Posted by Darilyn Hackett, Principal of Nueva Esperanza Leadership Academy
As part of our celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, our middle school class has been doing a study through the book “Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States.” The following poem helped facilitate deep conversation and moments of vulnerable sharing between our students.
There’s an Orange Tree Out THERE
*Translated from Spanish by Darwin J Falkon*
There’s an orange tree out there, beyond that old,
Abandoned garden wall,
But it’s not the same orange tree we planted,
And it’s a beautiful orange tree
So beautiful it makes us remember
That orange tree we planted
-in our earth-
Before coming to this house
So distant and remote from that one
Where we planted an orange tree
And even saw it – like this one – in flower.
Mrs. Hedlund asked the students what the poem reminded them of or what it made them feel. What was the orange tree to them? Where was their first orange tree planted?
–One student spoke of missing his family in Mexico:
“I miss seeing them. I miss being able to visit because of Covid. I miss eating and listening to my family.”
–Another student spoke of a different experience—how it felt to be in foster care:
“I moved so many times and left so many of my friends and schools, I was always missing someone or something. It made me want to see what I knew was familiar. I wanted to be with my dad or at a place that I felt I knew instead of somewhere new all the time. I have a box filled with all the things my dad purchased for me. It is filled with memories. It is my orange on my own orange tree.”
There is power in storytelling that crosses cultural lines to the shared background of our humanity. The value in teaching diverse experiences to our students is profound.