March Slice of Life No. 22.
Poetry Friday
If you can dream and not make dreams your master;
From “If–” by Rudyard Kipling
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim; . . .
I was digitally thumbing pages in a teacher book* from yesteryear: Poems Teachers Ask For — Selected by Readers of “Normal Instructor, Primary Plans” and paused to read “If—” by Rudyard Kipling.
Kipling’s repeating phrase “If you can …,” reminds me of Miss Rice and her efforts to rid our classroom, our thinking, our self-opinions of the influence of Can’t. Miss Rice was my second grade teacher, a genteel lady with beautiful gray hair that had a hint of purple which I admired. {I now know it was probably from using Mrs. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing.}
I loved Miss Rice.
When Miss Rice heard anyone speak of Can’t, she would stop everything we were doing and have us join her — gathering up Can’t with our hands, carrying him to the tall windows, and tossing him out of our classroom. There always was so much drama and we loved it. Miss Rice would then place her hands on her hips and solemnly say, “Can’t does not belong in this classroom. Can’t never did anything.” And with that we would continue on as if nothing had happened.
Miss Rice believed in us.
She knew we could.
And I believed her.
Miss Rice with Alice
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IF–
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream and not make dreams your master;
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss.
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
“To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
–Rudyard Kipling
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*Poems Teachers Ask For an anthology of poems most frequently requested for publication by readers of the magazine: “Normal Instructor – Primary Plans.” With a publication date of 1919, these poems are now in public domain.
Links to Gutenberg Project copies of this book–
A downloadable copy
An online copy with alphabetized listing of poems.
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Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
#PoetryFriday Roundup
is hosted by Rebecca
at Sloth Reads
Poetry Friday Schedule Jan – June 2019
What a great memory to have, and wonderful role model! My fifth grade teacher was like that. I hope everyone has had or will have someone like these teachers in their lives.
What an inspiring teacher to have had, we remember those special one’s if we were fortunate to have them. Thanks for sharing this memory with us Alice and the marvelous “IF” poem too!
Love your story about Mrs. Rice and the photo of the two of you 🙂 I can just picture your classroom enjoying the drama (and, of course, never forgetting it!)
Thank you, Tabatha.
What a wonderful ode to the life-changing power of a committed, caring teacher!
I’m so thankful I had a number of teachers like that.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful poem – an oldie but a goodie, as they say! And that photo is such a treasure. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Thank you, Ruth!
I ponder the power of early teachers this week, too! Hooray for the power of CAN.
I love the image of Miss Rice and a room full of second graders tossing “can’t” out the window! Your story is powerful and inspiring, Alice. Thank you for sharing the Kipling poem, too. I haven’t read it in a while. It’s a good one to revisit from time to time.
I think Miss Rice has influenced my adult professional years perhaps more than my childhood years. She modeled what I was yet to become.
I read this story this morning and, while I didn’t get to comment, it lit up my day. Gather up the can’t and throw it out the window. What a wonderful class to be in. And I was delighted to see the picture of you and her. Now, that’s a treasure. Thank you for sharing this story & Rudyard Kipling’s poem.
My dad used to always say, “Can’t never did anything.” But the drama with which Miss Rice (and her students) tossed him out the window is so memorable. Hurray for teachers who matter! Love how you’ve taken this and connected it to Kipling’s poem, “if.”
LOVE the picture – and the impact of the extraordinary Miss Rice. The literal tossing of “can’t” from the classroom is a lesson for all time! The Kipling poem so beautifully complements your story.
It’s amazing how often we say “don’t” or “can’t.” We’ve been paying lots of attention to that negative language this year at school and trying to reframe with “do” and “can.” This was a lovely tribute to Miss Rice, Alice. — Christie
I love this poem. Your post is a great reminder of it. Thanks.
What a great way to instill positive energy back into the classroom and get rid of negativity. A truly wise teacher.
Plus it was a few moments of purposeful movement.
A teacher before her time, I think; Ms Rice would be a welcome addition to my campus and library. Thank you for the gift of the Kipling poem as well; it is new to me, and wonderfully thought-provoking.
“A teacher before her time” — exactly; purple hair and growth mindset both come to mind. Just reminds me that there probably isn’t anything “new under the sun” except maybe labels or acronyms. Thanks for coming by this morning.
It is wonderful to have a teacher that so thoroughly believes in his or her students. I, fortunately had many! Thank you for sharing.
We have both been blessed.
The word “can’t” was forbidden in my 3rd grade classroom. Mrs. Miles wouldn’t have. All of her students could and did. Love the Kipling poem you shared.
Mrs. Miles must have read Miss Rice’s blog . . . {smile}. Seriously, you are the first person to tell me of another teacher forbidding “can’t” in the classroom. Thanks for visiting today.
I love this poem, thanks for reminding me of it and I love Miss Rice. Gathering can’t and throwing it out the window! Have to do that one day!
If you do it once or twice, one of your students will notice and remind everyone the next time “can’t” is spoken. You will be amazed at how often that word is spoken in our rooms and how our mindset changes when we have to reword what we are saying to get rid of it. It makes us focus on the cause of the “can’t” and then we can work for a solution. Be sure to tag me if you try it and write a post about it.
I shared this with my daughter who is in year 2, who tells us all that the word of the year in her class is “yet”. I can’t do this…YET. Hooray for these wonderful teachers. So enjoyed the poem.
Yes, hooray for these teachers, our mentors, our heroes! Glad to see you this morning.
If was a poem both my father and the family I lived with in Argentina had memorized. What powerful words. Your 2nd grade teacher knew about growth mindset. Isn’t it amazing what we remember from elementary school? Makes one pause a think about the words we use with students.
Oh, wow… what a treasure of truth to commit to memory. So many good lines in it to recall and apply to living. You are right; Miss Rice planted seeds for a growth mindset in our young minds.
Thank you…I will try to harness my inner Ms. Rice!
So glad you visited today. Have a wonderful weekend.
This is the sweetest post, Alice. Dear (& wise) Miss Rice. And the poem is wonderful, inspires every time.
Thank you, Linda. Yes, Miss Rice was both dear and wise.
I just read this poem out loud…to my dog. Yep, my dog. She enjoyed it. And, so did I. I didn’t know this poem. It is beautiful and classic. Thank you for introducing me to it…..dog says, woof.
Tell your dog I said “woof” back. Seriously, I agree that the poem is a classic. Perhaps a required reading.
Well that’s just left me in tears! I’ve read it before and it gets me every time. Thank you for bringing it to my attention once again.
It had been a while for me when I ran across it the other day… I think I need to put a copy where I can read it more often.