We would like to introduce Dr. Carolyn Hondo,  Burley High School Principal and proactive member of our community.  We are thrilled to give her an open place on GoBurley.com to pass on personal and professional thoughts and ideas.

Haiku Journey

Photo from Burley High School Website

In school students are encouraged to write, and many struggle with it. It isn’t a favorite activity, and it is hard work. When the assignment is to be three to four pages in length, the groans can be heard throughout the building. I watch as students spend more time counting the lines as making sure the content counts. However, in my experience, even most adults would rather clean out the garage than write an essay.  And lately, teenagers would rather text (txt) than write (c u ltr k?). Adults worry that writing has become a lost art, but if we aren’t really doing it either how important can it be?  If you hate to write but want to set an example for your student, I suggest you try going on a haiku journey.

Several years ago I attended a writing workshop in which we were introduced to Haiku – a traditional Japanese verse form consisting of three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. Typically a haiku uses an image often drawn from nature, to evoke a mood or feeling. However, the purpose for those taking the class (not your typical adults) was to practice another art form – brevity – as our teacher had tired of wading through our various essays. He really wanted us to be bold, be brief, and be done.  Thus, he had us embark on daily haiku journeys.

Since that time I have tried to practice writing haiku, and making words count. For instance, when I visited my daughter in New York I wrote this one:

Bars on the windows
“I love this city so much!”
Don’t make eye contact.

And one from when I worked in Oakley:

Beautiful valley
Snow-topped mountain majesty
Viewed from the playground.

Sometimes I use haiku to put a positive spin on unpleasant experiences. Like the one I wrote about my dad the other day:

He dips chicken strips
In coffee, hot and steamy
Licks his lips and smiles.

5, 7, 5 – you should try it. Make every word, and every day, count. As Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”