The most valuable experiences in the classroom are those that help us to learn more about ourselves and what we really aspire to. For that reason, big questions can come up in English class. One of the biggest comes up early in my courses: “Are your choices making you more or less of the person that you hope to be?”
We talk about respect. We talk about humanity. We talk about doing the hard work to really climb, rather than allowing ourselves the all-too-easy slide down the proverbial mountain of our potential.
Here is where Harlem Renaissance poet Georgia Douglas Johnson comes in, as she concisely paints a powerful picture in “Your World” that begs the question: “How long will you allow fear and doubt to hold you back?”
After a reading of the poem, I ask students to respond privately to a couple simple prompts that help us to dive deeper into discussions about writing, about identity, and about courage.
- Please share your thoughts on "Your World" by Georgia Douglas Johnson. Please use at least one short quote from the poem to illustrate your feeling and insight.
- What do you feel Johnson has to say in "Your World" about self-respect? What does she have to say about the human experience? Please include at least one short quote from the poem as you explain.
Johnson’s piece, being both short and profound, makes for a great exercise in selecting strong quotes, and learning to incorporate them into a piece of writing.
With such a minimal commitment of time, a little work on “Your World” pays off big.
Further Reading:
Shawn O’Brien is an English teacher at Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Students find Mr. O. particularly passionate about hip-hop, philosophy, junk food, comics, and The Legend of Zelda. He’s been known to occasionally share some of those passions, and to promote West events, on Instagram and Twitter.
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