Rationale
What is poetry? Why teach poetry to the middle school student?
The first question is a difficult one to answer but we attempt to answer this as we move through the poetry unit. Paul H. Fry, William Lampson Professor of English at Yale University, stated during our Yale National Initiative Session on July 8, 2005 that when defining poetry, it is easier to say what poetry is not. For the middle school student though, we need to define poetry. Poetry is sharing thoughts and emotions in lines and stanzas. Poetry is making statements that express feelings and putting those expressions on paper to be read. Poetry is emotions. Poetry is hearing and listening. Poetry is discovering.
The second question is easier to answer. We teach poetry to give the students the chance to feel, think, discover and change. We teach poetry to ask questions and maybe get answers. We teach poetry hoping the poem's thoughts and ideas will turn the students upside down! We teach poetry because it matters and deserves to be taught. As Audre Lord says, "Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of light within on which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into ideas, then into more tangible action."1 Because of the nature of the middle school student and the nature of poetry, bringing the two together only seems natural! Poetry is emotional. The middle school student is emotional. They just belong together! Also, it is the freedom of expression of poetry and the middle school students' need for that freedom of expression that allows for a natural union of the poetry and the middle school student.
Poetry can reach the middle school student because of the nature of its medium. Medium means "middle" and the middle school student is caught "in the middle". The nature of poetry helps them deal with the middle. Theirs is an age of uncertainty and trying to resolve that uncertainty. It is a time of questions. It is a time when they are trying to figure out just who they are. Poetry can often answer the questions and settle some of the uncertainty. Students can often relate to the emotions expressed in the poem, thus helping them deal with their own emotions.
Wiles and Bondi outline several characteristics and needs of the middle school student or adolescent.2 One stated need is the need to move inward. This very basic need can result in the student developing self- understanding. Reading poetry, relevant poetry, poetry that connects with the student, helps fulfill that need. Students can read the poem and discover the poet's purpose and meaning while realizing a personal connection with and interpretation of the words of the work. The emotional content of the poem helps the student get in touch with their emotions.
Not only reading poetry but also writing poetry will foster the middle school student's self- discovery and self- expression. The writing of poetry puts down on paper the student's thoughts and ideas and feelings. When they see their emotions on paper, they gain more insight about themselves.
Kenneth Koch, a poet and teacher, used poetry in his classroom to encourage students to write poetry themselves so they could find new ways to say things. His lessons use all forms of poetry as models. Koch wanted his students to know that reading and writing poetry could be about a multitude of ideas, thoughts and subjects. Koch stated reading and writing poetry should be an enjoyable as well as successful experience as long as the classroom is a "safe" and "inspiring" classroom.3 This all works together for the student's personal satisfaction, personal realization and personal discovery!
In my classroom the students always enjoy the poetry unit. I ask them every year why they like poetry and I do get a variety of responses. The main reason they like poetry is because it allows them to express their feelings without restrictions! The middle school student, an adolescent, is all about feelings. The success of my poetry classroom is what keeps me adding to it. I believe poetry is all of us and all around us. Poetry is part of us. Poetry is in us. Poetry asks and answers questions. It talks to us and we talk back. Poetry is voice and poems help my students discover and understand their voice. It is this voice and the finding of this voice that is so crucial to healthy adolescent development. It's hard to be a middle school student but the reading and writing of poetry may help ease the inner turmoil of the adolescent.
Perhaps though, the strongest reason for teaching poetry in the middle school is that the poetry allows the student to get in touch with what is in their heart. Sometimes this is difficult because they normally do not share their feelings. When they do share their feelings it is easier to share through poetry whether it is their own, a friend's or a well-known poet's. It is easier to write about their feelings than talk about them. The written product is a poem that expresses their thoughts, feelings and ideas. Quite simply, this is what every middle school student needs. As Nikki Giovanni writes, "We need food for the soul… we need poetry… we deserve poetry. We owe it to ourselves to re- create ourselves and find a different if not better way to live."4
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