Janice Irish

The Gift of Words: a Resource for Parents and Educators Janice Irish

Ms. Irish is an educator with more than thirty years of experience working with parents, educators, teens, and children in a variety of capacities. She has facilitated poetry slams and has given presentations in communication skills, classroom management, and school and parent involvement. Most of the poems in this book have been used in classrooms, after-school programs, poetry jams, and career days at elementary and junior high schools. Some poems have been published in school newspapers, and one in a (NEA) National Educators Association booklet --a poem called "Closing the Achievement Gap." Educators and parents have seen the difference in the attitudes of students when they have listened to these poems in conjunction with presenting their poetry to peers. Students have a wealth of oral abilities; the author's quest is to aid students in using these talents in combination with their writing and reading skills in a productive manner. It is the author's hope that this resource will assist parents and educators to respond to their own creative aptitude and spark student interest and enjoyment in literacy as a tool to enhance their reading and verbal dexterity. It is also the hope of this author that parents, youth, and children will forge a closer bond and that the poems and resources will be a useful supplementary tool for teachers and counselors as well as other educators.