Arf! Arf! Woof! The Alpha Schools Poetry Contest Winners Cap a Great Poetry Month

By Guest Blogger Riley, Alpha Public Schools ACE Poetry Contest Mascot

It’s a treat to announce the winners of the Alpha Public Schools ACE Poetry Contest. There were many great poems written by students, and the decision of the top three was very democratic. In fact, a teacher judges panel selected the top two entries from each grade level, then students voted on their top choice from the top finalists.

And how was the voting done? Each student went to an online Google form and voted. Now that’s using technology in the classroom to experience a democratic process. Nothing cooler than exercising your right to vote. (Well, getting treats and pets ranks up there.)

Congratulations to the Alpha Public Schools ACE Poetry Contest Winners. By the way, none of the poems have names. Is that a trend? And see you all April 2016 for the next National Poetry Month festivities.

Treat yourself to a poem.

Riley

1st place, by Maivy Le (6th grade)

My mom says I’m staring at a screen for “no” reason
Computer on my lap through the month, through the season
Reality blocked out, only YouTube and Minecraft
But I don’t get it…technology isn’t witchcraft

Like c’mon! It’s fun, it’s addicting
I can do this forever: typing and clicking!
Look at the worlds that technology could access
What technology can do, well it’s a complicated process

See, you can be anyone – a kleptomaniac criminal
Shoot innocent guys, do things that in the real world aren’t legal
Or for the less intense gamers, you can hop around as Mario
When gaming, it’s fun to be in a difficult scenario!

Whatever, mom, so what if it’s addicting?
Video games are good – at least that’s what I’m predicting
I mean, not predicting, I know that they’re good
You would obviously know that, if your brain weren’t made of wood

Sorry if that was rude, I’m just giving my opinion
Oh, now I’m grounded? I don’t care, I’m not your minion!
But technology is good, where would we be without it?
Now forget about video games, think about it

No internet, no phones, how about that?
Be quiet, listen to me mom, or I’ll hit you with this bat!
Anyway, without phones, how would we communicate
I know I’m grounded – gosh – just let me finish this debate

Without technology, you wouldn’t have a job
You work with computers, yes, I know I may sound like a snob
But I’m not just saying this to continue my game
I’m saying this to tell you that technology isn’t to blame
My grades go down, it’s my fault for not controlling my temptation
Don’t blame technology, there’s another explanation
Or it could be your fault for letting me play games all day
Wait, no, I take that back, you should let me play 24 hours a day

No, wait! I have more points to cover!
There’s sooo much more you need to discover!
Please, mom, don’t turn off the computer
I’m in the middle of this game – I just bought this cool scooter –

“You’re officially grounded, young lady. And I’m taking this laptop.”

Okay, so maybe technology just brought me into trouble
But wait! Hold on, don’t burst my bubble
With technology, there are so much more advancements
Take a picture, use technology, you can make some enhancements
How would we go to the moon without it all?
We can’t just bounce up to the moon from a bouncy ball
There’s stuff that’s called social media
Oh yeah, and you can find information on Wikipedia

Yes, I know that gaming isn’t the best
There’s better things you can do like studying for a test
But without technology, where would we be?
It inspired us all to make advancements; including you and me 🙂

2nd place, by Cindy Tran (7th grade)

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
You’ve heard them all…
Youtube
Snapchat
Tumblr
There’s more…
Kik
Oovoo
Pinterest
Endless List
– – –
What do they have in common?
Social Media.
We spend our daily lives
Eyes glued to our screens
Neglecting surroundings
Incapable of living life to the fullest
Spending the most of our individual freedom
That others in the world may not have
Spending it all on an illusion…
A digital screen…
– – –
It’s all about hashtags
Followers
Tweets
Likes
Posts
Status Updates
Shares
Posts
Selfies…
Hold up!
Let me charge my phone…
What has technology created for us, human beings..?
We’ve forgotten about reality
And spend our freedom
With a digital world…
Ignorant.
Forgetful to reality
To even realize we are alive.
– – –
Technology is like a drug…
It is not considered “needed” yet, it is essential to today.
It has changed our lifestyle.
It has saved countless lives.
It made us who we are today.
It has created society a better place.
It made our lives easier
Efficiency
Learning
Entertainment
Information
Knowledge
It has brought us from wagons to cars.
From telegrams to wireless phones.
From the past to a modern society.
What else?
Who knows?
Technology is still in the making…

3rd place, by Andrea Gonzalez (8th grade)

My heart aches,
I can hear it break
Because I know every day somebody learns the hardships of reality
And someone else falls off the cliff of insanity
This is why there is a void in my soul
And sometimes I think it will never be whole
It’s these times that I look around and see
What has come to be our present day society
We live in a world where technology and media are found everywhere
Where posts, pictures, and stories are shared
Where people are criticized and teared down
Unless you are pulled into the river of mainstream
Then you’ll drown

Sure there are benefits
There are funny vines
Games you can play online
Videos you can watch about your favorite band
Unless you get stuck watching an ad
About some random brand
There are also apps like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
These apps are responsible when we fall because we “didn’t look”
Teens are so caught up in perfecting our lighting
That they never volunteer to do something like writing
The news and apps contribute to people’s insanity
And they say, “but it keeps us in touch, it’s how we communicate!”
Have you forgotten that talking face to face is not something we can duplicate?
You can never truly see eye to eye
Unless the person is somewhere nearby
So media and technology, I’m not sure if they are good things
But I do know this
Let’s not forget how we are in real life
Because a conversation in person has no price