Jalen Rose Academy

Greetings Family,

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege to teach at the Jalen Rose Academy in Detroit where I was the 10th grade English Teacher for the day. It was a great experience to say the least. A great experience for me as well as for the students. It really reminded me of being back home in Florida at Dillard High School, which is my Almamata.  Moreover, the day started off with an unexpected twist because I was actually assigned to teach at a different school until I got the call heading to the first school saying the request was canceled. As I parked my car and waited for an updated assignment, it came to my phone as 10th grade ELA needed at Jalen Rose Academy. I knew it would be a great day. We started with first class and I started by drawing my name on the board. Spell out Lyons and to express it below with a 5 to start, draw the surrounding mane, teeth, eyes, and ear to showcase the lion. The students all welcomed me and enjoyed the poem IF, by Rudyard Kipling as I have a background introduction of myself and a few of my past experiences. I also had to opportunity to pose the question and statement that stands near and dear to my heart. God = Love! “Why is it that we are not allowed to learn and teach about Love in school if Love is God and God is Love?” This question connected and grabbed the attention of the class and lead to my theme for the entire day. I was able to express my signs of love for God through poetry and expression and I encouraged the students to come up with poems of their own for self expression as a writing and English assignment. The students did a great job working together to come up with a class poem that expressed some of their thoughts and feelings while having the opportunity to talk about life with me as someone close enough in age with them to be a peer counselor. The students signs of appreciation for the class engagement activities were expressed by them passing up to me pieces of candy that was oooooo so good!!! 😋 lol it was almost like at a opera symposium when the ending ancore takes place and people throw roses on the stage. 🌹. In the third period there were a group of students really into poetry and the class spent its entirety sharing their personally written poems along with some of the poems they have found and read over the years. This was a great exercise and I will definitely use it in the future. Similar to the last School I was at when the last period had a student prodigy, this school experience was the same. Rather than a freestyle musician, this school had an engineer business entrepreneur who had already built numerous computers from scratch and started a business with his own website to attract clients. I have never seen a young man so intelligent and focused on business at such a young age in my life. I let him know how much he inspired me and the fact that I wanted him personally to reach out to my mentor so he could get the help and assistance he was looking for to launch his business and take his vision to the next level. We spent the entire class talking and sharing the platforms we both built and I was helping him to understand how he could better build his brand. This was the gift and calling that God has set up for all of these things to happen and all of us to meet and connect in divine timing. I was happy to spend my day with these bright minds and loving souls. I pray that they all see the light and reach their full potential which is infinite. Peace and blessings to all our family, those we know and those we have yet to meet. Let’s continue to strive for greatness and live out our dreams!

Best wishes and God Bless, Peace and Love!

Sincerely,

Wayne Lyons II