Poetry as Sound and Object

Introduction and Overview

When you think about the current state of teaching and learning in America have you considered using a critical lens that thoroughly examines all aspects of the process? It is important to point out that the time has come to advance education in a direction that is productive, effective and relevant for all students. As a bit of a juxtaposition, there are no shortage of reports stating that students in the United States have and are struggling; however, today’s students are some of the most informed of all time. With technological advances and innovative devices available to them, students have all of the answers at their fingertips. In the past, if a student had access to a laptop, they may have been considered privileged. However, nowadays, school districts across the nation are mostly one to one. According to the U.S. Department of Education (National Center for Education Statistics), in 2022-23, 94 percent of schools in the United States offered digital devices to students. Subsequently, a continuing debate on the effects of technology use with children in early elementary education has led to questions around social-emotional well-being, academic achievement, language development, attention span and more. Because each of these qualities plays a crucial role in writing and creativity, how can we ensure the fostering of students’ development in creative writing? How are our pupils supposed to navigate if they are being pulled away from educational norms by the very thing that was supposed to be educationally innovative?

As learners, they are expected to cooperate and bring out the best within them. It is the teacher’s responsibility to motivate those who do not talk and those who show lack of interest towards their studies. PechKusal, et al. (2009) conducted a study focusing on the causes that lead students to becoming passive: inferiority, unwillingness to study, no sense of belonging, inconvenient lives, family problems.¹ What can teachers, parents and educational institutions, in general, do in order to garner an in-depth and vitalizing experience for students everywhere? Furthermore, what will spark the innate curiosity of young students and lead them toward a rewarding academic journey? A longitudinal study by Liu and Hou (2017) has shown that intrinsic motivation considerably promotes academic performance.² When students make personal connections with the content they are learning, they tend to perform better. In recent times, however, those connections have become increasingly obscure. Vallicelli (2012) cited that they are a population overwhelmed by many influences, ranging from highly entertaining video games, big production movies, and cutting-edge music. Unfortunately, at the expense of these enticing options, students have dismissed books as a form of entertainment more often than not.³ As astute as teachers are in their planning, preparation and practice, the fact remains that teetering performance in a post-COVID era and the addition of much needed SEL practices requested from districts, have created challenges in the teaching of writing. Vallicelli (2012) also cited that this slippage might be due to more factors than an educator might notice. One fact remains apparent, however, regardless of the cause: literacy rates have been declining for two straight decades (NGA Center for Best Practice, 2006). For many different reasons, literacy has become a struggle for all ages of students, and reading is not enjoyable when it is a hard task to complete.⁴ Identically for levels of study up through higher education, trends have shown lower literacy rates accompanied by faltering writing abilities and skills. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA, 2008) supports this finding as well, reporting that there has been an 18% decline in college students who are labeled as consistent readers since 1992.⁵

Looking to Poetry

I spoke earlier of the need to look at education in America through a critical lens. There is no doubt that we must constantly find ways to focus on growth in literacy, particularly on a scale that is fair and equitable to a much larger percent than it is now. Unfortunately, evidence from state and national assessments of writing and employer reports present a sobering picture of poor writing skills for children in K-12 schools.⁶

When it comes to the testing that happens from state to state, the required writing varies. Being able to show comprehension through writing response is key. The sensible act of writing to show understanding is straightforward enough, but what about writing to express oneself in a matter that brings forth thought and creativity within the same student? In the grade level that I am teaching, the Text-Dependent Analysis is a major focus for the children. I feel that in addition to this, creative and expressive writing could promote outcomes that are prolific, inventive and innovative. Creative and expressive writing could spur the imagination and invigorate students as well as their desire to search within, and be more resourceful and confident, therefore elevating the outcomes. Poetry and the study of such on a deeper level than is normally studied at young ages can be such a catalyst. Similarly, Applebee (2000) also points to poetry as a vehicle that can raise literacy.⁷