She Is Perfect...

Her alluring sculpture of a woman
Her dark hair like a charming legend
Her feminine scent from heaven
Her beady eyes outshining diamond
Her dulcet voice like breeze tones
Her sweet lips as coconut flan
Her sharp wit penetrating stones
Her clear skin wearing no tan
Invaded my gamut of emotions
Inhabited my heart, soul, and mind
Dived into my deepest oceans
And cured my eyes that were blind

© Chaouki M'kaddem
December 25th, 2014

Optimizing Inclusion

Dear teacher,
Students with learning disabilities 
Certainly have considerable abilities
Inclusion rakes up potentialities
And develops students’ qualities
You need to carry out some inquiries   
New knowledge and competencies 
Help you address their disabilities 
And cater for their needs and abilities

Dear teacher, 
Any class has mixed abilities
Varied traits and cute sceneries
Different needs and capacities
Multiple intelligences and keys
Learning styles and tendencies
Motivation levels and energies
Differentiate classroom activities
To meet these bittersweet realities

Dear teacher,
Manage your classroom at best
Increase motivation and interest
Season activities with joy and zest
Be patient even with the slowest
Use scaffolds first and foremost
Differentiate every activity and test
Incorporate cooperative learning,
Project works, and WebQuest

                                                                                             

© Chaouki M’kaddem

 November 24th, 2014

 

Forsaken

On a shelf I've been left
I feel forgotten and lost
Of dignity I was bereft
My pulchritude is no longer at its best
Confined by a firm crust
Stifled by layers of dust
I still crave readers' zest

© Chaouki M'kaddem
September 24th, 2014

Coffee

Black or black?

I fancy no more options
It has a world of its own

The one which is black

I peep into the crema
I dive into my open ocean
It’s the moment of my true devotion

I sniff at the cup
I embark on my own boat

Till I feel a tantalizing aroma in my throat

I sip gingerly
I sail back and forth

Where I know its real worth

I lean against the backrest

Ready to digest

I know this moment is the best

I start a first draft
I feel a creativity waft

Mixed with brilliant words that really shaft

© Chaouki M'kaddem
September 16th, 2014

I Will... Against All The Odds

I will keep flying and singing
Despite subjugation and wings clipping
I will keep up advancement
Despite any ignoble impediment
I will keep to my principles
Despite bigotry and disapprovals
I will keep on preaching peace
Despite intolerance and violent tendencies
I will move for change and make a difference
Despite blind hatred, rage and indifference
I will keep my chin up and never give up
And enjoy freedom like riding at a gallop

© Chaouki M'kaddem
September 12th, 2014

Strange Common Sense!

You are suspect of being a warmonger
I was just eradicating sources of danger
You shot a man while he was trying to pee
He was holding dynamite under a tree
You injured an old man on his farmland
His anxious face slammed into my hand
You wrecked houses with great wrath
They came into my missiles flight path
You murdered  a lot of innocent children
They failed to elude my smart weapon
You killed tens because of one suspect
They were human shields ready to protect
You used weapons of mass destruction
They used rockets that feared my nation
I really deem this a flagrant genocide
Hey! I'm talking about Palestine
Oh! Sorry! Not guilty...That’s fine

© Chaouki M’kaddem

July 18^th, 2014

A Teacher Can Be a Peacemaker

Dear teacher,
Peace is the key to vitality in any school community
Where there is the potential for conflicts and hostility
Detecting dormant volcanoes is an urgent necessity
Alas, schools can't afford experts. What a bitter reality!
Thank God you are there! You are a precious commodity

Dear teacher,
A person in your position is gifted with true intuition
You are adept at dealing with colleagues and children
You have a talent for social interactions and persuasion
And classroom management is your forte and inclination
Never doubt your flair for conflict resolution and prevention

Dear teacher,
Be an example of duty and common goal devotion
Be a model of self-control and emotional regulation
Manage your clashing interests through negotiation
Assess options to reach mutually suitable solutions
Build co-operative and supportive working relations

Dear teacher,
Another positive problem solving strategy is mediation
Have disputing parties talk and exchange information
Let them reflect on what they feel about the situation
Forget about blame; invite them to think of a solution
Remember, parents make kids; you make generations

© Chaouki M’kaddem
June 10th, 2014

You Are the Sun

You're the sun I never shun
Besides you, I cherish none
You're the prize I've ever won
For hard times, joy and fun
You proved to be the one

You're my source of light
You made my life so bright
I am ravished with delight
Whether here or out of sight
I remain your grateful knight

© Chaouki Mkaddem
June 3rd, 2014

Earth Day!

Once again, Earth Day is ahead
Awareness will still be spread
Among the deaf and the dead
While species are sent to a deathbed,
While millions of people are underfed,
While we still sense environmental dread
Permeating the air, water and land
Don't you think nothing remained unsaid?
Feelings of compassion won't amend
What has been done by a bloody hand
Why not turn to actions instead?

Let's make Earth Day every day and night
Let's be willing to lend a hand and donate
And join every environmentalists' parade
Let's stop plants and animal trade
And be part of every anti-poaching brigade
Let's take measures against every oil spill
And protect wilderness from every oil drill
Let's confront every unethical company
And make everything environmentally friendly
None over natural resources has supremacy
Only those who care for the globe safety

© Chaouki M'kaddem
April 4th, 2014

I Am Not a God!

I am not a God to hear her silence
I can sense her mind's ambiance
I am not a God to read her thoughts
I can feel her slightest expressions
I am not a God to foresee her future
I can predict her success and failure
I am not a God to map out her destiny
I can just pray to enjoy her company
I daren’t contradict God's will
Otherwise, I will lose everything
I am a mere human being
who has a definite margin

© Chaouki Mkaddem     
May 28^th, 2013

Just Listen!

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Your issues with feminine gender
And belief that women only hinder
Are but bigotry wrapped in anger

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Be cool and don't lose your temper
Why don't you pause and ponder
And see women's luster and splendor?

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Think of your roots and first ancestor
And how all of you get a successor
Certainly, there's always a partner

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
You certainly have a grandma and mother
And maybe an aunt, daughter or sister
Think how they made your dreams broader

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Scroll through history with a wise cursor
And sail into the wide blue yonder
You will see you had the wrong number

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Your chauvinism and attempts to murder
Her ambitions, creativity and ardor
Just strengthen her and boost her willpower

Just listen! I won't tell you any wonder
Your claims are but a mere blunder
Seek truth deep in you and go no further
There's no shame to admit and surrender

© Chaouki M'kaddem
March 6th, 2014

What a Rhyme!

Once upon a time
Souls drenched in grime
Wanted words to rhyme
Sought immorality and crime
The framework of their paradigm
That inspired the craved rhyme:

Fake democracy is our best policy
To conceal our conspiracy
And veil our greed and hypocrisy
Grass roots follow our tendency
In the name of transparency
Which will be our long-life currency

Luckily, there are honest souls
Sworn to sublime goals
To eradicate these hellholes
Kill off the voracious voles
Restore democracy's real roles
And harmonize different souls


© Chaouki M’kaddem
February 21st, 2014

See How You Create Liars and Crooks

He's become a wardrobe full of cloaks
Like a lizard with different looks
To please your tastes, selfish folks
You drove him to pretend and coax
And custom-make a vesture of hoax
To fit the characters in your own books

© Chaouki M’kaddem
February 19th, 2014

Life Has Roots

He who says past is past is a liar
A dormant volcano hides fire
Memories are there; they never expire
Their resurrection rejuvenates all desire
To make of you a dreamer and a lofty aspirer
Past, Present, Future are but a circuit with no wire

© Chaouki M’kaddem
February 1st, 2014

Listen to a Citizen!

Blah... Blah... Blah...
Hush and hold still!
You sent me through the mill
You made my head a landfill
You're only casting a chill
That chains both my soul and will

You've made me constantly ill
You're no longer a bitter pill
It seems you don't know the drill
Leave the stage to those who fit the bill
As you're already over the hill

© Chaouki M’kaddem
January 22nd, 2014

A Piercing Cry

She turned into a yellowish leaf

Due to despair and abiding grief

Wishing it to end or be brief

Nonchalance killed her belief

In kindness or any hasty relief

She was about to die

None heard her sigh

She sent a piercing cry

Roaring in the sky

Burdened with a huge 'why?'

Why have you taken a stand,

Not to care or lend a hand?

Why can't you be a real friend?

You're just living in dreamland

Where your life is built on sand

© Chaouki M’kaddem

January 11th, 2014

My Own Cogito

I won't be able to think after death.
Thus, if I stop thinking, I'll pass away.
I won't be able to learn after death.
Thus, if I stop learning I'll die.

People will use the knowledge I taught.
Thus, I am an immortal teacher.
People will read what I wrote.
Thus, I am an immortal writer.

I have to keep on thinking and learning to live longer.
I have to keep on teaching and writing to live forever.

© Chaouki Mkaddem
July 2nd, 2013

Tell Me!

I wonder why some people do not ponder
Before acting or uttering words of wonder
Is it out of denseness or narrowness?
Or maybe due to immaturity or impulsiveness?
Or just to vex or show rudeness?
Are they aware of the repercussions
Of their irresponsible actions
and verbal aggression?
Shall we resort to avoidance
Or wear a costume of patience?

© Chaouki Mkaddem
July 9th, 2013

Tunisia

Tunisia is a North African country

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea,

Rich with cultural diversity,

Proud of a long and varied history

Tunisia has existed for millennia

Its roots grew deep in every era

Attracted the greedy whose mania

Was for expansion and eudemonia

It fascinated the people of Phoenicia

Who founded the cities of Carthage and Utica

Neighbouring the land of Numidia

And flourished solely in its paradisiacal arena

Carthage became the envy of the Roman Empire

That waged in three Punic wars and set the city on fire

Then garnished the entire area with Roman attire

That has stood still for centuries and refused to expire

Other civilizations succeeded to the land of Tunisia

The Vandals came and so did people from Arabia

Then the Ottoman Empire usurped the area

And retained it until the French colonial era

A resistance was born to struggle for national liberation

Seventy-five years needed to become an independent nation

Habib Bourguiba led the independence generation

To build the nation focusing on public health and education

The prospect of enjoying democracy was but a dream

The first leader started a well-tailored autocratic regime

After thirty-one years, a new tyrant burst on the scene

But overthrown by the oppressed population’s piercing scream

The Jasmine Revolution brought relief and liberty

And has inspired the whole world of the possibility

Of change and overturning any tyranny

And become the masters of their own destiny

The prospect of democracy is no longer a dream

Despite terrorism and chaos, we still see a gleam

We, Tunisians, never melt like sun cream

We can swim against any evil stream 

© Chaouki M’kaddem

June 18th, 2013

Be An Interactive Teacher!

Dear teacher,

It's the early twenty-first century
Time to check your  teaching inventory
So as  to adapt a rich variety
Of classroom roles to share the territory
With learners and afford them mastery
Of their own learning and discovery

Dear teacher,
Say adieu to autocracy and welcome democracy
Overwhelm learners with much interest and courtesy
Create classroom dynamics with great efficiency
And perform an array of roles with high proficiency
To empower learners to achieve the intended competency
And use the target language with accuracy and fluency

Dear teacher,
Get rid of the way you were taught
To get off to a flying start
Facilitate learning and avoid learning by heart
No more prevailing instructions, use directions instead
Make your guidance and assistance a work of art
And make the learning on students' part

Dear teacher,
We live in the information technology age
Time to be a tech-savvy to update your page
And time for learners to take the stage
Forget about being the only source of knowledge
And create productive learning environments to engage
Learners to develop skills needed in the workplace

© Chaouki Mkaddem
June 13th, 2013

Luck!

Luck never happens luckily

It has a well-defined itinerary

To reach a target immediately

It may pass by you airily

And if you are a bit lucky

You can grab a puff so quickly

Otherwise, you will lament its fatality

© Chaouki Mkaddem
June 1st, 2013

Know Your Learners!

Dear teacher,

Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner

Refuted any speculative rumour

Presuming the teacher is the knowledge owner

And the child is a passive acquirer

They sought deep inside the learner,

Assembled an empirical picture

To help motivate the language teacher

To be an excellent classroom practitioner

And assume the role of a facilitator

The former proved the learner

To be an active individual and thinker

A discoverer and meaning constructor

The second had inspired the latter  

They both emphasized the child’s social nature

That is tied to a society and a rich culture

And within the ZPD can be an effective grasper

Through interactions with a more knowledgeable partner

Like a caregiver scaffolding a toddler

© Chaouki Mkaddem
June 1st, 2013

Rise!

Ups and downs nurture life

Patience and endurance help you survive

Never know when life can supply or deprive

Jumping into despair is a futile dive

Why not refrain and derive?

Seek your potentials to contrive

Original ways to strive

Against balks all along your drive

Never lose hope, but thrive

Till life gives you five!


© Chaouki Mkaddem     
May 28^th, 2013

Don’t Be Inane

Get rid of the train

That roars in your brain

Beware!
Your sanity is likely to wane

Relying upon losers is in vain

Many of them are born to feign

And over you, they tend to reign 
Beware!

Once they mesmerize you, 
They will never refrain

Break the chain and seize your own rein
Remember!

Only your own wits help you attain

Safe shores and keep you sane

© Chaouki Mkaddem

May 27^th, 2013