Poetry For Those Who "Can't"

Poetry is not my strongest nor favorite topic when it comes to writing. I can truly appreciate poetry and I can admit I really enjoy reading poetry. However, like many others, writing poetry may not come so easily. Christensen's approach to poetry in her Teaching for Joy and Justice, is a lot like poetry for dummies. She breaks down concepts and different teaching strategies to show students that poetry is a lot more accessible than they may think. This reading is the first time I have read a text about education that focuses in on the 'how' in teaching a lesson regarding poetry. This topic is something I feel would be very difficult for me to tackle because of the all too common push back once you mention the word poetry. Most think of the classics that build the cannon: Shakespearian sonnets, Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson poems. Christensen breaks down the walls of teaching poetry by finding new ways to show the relevancy of poetry and the power it has without obsessing over the the specifics. She develops a more student centered approach when teaching poetic devices and recognizing them in their work. Christensen's concrete examples of how to teach these skills with step by step rationale through the lesson made the chapter extremely accessible.

I completely agree with Christensen that in order to encourage students to indulge in poetry, they need to feel comfortable in the classroom. Christensen hits the nail right on the head when she expresses how students feel discouraged and not represented when their surroundings including curriculum, do not reflect who they are. I completely agree that if students have nothing to connect to their own personal backgrounds and experiences, how will they have the ability to dig deep into thees assignments. As teachers, we have to find ways to create a classroom where everyone feels they can express themselves in a low stakes environment. Her approach to creating discussion around the students topics as a group allows students to recognize that many students face similar challenges as their other classmates. It's as if you build a community that acknowledges their differences but shows that despite these differences, they will always have something in common. I find that it brings a sense of humanity into the classroom because many do not realize how similar they really are. I think that it also connects to our responsibility as educators to create a space where your students can recognize this and apply it to the world around them. Especially in 2018 where our culture dehumanizes people of color, immigrants, and those who do not "fit" the mold. Poetry has immense power that can give voices to those who are not heard. Poetry has the power to,

"Reclaim parts of our lives that society has degraded, humiliated, or shamed" (Christensen 15). 

Christensen provides a great example of creating this student centered authentic learning where you present a poem performed where she recommends leaving the "teacher talk" on the back burner and let the students "feel it".  The video I have linked below was a poem where I was instructed to do just that. "Feel it". After falling in love with the piece, my dance teacher had the brilliant idea of creating a dance piece to his words. It became an entire lesson that she did not expect to have so many layers! We sat down and went through the poem line by line to determine where the emphasis was and what phrases were crucial to single out in movements. The piece flourished and was so well received that it branched out into a full fledged "change the world" campaign that the students took over. Students created days with different positive themes that they would plant "seeds of goodness" all around the school. It was something that has stuck with me after high school and every time I hear it I find myself feeling like I just took in a breath of fresh air. Its a beautiful piece. Finding these gems regarding real world, modern interpretations of poetry, light that fire that I believe many students are missing. Words are powerful and we need to show our students how strong they can be.