What teachers say about Street Poets:
“In a system full of mediocrity and indifference, Street Poets throws open the windows to the souls of kids and shows them what it’s like to go inward and say something—to say anything. If education is a meal, Street Poets is one of the rare moments the kids feel fed.”
-Morgan Hatch, English Teacher, Gompers Middle School (Watts)
“Street Poets turned my English class into a connected community of writers and thinkers. All of my students said that they had never been in a space like this before at school. I have seen students who every teacher in our school has had difficulty engaging, fully immersed in the process of discussing, writing, and sharing poetry after just a few Street Poets workshops.”
-Jerica Coffey, English Teacher, Locke High School (South LA)
“The Street Poets were an astounding presence in my English class this year. The students were below basic in test scores, and they tended to be on the immature side. After Street Poets started coming to our class, students who had been acting out and completely disengaged began discussing the power of a metaphor they came across or the intensity of an image. Poetry became ‘cool’ and it offered us a common language. I saw students smile and stand up straighter knowing they had a poet’s voice inside them. I saw students relax knowing they had a way to express the turmoil within.”
-Candace Moore, English Teacher, Washington Prep High School (South LA)
“Street Poets’ ability to focus students on making their personal expression and healing a springboard for academic writing, slam poetry and even media production has now become a model for my current instruction.”
-Vitaly, Teacher, Central High School, Mar Vista Gardens Projects (Culver City)
Street Poets offers transformational life coaching, as well as corporate and organizational trainings and retreats including, but not limited to, the following themes and areas of focus:
- Stimulating creativity in the workplace
- Connecting through story: re-weaving the fabric of community
- Embracing change: how to create an adaptive and resilient culture
- Making it real: self-talk, affirmations & the visionary achiever
- Circling the Source: drumming and the journey home
For more information about this emerging social enterprise wing of our work, contact Street Poets Founder & Executive Director Chris Henrikson:.