the news says, and sometimes they can make something look bigger than it is. In addition to global warming, wildfires have shown us that our environment is in bad shape. Mother Nature had 20/20 vision and decided to give some of it to us so we can wake up and make changes to our word for the better.

Booger MacFarland

I believe that they were right to think that 2020 was going to be a year of clarity. Seeing how badly COVID-19 has affected us is really showing how we need to improve the way we handle situations. If the situation was handled properly, people would've been tested but many sources state that airports didn't have tests in the first stages of this pandemic. Although things aren't looking too great, I hope that this experience will help us become better as a country.

fork

They were correct in their predictions. Though we are only four months into 2020, the entire world has gone through several intense and impactful (and worrying!) disasters. From potentially being on the brink of WW3, to the Australian wildfires, to a massive global pandemic due to the Covid-19 outbreak, many have suffered. During these difficult times, we have been able to see how people handle being put under immense pressure. We have been able to see how the entire country responds to Covid-19. Though there are things that the government could have done to prevent the virus from spreading so much, and many decisions made regarding the current situation were flawed or late, there is an aspect of this pandemic that I feel is often disregarded. The resiliency and bravery demonstrated through out the world by people fight Covid-19 hasn't been this recognized or celebrated in quite a while. Our planet is healing, which is amazing! Perhaps the clarity people spoke of is the positive outcome of such a dark time.

kohn

Odes

We recently read "Ode to My Socks" by Pablo Neruda.  Here are our odes.  Please enjoy!

Extended Metaphor

Please enjoy our emulation of Julio Noboa Polanco's inspiring poem "Identity" using extended metaphors of our own.