“Teaching ‘great’ poetry to students enhances their perceptions, improves their writing, challenges their minds, and enriches their lives.” This is a quote that began the article by Janine L. Certo. I like her have found that the poetry that I have shared in my classroom is that of Shel Silverstein. When I think of the poetry that I was exposed to as a child, I remember writing haiku, cinquains, and all the other poetry rhymed. Never was I exposed to the classic poets until High School. I love how this article addressed how poetry was linked by reading and writing, and how it gave ideas for selecting and sharing poetry.
Thinking about how poetry is perceived, I like the quote that “Boys don’t write poetry. Girls do.” This comes from the book Love that Dog. I loved how reading the novel and article are closely linked. Jack did not think of himself as a writer of poetry, but it was very evident in reading the book of how he developed as a writer from being exposed to good, quality poetry. The article reveals how the first thing that children do is to mimic good writers. This was also shared through the master writer of Stephen King.
Is it okay to share funny children’s poetry? Yes, but also expose children to poetry that doesn’t just focus on the funny, nature topics. This allows students to develop as mature readers and writers of poetry. I personally will admit that my exposure to poetry was very limited. I did not like reading it and definitely did not like writing it. I didn’t get to experience a teacher that allowed for free verse, where the emotions and message were the focus and not the rhyming. I was never exposed to the “language of the past” and when I was finally exposed in High School, it was probably more difficult.
This this article and other readings this week made me think about the kinds of poetry to share in my classroom. I love the suggested collections for classic poetry. Also, the way that poetry is presented showed to be important in how children perceive it. Reading it more than once and providing them with the opportunity to read was what stood out to me.
As for the writing aspects, the linkage from print to the ideas of students is extremely important. Even in just ordinary notebook prose, I have had to make sure that my topics are broad enough. The traditional writing prompts of my generation creates such robotic writers. Students need have freedom to create and freedom of choice. Students are limited to their own life experiences and all are different. I work at a high poverty school and I have a student who is fortunate enough to get to go to Disney this coming week. She is gaining a life experience that not many of my students will gain in a lifetime.
Poetry is not bound to “rhyme,” but to the student’s perspective from which they are looking, listening, and reading poetry. It is my job to make sure students get a positive exposure to good, quality poetry.
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