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Flowers arranged in bottles
Photo by James Cousins on Unsplash

Poetry | May/June 2022

Spelling Homework

By Jennifer R. Edwards

The teachers, tactful as a parole board,
explained why my children of divorce
needed additional support for success.
So I learned to love Mickey Mouse
dancing his hundredth hotdog dance
on the TV, to please my son.
 
She cannot spell Valentine's Day
but remembers the capital letters. It's true,
valentines are confusing. I'm there but I'm not. 
I don't see her errors until they stretch 
across the page. Five small, similar failures, 
the handwriting innocent and terrible. 
 
I don't yet understand this is a disability. 
I give basic, unclear directions: sound it out, 
keep trying. How can I make her learn? 
I am too full of rules. I'm so boring.  
Her eyes flit longingly to the screen. I need her 
to believe books might save her in ways I can't. 
Sometimes my yell is the pressing call to action, 
the ugly conclusion. Sometimes it escapes 
as suddenly as a dog's reflex to the unfamiliar.
 
But I don't have it in me tonight.
We are beautiful, tired and helpless 
in the pale lamplight. We continue, 
copying our mistakes, struggling to stop 
what is not yet habit.

4 replies on “Spelling Homework”

Kathy Theresa Ponsays:
May 24, 2022 at 6:22 pm

Your words move me as to all the ways we punish parents and children in the name of learning. Thank you for staying beautiful, despite it all, for signaling how we must find a better way

Reply
Jen Edwardssays:
June 11, 2022 at 5:44 pm

Thank you so much for your lovely comments! Yes, this poem is about all kinds of errors and trying to find a better way…. which can take awhile and is a highly individualized journey.

Reply
Monet Lessnersays:
May 30, 2022 at 10:14 am

“I need her to believe books might save her in ways I can’t…” brought tears. I’m a reading specialist/voracious reader/mother of a child with dyslexia. Press on toward the beauty of the stories that save us- the spelling homework will eventually disappear…

Reply
Jen Edwardssays:
June 11, 2022 at 5:48 pm

Thank you for your insight and understanding the emotional impact associated with dyslexia/learning disabilities and all people involved. And thank you for your hard work helping students and your child..it is a challenging but rewarding. Sometimes the emotional support we’ve gotten from mothers/educators has been just as empowering as the actual educational intervention! Best wishes in all you do!

Reply

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