Poetry Phobia

When I was asked to teach a grade 8 language class Poetry, I couldn't hide the shock on my face. Thinking back about learning poetry myself brought a few vague memories whereby I had to recite memorized poems or read numerous poems which made absolutely no sense. I did however, recall my grade 10 English teacher who brought in some Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel songs along with terminology like cacophony and iambic pentameter, whereby he'd go on his tippy-toes and say " da-dum, da-dum" to indicate change in rhythm.

Knowing that I was going to teach an entire unit on Poetry, those memories did not get me very far. First thing I did was a trip to the library and literally emptied one entire shelf. Along with the research I compiled, I asked another teacher candidate (who had an English teachable) for guidance, and he gave me plenty of ideas and encouragement to overcome my fear.

I realized poetry did not have to be simply reading poems from the classic poets and get students to decode and analyze those poems. I decided that I'd take a different approach and mix poetry and art. Hence, I'm currently working with the Art teacher at the school as well. I created a learning wall on this unit (which is still progressing) so that students could refer to the different types of poems and poetic devices discussed.

It's been a challenging experience, because I myself am learning about poetry while I'm teaching it to a class. It's been even more difficult for me to understand how I would be assessing the poems without having proper background knowledge.

In order to overcome the struggles around this unit, I chose to diversify the ways to learn poetry. Here are some of my lessons:

(1) Introduction to Poetry: A well-known and fun poet: Dr. Seuss - Green Eggs and Ham; plus reading some good old Dr.Seuss books.

(2) Observation Poetry: Walking around the school and taking photos of an appealing object (i.e: trophies, basketballs, lockers, etc) in order to create a poem

(3) City Poetry: Walking down Younge Street and noting down the urban atmosphere, setting, environment (or lack of), and people in order to create a poem

(4) Art-Inspired Poetry: Creating a poem based on a painting

(5) Rap: Looking at the rhythm and message of contemporary poetry (rap): Wavin' Flag (K'Naan), Where is the Love? (Black Eyed Peas), I Can (Nas)

It's been quite a learning experience for me as I'm slowly overcoming my poetry phobia!

A Teacher's Personality

I am doing my second practicum in a grade 8 class. It is quite different than my first practicum in a grade 6 class due to the huge jump in content, larger focus on grades, and sensing students' anxiety towards entering high school. I have been fortunate to be paired with an associate teacher (AT) who is experienced and has a great rapport with students. More than his manner of teaching, I am realizing that a teacher's personality is really fundamental to help the class function. The AT is quite balanced and ensures he hits both sides of the spectrum: he's laid back and lenient on deadlines and class rules but still holds high expectations in terms of the success criteria. Additionally, he has a passion for reading which he brings to the classroom as there are huge collections of books all over the class which cater to different level readers, different themes/topics, and for both genders. Moreover, he dedicates a whole period (~50 minutes) on Fridays to reading in which both the students and the teacher simply read.

Observing this style of teaching, I have learned a whole lot in a short period. I found the right level of discipline and leniency which suited my classroom management strategies and still made me approachable. I realized that being approachable is so important for a teacher's personality as it brings students towards you as they open up more, ask more questions, and share deeper personal experiences rather than you, as a teacher, trying to probe that out of students. I am teaching a unit on circles for Math, and it was interesting when even the 'class clown' told me that he can estimate the circumference of the hoop while we were playing basketball! As well, a simple thing like smiling, which is often forgotten among adults, really makes a huge difference. Like my AT's passion is for books, my passion is for world issues (human geography), hence many of my lessons directly or indirectly touch upon comparing resource distribution, political circumstances, and human development among 'More Economically Developed Countries' (MEDC/developed countries) and 'Less Economically Developed Countries' (LEDC/developing countries).

Two key things I've learned thus far:
(1) Be approachable (+ smile)
(2) Share your passion