Teaching the Uneven Distribution of Wealth to the Children of the Great Recession

"What is the phrase to describe the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer?"  I asked in review of concepts related to the collapse of the '29 economy and causes of the Great Depression.

"Life." he mumbled from the front row, sarcastic if not somewhat defeated.

I found myself simultaneously depressed and impressed with his analysis of current economic conditions.

I smiled at his answer, decided then that there was little I could teach these kids about an economic downturn that they didn't already know.  I was now in the practice of providing them with a new vocabulary with which to describe their lives.

Indictment

My white cat is staring at me again.

He was just outside and his paws 

are still cold. His look is an accusation.

It's the second week of November

and there's snow on the ground.

He carries his judgement

in front of the heater vent

and I feel unnecessarily guilty.

He has a bath as he warms himself

and his accusation softens.

Now he is looking at me again.

He wants to go back outside.

A Lesson on Armistice Day.

In class today we read aloud
"In Flanders Fields"
eyes closed, imagining
bodies beneath poppies.

Every child in class
raised a hand to indicate
a family member
serving in the military.

My grandfather in Vietnam.
My Dad in Afghanistan.
They told me these things
with the delicate balance

of sorrow and patriotism, an image
in their minds of far off Belgium
"in Flanders fields
where poppies blow."