Saturday, January 25, 2014

Local students published in New York Times

Two Germantown Middle School students earned runners-up honors in  a New York Times contest.  The New York Times asked high school students to submit raps about the news in 2013. Their rap is posted below.  The two young ladies were selected out of thousands of students who submitted such raps.  The newspaper selected five winners and thirteen runners-up.



Kennedy C. and Jacquelin L.
Twenty thirteen was a year to remember,
Starting from January going to December.
A new royal baby born from the best,
While Kim and Kanye had one named North West.
Locked up for years, for fighting for a reason,
Nelson Mandela was accused of treason.
Even after jail he fought for his rights;
South Africa can never pay back the price.
Paula Deen says racial slurs,
And Food Network kicks her to the curb.
She wasn’t the only one who lost a show;
Phil Robertson is crying in West Monroe.
Twenty Thirteen: the year of the selfie,
While the new pope sits around and gets wealthy.
This year is coming to an end,
But we can’t wait for twenty fourteen to begin.

Note: Their names will not be published unless parental consent is obtained.  

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everyone likes to say how awful a public school education is in Mississippi. This is a nice reminder that many of our students have awesome teachers and great administration in many of our school districts! Thanks for posting this!

Ophelia said...

11:46, how disingenuous can you be? Germantown HS is hardly a typical example of a "Mississippi public school." Would that it were! Ah, yes, that tired and beleaguered old word must be said, once more: "demographics." And, yes, KF, very nice rap! Them kids done good!

Anonymous said...

"Sits around and gets wealthy" is an odd description of Pope Francis.

Anonymous said...

Two more wobbly gyroscopes. Not impressed nor surprised. There must have been a paucity of entries.

Anonymous said...

Obviously, any press that promotes Kim, Kanye, and Mandella while denigrating Paula and Phil is going to be recognized. Fairly good grammar, but I am disheartened by the subject matter they chose for their path to "stardom".

Anonymous said...

Guys, these are CHILDREN. Under 14. From Mississippi. Published in the New York Times. Keep it classy in the comments, please.

Anonymous said...

These two middle school children were published in the Times! Where have you all been published, other than the comment section of Jackson Jambalaya?

Anonymous said...

Publishing such a boneheaded, ignorant and inaccurate slur of the first pope in centuries to forego the trappings of office and live simply says more about the NYT and its agenda than the writers, from whom we don't expect much to begin with.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they can intern for Momma Donna Mentor next. Then their indoctrination will be complete.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that the commenters don't quite get that rap is an art form as much as classical German symphonies and Da Vinci's sculptures. Just because you don't like how the form uses language and culture doesn't make it any less valid.

And kudos to these students for their creative writing, what they did wasn't easy and they faced some stiff completion. We should be encouraging all students in our state who create and share their experiences with the world.

Anonymous said...

For a teen to be published in such a newspaper out of thousands of submissions is simply amazing and they should be VERY proud of their accomplishments. That being said, you don't have to agree with the subject to realize it's great writing. Well done students, well done.

Anonymous said...

Good job by these kids. Being published in a prestigious paper is no small feat.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Way to go, you two! It's good to see Mississippians winning some great recognition.

Anonymous said...

How exciting for these kids to be picked out of so many I be published in the NYT! Keep at it kids!

Ms. G said...

Looks like these kids must have an awesome creative writing teacher!! Not sure why people are being so hostile in their comments... These are after all MIDDLE SCHOOLERS PEOPLE!!!

Anonymous said...

As a transplant to the South, I am so disheartened to see some of the natives turn on two clever and beautiful children who were rewarded for taking a risk! Our amazing children put their confidence on the line at a national level and chosen from their cohort. I am sorry for the adults who cannot be proud.

This is a wonderful accomplishment for these two students, their teacher who likely struggled through how hard to challenge them, their parents who push them, and their school who are assisting in pushing past our "norm" for education in MS!

Anonymous said...

I am thankful for the youth of Mississippi putting their creativity out there. Regardless to style preferences, I'm proud of these kids! Way to go!!! Aim high!

Anonymous said...

The true test as to whether your work of art is of any quality is that it strikes others in a way that they are forced to respond. To these two students, I would say simply: "Well done!"

Others may not agree with your words, but the fact that they were compelled to respond means that your writing is a work of art. Congratulations! Keep up the amazing work!

Anonymous said...

Nice job, guys!

Bridget Smith Pieschel said...

It takes a combination of courage from the student and great teaching and encouragement from a faculty member for a young person to put his or her art out for public view and comment. Thank you Ms. Leigh Pourciau for inspiring new Mississippi writers and thank you young writers for showing that words still count and that what you say is important enough for thousands and thousand of people to read and think about!

Shannon Caraway said...

I love it! Congratulations to the students and hats off to their teacher!

REO said...

"Two more wobbly gyroscopes. Not impressed nor surprised. There must have been a paucity of entries."
....
You realize you're commenting on the writing of middle schoolers and not critiquing for the Paris Review, right? You sound like a self-important, bitter weirdo. I can't understand why it be enjoyable for you to trash talk creative work by students... But it seems they're aware that it's a thousand times more worthwhile to make something of their own than to sit around badmouthing what others make, so they're already better off than you.

Anonymous said...

This makes me proud to be a Mississippian. Way to go!

Gloria D. Bunnell said...

I'm impressed by the student-centered assignment and the encouragement of students to write. Writing must begin where the student is and it must be meaningful to the writer. I commend the students for their courage and for their creativity. I also commend their teacher for encouraging them and providing them an outlet for their creativity.

Fredo said...

well, based on the group think only comments above this wonderful creative writing teacher hasn't taught these young'ens little more than a hill of beans about the world, let alone the art world.

Joce Pritchett said...

Congratulations for some well deserved honors! Great students and great teaching are a winning mix!!!

Anonymous said...

A witty year-in-review; well done & congratulations to the young writers! Keep on writing. NYT in middle school is quite an accomplishment!

CCC said...

Good to see youth of Mississippi triumph! Good to see meaningful composition. Lyrics are definitely the only mainstream way to express a poets rhyme anymore!

Awesome win for the kids of Mississippi! The teacher getting students involved is also a plus for our state!

Sounds like a happy ending other than the buzzkill gripers up top!

Anonymous said...

Creativity? You're delusional Gloria.

aashirley said...

So proud of these two ladies! Very creative, girls!! Thanks for making us proud! And thank you to Mrs. Pourceau for mentoring and molding the youth in our area!

Cyn Jonas

Anonymous said...

Proud to say I taught these students. They are creative and smart. Seems to be two qualities some of you commenters lack. The wit of these two artists is impressive. Good job, ladies!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing accomplishment to be published in the New York Times! You should both be very proud of yourselves; well done to you and your teacher!

Anonymous said...

Always glad to see recognition and positive attention for our students from Mississippi. Cute poem that's a real reflection of our middle schoolers perspective on the world. Congratulations all!

Anonymous said...

Awesome job ladies.

Carl Black said...

Go, Germantown! In a state renowned for superb literary talent, it's only fitting that public schools foster creativity whenever and however possible. Very glad it's working!

Nikki said...

This is great! Congrats! Job well done!

Anonymous said...

Happy Happy Happy!

PJW said...

As a graduate from the Mississippi public school system, I am so proud of these two students and their accomplishments. Huge kuddos to their teacher!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
It seems to me that the commenters don't quite get that rap is an art form as much as classical German symphonies and Da Vinci's sculptures. Just because you don't like how the form uses language and culture doesn't make it any less valid.


Ah yes, this "rap" is right up there with Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Last Supper and Vitruvian Man. Frankly, this "rap" sounds like something scribbled on the back of a napkin during recess, and if was considered worthy of inclusion by the NY Times, I would truly hate to see the entries that were not rewarded. And apparently, this was written before A&E lifted its suspension of Phil Robertson. Also, did the teacher even ask about the anti-Catholic slur? If this rap is considered art, then so is the splatter from the spider I crushed with my boot.

Anonymous said...

You can tell someone has achieved a lot in his life when he spends his spare time anonymously smearing middle schoolers on a blog. They're kids, for God's sake. Give it a rest.

Anonymous said...

I personally give them an F on the creative writing portion, but they get an A+ for strategic thinking. Know your audience and tell them what they want to hear. Add that to the fact they are from Missippi, and it is a good formula for "winning" a prize from the NYT.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't very impressed after my first read. 25% of the 16-line "rap" related in some way to the length or order of a year. Another 25% was spent on Nelson Mandela. It appeared that the children had no idea what they were talking about when referencing the "pope" [sic], and only a MSNBC viewer's comprehension of what happened with the Phil Robertson unpleasantness. At that point, I was saddened by their lack of understanding of the world and their sense of place in it. As they are the next generation, I began contemplating whether to move my assets to precious metals much faster than I have been planning.

But then it hit me and I finally grasped the brilliance in this work. Here we see students in one of the more affluent public schools in the state, Germantown, who not only understand the distorted world view of the modern urban underclass "takers," but also are able to express that view through "rap," a bastardized form of communication born of the ghettos and slums forty years ago. The irony is delicious. (It reminds me of the blind girl in the video Lionel Richie's "Hello" who is also a sculptor.)

Brilliant! Well done, ladies.

Anonymous said...

oh yea, bach and lil bow wow wow will be noted for centuries as equals...

Anonymous said...

This is good news. The negative comments have nothing to do with the rap or the story. I'm sure there is something else going on in their lives that causes them to find/create a shitty side to any positive story.

Anonymous said...

Excepting Mandela's death, if those are the highlights of 2013 as seen through the lens of two middle school girls then we have some big time problems in this state. Germantown Middle may be a great school when compared to the long list of crappy schools in Mississippi but you have to wonder if currents events and perspective are taught there.



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