Every summer, Charlie Soriano, principal of East Hampton Middle School, picks a theme that sets the tone for students and staff to have a successful school year. The theme for 2022-23 is “perseverance,” and to prepare for classroom discussions of this, students have been asked to read the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes.
“As we all continue to adjust to living life with Covid’s ongoing complications, it’s all about building stamina again and practicing perseverance,” Dr. Soriano said in a recent email to families. “As a school, we plan to reflect on the intersection of the poem, perseverance, goals, grit, determination, and hard work.”
The poem, which is available for free at poetryfoundation.org, is famous for the line, “What happens to a dream deferred?” Dr. Soriano suggests that students should also discuss it with their families as well as classmates and teachers, answering questions such as “How can you persevere at something?” and “How do you encourage and support others?” Students have also been asked to answer, in their own words, Mr. Hughes’s famous “dream deferred” question.