This week at Peterson students explored poetry about technology. Students were asked to discuss the positive and negative effects technology had on their lives. Most students agreed that technology has created faster ways to communicate with others, spread important news, and receive stimulating entertainment. The downside of technology is that it can be addictive and dangerous. One student mentioned how staring at devices such as a iPhone or computer can ruin our eyesight and brain function. Another student discussed how cyber bullying can effect someone’s self-esteem, leading to isolation and depression.
Together we read “Like Any Good American,” by Brynn Saito. In this poem the speaker’s life revolves around her TV. Not only does she give it her full attention, but also physical parts of herself: corneas, eardrums, and skin. Saito constructed her entire poem using enjambments, the running over of sentences from one poetic line to the next without punctuation. This allowed students to experience the erratic thoughts of the speaker, who disconnects herself from others. Saito also incorporated functional white space, the area around words or phrases that create pauses and rhythm. White spaces emphasized important ideas in Saito’s poem: “In return it gives me so may different sounds to fill the silence where the secrets of my life flash by like ad space for the coming season.” Although technology gives us exciting sounds and images, we must sacrifice our relationships and sense of privacy.
Inspired by Brynn Saito, students wrote poems reflecting on the influences of technology in their daily lives. Enjoy this week’s published poems. Also thank you to our artists Michael S, Imad K, and Azucena R for providing the great tech themed artwork below.
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 1
Like Any Good Kid
Imad K.
Apple, Samsung, all these devices
are addicting but cool they
drag us to their dungeon
of addiction and won’t
let us go we try
to flee like scared mice
but we can’t because
their grip is strong like a
cats’ jaws instead of
running from an explosion
we go towards it
and follow what happened
like obedient puppies
listening to every command
we are chained to
our devices like prisoners
ready for execution and
our brains get lost
When we open the
glaring void of the
internet
Phones
Dax K.
I am finally back
home after a long day of school
Its 4:15
I grab a snack
5:00
I decide to feed my hungry essay
and work for 2 hours.
I knew I should have started earlier
Its 5:10 screaming
I look at my obnoxious phone screaming
at me about texting for 10 minutes
Its 6:00
I begin to study for the test
tomorrow for 1 hour
Its now 6:10 pm
Now I’m tired of homework
I take a 15 minute nap
Its now 8:00
Its late I should go to bed
But I need to finish the last episode
now its 12:00
Alarms
Jacob M.
Every morning, I wake up to my alarm
clock It sounds as loud as
the bell in school Alarms
sing all morning until you stop it
They come in a bunch of different shapes
and sizes. You can set to different
times Their textures can
be smooth like a table
some alarms clocks are wired long as
spaghetti noodles and some are wireless
they need batteries to work Hands are
just so eager to turn them off
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 2
OK Boomer
Jaycen B.
My old finger trying to type on a flip phone
turn the TV on whoops the remote is backwards
Back in my day kids used to play outside
now they are caught up on the fidget games
and their hootza-whatza-call-its
I wish the world would go back
to the good old days when kids played
baseball not just watch it
These kids have no idea what they
are doing tok-tik I think that’s how
you say it is ruining
the world
Their faces buried into those screens
I’ve never thought about upgrading
I don’t need to text anyone
There is something called the mail
I’d rather sit down all day
to me Netflix does not exist
I just want to sit in my
chair and eat my humus
Home Phone
Zola B.
In the stone age you would just be a squared
rock draw on you Boom phone Now you have
1 camera 2 cameras 3 cameras What’s next
4 5 6 7 you’re like my little baby
I hold you until you fall asleep I give you
love you give me Tik Tok You’re cheetah fast
Now you’re turtle slow you’re now my grandma
i have to give you up for adoption I give you
to Mrs. Can who lives right next door by the
alley I go to the stores buy you again
But you’re not the same You look the same
but you don’t have the same feeling
I will miss you
Like Any good Doggy Teen
Tahreen S.
I give my photos of me wagging my tail
to Instaran in return for likes
from my followers and some comments
that are as mean as a hissing cat
Or I give my bark
to my MooTube videos
and I get some treats
But my favorite thing of all
is Batchat for its cuteness
stares into my eyes
begging me to use it
Ms. Bell’s 6th Grade
Group 3
The Inside of Technology
Youseff H.
We use technology everyday
We use cranes to lift the heaviest things
Ovens are like fire but to the next generation
How did we create this?
The motherboard is the most important piece
It is how the computer functions
No motherboard no computer
Let’s move on to the battery
The battery is electricity
light eating your eyes
Gobbling your brain
But the battery can explode like a nuclear bomb
Circuits wires tiny metal
they all build up to a piece of technology
Dare not destroy technology
It is valuable
Slow Spiral
Sylvia S.
Everyday for hours on end the blue light illuminates
up my face The time ticks by slowly slowly slowly
I don’t notice tick tock tick tock my life drains
like sand in an hourglass I know I should
get up but I can’t the phones claws have sunken
into my soul my legs are heavy like they are
filled with cement I’m sinking in quick sand of
expertly designed distractions They know my tastes
my interests my history Just one more video I lie
A never ending spiral But I’m not alone I’m not
the only one
Like Any Good Tik Tok User
Dulce V.
My eyes dancing through the songs
Forgetting to check the time
My ears getting distracted and not
listening to my mom
My hands getting sweaty from scrolling
though tik tok
Never been this addicted to something
I always tell myself Stop
but I never do
