Building a commencement address around words like “proboscis” and “calcium,” a Burnaby teacher surprised his school’s grad class with a spoken word poem for their leaving ceremony last Wednesday.
Without telling them why he was doing it, Byrne Creek Community School English teacher Mark Smith had asked each of his school’s Grade 12 students to submit a word describing their school experience.
His plan was to stitch them into a spoken word poem to present to the grads at their leaving ceremony May 30.
“When I saw ‘proboscis’ and ‘calcium,’ I figured some of the kids were just trying to have some fun with me,” he said in a press release. “But I said I wanted to use every word, so why not? That was my gift to them.”
Every word submitted to Smith before his deadline – about two thirds of the approximately 190 grads submitted – made its way into his poem.
Some of the lines referenced pop culture and inside jokes used by students around the school; others were designed to inspire and encourage.
The verses “Bright as the sun, like lightning off of Pikachu; I need to shade my eyes just to peek at you!” – drew cheers.
“I didn’t want to give the students any old speech. They’ve heard all my lectures. They deserved something fresh,” Smith said.
A video of his presentation, shot by Byrne Creek grad Sopithan Rajeswaran, has been posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/qktCrPE5arI.
