strengths your see i
capable
listen do i
the beauty the to
tongue mother your of sound
voice brave your in
never have i sounds
make to learned
never have i shapes and
see to learned
خ letter the like خ
smart as twice are you
say to like i
even works heart your
harder
brain your than
worlds 2 in identity craft
speakers spanish while
shriek and jabber and sing
— other each have they
sitting you see i
quietly, alone
for waiting
words your when
something mean will
understand others
//
أنتِ تنتمين
“a teacher’s response from right to left” is written in a form created by Marwa Helal called The Arabic, in response to Helal’s “poem to be read from right to left.”
Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages, I see my students climbing two mountains at the same time, learning language and content together. I hope to offer English as another key on my students’ keyrings, not a replacement for the language of their dreams, nor a brush for remaking their very selves. In my school, Spanish is common, but an Arabic speaker is usually the only one in a classroom. I see speakers of most languages adrift in their own life rafts, while the Spanish speakers are always surrounded by groups of people to help them paddle. We teachers learn Spanish, “because it’s useful,” but seldom explore our students’ other languages in any depth. I am grateful to Helal for the invitation to write in a style informed by Arabic. This is an admission of my shortcomings in not having learned more about Arabic. It's also a promise to try to learn more about all of my students' languages.