BleedGopher
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Rochester 6th grader writes poem "Row the Boat Home" inspired by Fleck and MLK
per the Rochester Post Bulletin:
Row the boat
Late this winter, St. Francis sixth-grader Mike Ruff was tasked with writing a poem for school. The assignment was part of the Rochester Diversity Council’s annual Martin Luther King Poetry Contest and the theme centered on King’s quote, “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
Ruff, who is a passionate Minnesota Gophers football fan, was inspired by Gophers Coach P.J. Fleck’s “Row the Boat” philosophy. Fleck says you need an oar (energy), a boat (the team’s sacrifice), and a compass (direction). Mike combined Fleck, MLK, and images of Jesus’ message all into a poem titled “Row the Boat Home.”
Mike’s teacher, Monica Steinmetz, read the poem to the class (without sharing the name of the poet). When she finished, Mike said, “Kids were clapping. It felt good.”
Word of Ruff’s poem found its way to the University of Minnesota, and the Big 10 Network News came to Rochester to interview Mike, his parents Mary and Pat Ruff (a Post Bulletin sports writer), and spend some time in Steinmetz’s classroom at St. Francis. As Steinmetz said, “I think we forget the impact we can all make on other people,” and Mike’s poem reminds us “we are never alone.”
Row the Boat Home
By Mike Ruff
When I think of Martin Luther King’s quote,
I hear Coach Fleck saying “row the boat.”
What Coach and King both share from the heart,
Is that we do better together than we do when apart.
Paddling together as we row upstream,
We can conquer anything, if we do it as a team.
By their words and actions these men are teaching me,
How God intends for us to be free.
Accepting differences and getting along,
Rowing together makes us strong.
Learning and sharing with each other,
We treat everyone like a sister or brother.
A teammate might come from a different place,
But we can see God in each other’s face.
And on a boat, sailing on the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus gathers friends very different from me.
But knowing that working together keeps us afloat,
Coach Fleck, Reverend King and I hop in that boat.
And as we each hold a paddle and row the boat home,
We know that no matter our differences we are never alone.
https://www.postbulletin.com/life/l...cle_cfaa5066-6042-11e9-9f94-b70ebfad9548.html
Go Gophers!!
per the Rochester Post Bulletin:
Row the boat
Late this winter, St. Francis sixth-grader Mike Ruff was tasked with writing a poem for school. The assignment was part of the Rochester Diversity Council’s annual Martin Luther King Poetry Contest and the theme centered on King’s quote, “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
Ruff, who is a passionate Minnesota Gophers football fan, was inspired by Gophers Coach P.J. Fleck’s “Row the Boat” philosophy. Fleck says you need an oar (energy), a boat (the team’s sacrifice), and a compass (direction). Mike combined Fleck, MLK, and images of Jesus’ message all into a poem titled “Row the Boat Home.”
Mike’s teacher, Monica Steinmetz, read the poem to the class (without sharing the name of the poet). When she finished, Mike said, “Kids were clapping. It felt good.”
Word of Ruff’s poem found its way to the University of Minnesota, and the Big 10 Network News came to Rochester to interview Mike, his parents Mary and Pat Ruff (a Post Bulletin sports writer), and spend some time in Steinmetz’s classroom at St. Francis. As Steinmetz said, “I think we forget the impact we can all make on other people,” and Mike’s poem reminds us “we are never alone.”
Row the Boat Home
By Mike Ruff
When I think of Martin Luther King’s quote,
I hear Coach Fleck saying “row the boat.”
What Coach and King both share from the heart,
Is that we do better together than we do when apart.
Paddling together as we row upstream,
We can conquer anything, if we do it as a team.
By their words and actions these men are teaching me,
How God intends for us to be free.
Accepting differences and getting along,
Rowing together makes us strong.
Learning and sharing with each other,
We treat everyone like a sister or brother.
A teammate might come from a different place,
But we can see God in each other’s face.
And on a boat, sailing on the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus gathers friends very different from me.
But knowing that working together keeps us afloat,
Coach Fleck, Reverend King and I hop in that boat.
And as we each hold a paddle and row the boat home,
We know that no matter our differences we are never alone.
https://www.postbulletin.com/life/l...cle_cfaa5066-6042-11e9-9f94-b70ebfad9548.html
Go Gophers!!