Blog Post #7 Writing Poetry

When previewing Ms. Christensen's chapter, I read all of the poems first before reading the actual content.  The poems were beautifully written.  They were unstructured and stirred different emotions.  I must admit that although I enjoy reading poetry, I struggle to write poetry on any level.  I'm a bit envious of my peers who not only enjoy poetry, but also have a wonderful talent for writing it as well.  The poem that I am going to share with the class is one written by my oldest daughter when she was in sixth grade.  I remember her ELA teacher, Mrs. Silva, instilling a love of poetry and encouraged her students to publish their own books.  Poetry is definitely an area that I do not enjoy teaching, it intimidates me.  Thinking back to previous poetry units, especially in the primary grades, I remember using templates where students could simply fill in parts of speech that they would use to describe themselves and then, viola!, a poem!  This chapter provided so many examples of how poetry can foster a sense of community within a classroom.  In Ms. Christensen's introduction she states, "My curriculum uses students' lives as critical texts we mine for stories, celebrate with poetry , and analyze through essays that affirm their right to a place in society."  She continues, "I have discovered that students care more about learning when the content matters."  As opposed to writing about a particular text, using the life experiences of students for more than a personal narrative may prove to be more meaningful, which is a perspective that I had not considered.  Another quote that rang very true was , "Too often community building happens in the opening days of the school year... These activities drop off after the first week - as if community is established with one or two activities."  Team building, part of which is building trust, is something that should happen through out the year.  Having students and teachers write and offer to share their personal poems is a huge opportunity to foster trust and community.  In listening to our students we can hear their struggles and their fears.  In reading the age poems in the chapter, I smiled during "Five" because every kindergartner eats glue.  While reading "Six," I was saddened for at six years of age, he wanted security.  Some students may not buy into writing about personal experiences, at least not at first.  I really appreciated Kati Macaluso's professor asking her to listen for a poem.  Her account of the elderly couple at the grocery store is a beautiful example of reading the poetry around you and provides students an opportunity to remove themselves as the subject.  Currently, my team is experiencing many challenges during locker/lav time.  Students are being bullied and are bullying during this brief, chaotic time.  I thought of having students listen to the words, the noise, the unkindness during this time and possibly putting it into words.  On the contrary, I would welcome any acts of kindness during this time to be shared as well.  Team meetings and "lectures" have failed, possibly Ms. Macaluso's assignment could serve well for my team.  The readings this week will help me to transform my existing, limited poetry unit.  My greatest takeaway will be using poetry as a way to learn about my students, not just their hobbies and interest, but offering opportunities for them to write about their struggles and what is important to them.