Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Value of Poetry
In my opinion, poetry is a valuable thing to teach in schools. However, it is taught almost every year and as a result of that, students begin to resent and dislike poetry. There are many students who enjoy poetry, but I am not one of them. Maybe it's because I don't fully understand how to analyze poems to figure out their true meaning, but poems are just a confusing mess to me. The things we have done this year have helped me a little, but overall I am not poetry's biggest fan. It would be helpful if teachers who are just starting children out on poetry in elementary school taught more on understanding and appreciating poetry, because if I had gotten that education and insight I might be able to appreciate and understand poetry a whole lot more. Another thing that would create a more positive atmosphere for poetry would be to not learn it every year in English class starting at around fifth grade. Poetry is an important part of our culture and society, I just wish it was handled in schools differently.
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I agree with you on how it is taught in schools, it can be frustrating at times. What I do when I don't understand what a poem is saying is I research the poets background and I research the poem. Sometimes in order to understand the meaning behind a poem it is helpful to get other peoples insight on what the poem means. I hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteps it feels super weird talking to you seriously haha :)
Keturah, I hear you girl. Poetry is hard, and I feel as though some teachers don't realize that it takes time to understand! Sylvia has a great point about researching the poem. Google practically saved my life in last year’s poetry unit! It's a good idea to ask what other people think if you're confused, a lot of the time poetry can mean different things to different people. As to your approach on how poetry should be taught in schools, I think you're absolutely right. The more time I spend on poetry, the easier it gets so I can see how learning it in elementary school could have had a huge impact on how I view it today!
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