Importance Of Poetry For Students

Students are required to take English all four years of high school to improve and develop skills for higher education. We read different types of literature to learn morals and explore new ideas. With writing assignments of résumés, formal letters, and essays, students establish a foundation for future responsibilities in college or a job field. Vocabulary expansion is woven throughout everyday tasks in the English classroom; word choice is crucial to our professional and educational futures. Accumulated writing and reading skills are used in preparation for standardized testing, such as the SAT and ACT. English class improves the confidence in students with reading, writing, and speaking skills. In four years of English, written literature greatly impacts one’s learning experience.

Kim Brooks, we know has been “teaching composition at state universities and liberal art colleges and community colleges as well,” (Brooks 2) however what makes her truly passionate about the situation is her love for literature since she was a teenager. “Like so many, depressive, creative, extremely lazy high-school students, I was saved by english class” (1). Brooks demonstrates through these quotes her credibility, not only because she’s a teacher but because she truly loves writing and believes others should receive the education which she was fortunate enough to get. She was not apart of any clubs or extracurriculars, she wasn’t interested in other academic classes, so she knows how beneficial having the skills to converse, to write and to properly articulate one's self are. Brooks shares this personal anecdote, otherwise known as pathos, to relate to those reading, most specifically high school students like she once was. While focusing this piece mainly on English it can also be associated with other classes in high school as well. She is trying to illustrate how one can use what is learned in high school in their life if given the proper tools and taught skills which can be applied

A poet hopes that people would appreciate their poem in a way that it is not mistreating the work’s value. In the poem “Introduction to poetry” Billy Collins describes his desires on how students should connect with poems. Collins states that students try to force out meanings out of poems instead of diving in to understand its true nature. The author creates a sensitive yet aggressive tone to convey two ways of poetry appreciation through his use of diction, personification and metaphor.

The conversation between child and parent in the previous paragraph may be a relatable situation for students, but it is not one they often see presented to them poetically. The Crossover is rife with everyday activities such as conversation, texting, doing homework and, of course, playing basketball. These scene present in poetry expose the growing resentment and eventual grief of the protagonist through a variety of figurative language techniques that enforces their importance and power to students in a way the traditional, unconnected anthology poetic does not. By doing this, “The Crossover” opens up a new understanding to students who found understanding poetry both boring and unattainable enter their literary

My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.

Maxine Hairston also has vast experience dealing with language. She is a Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Texas. Hairston describes what she feels is the ideal college composition class in her 1992 essay Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing. She explains that with changing demographics, we face an ethnic and social mix of students in our classrooms, which holds true in schools around the nation today. Now more then ever the landscape of our educational system is changing. Hairston introduces a composition course structure that would be centered on the students and their experiences. Hairston suggests utilizing each students life as a lesson and in turn to enlighten students to cultural differences. She proposes an interactive classroom where students collaborate with other writers, this process of decentering so one ca understand the other can foster genuine multicultural growth. Hairstons technique teaches students not only grammar and writing techniques but lets students experience what life would be like for a fellow student similar to Amy Tan. The experiences that someone like Tan would contribute to a classroom such as Hariston would be a rewarding contribution. Other students who would

Prior to high school, my experience of literature was limited to comics and short stories. I had never read a play or even come across the concept of literary devices. It was only recently that I encountered several ideas on the nature of literature. Specifically, the essay “The Ideal English Major” by Mark Edmundson brings up the intriguing idea that “some of us speak, others are spoken [by language].” It seemed obvious at first, but I now begin to understand how this could make the difference between a good book and a timeless classic, between an amazing author and a legend. There are different elements that separate those who speak from those who are spoken and the effect works that speak to us is much different. I came to the conclusion that what makes the difference between speaking and being spoken is one’s ability to use language creatively. Those who speak literature produce art. Their works are able to entertain educate and inspire us.

Poetry and spoken word help students. Some improvements are more advanced writing skills and a better social conscience. It helps with overcoming of shyness, develop literate individuality, self-confidence, and self-esteem. It can be very a therapeutic experience, and students show more confidence in learning. (Weinstein, Susan p.1, Jocson, Korina p.1) Students start to act on their self-perception as writers. Their self-confidence and self-efficacy skyrocket. (Weinstein, Susan p.2) A student named Edward describes this feeling of belonging. “When we’re going to meetings, we’re all in the van talking about our problems and stuff. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I never knew

Poets, and the poetry they write, are fundamental to the society in which they exist. The Modern poet is no exception. With words as weapons, the poet often challenges the very beliefs that underpin their civilisation and cause their fellow citizens to reflect on the status quo. It is the effectiveness of the literary devices the poet uses that often means the message is felt at a heart level, not just the head. An essay can give a dissertation on an important topic but it is the poet, using anything from personification to onomatopoeia, metaphor to assonance, that creates such

Poetry is much more than just a piece of literature: it is a form of art. Similarly, it can save the world the same way art can, since the magic of poetry consists of many benefits. One of the major advantages of poetry is that one’s emotions and vulnerability is expressed in a beautiful way. All it takes is interest and to not have interest in poetry is

Poetry is a form of art and expression, it is a cousin of creative writing, but more personal. By introducing poetry in the curriculum, we can stop schools from as Sir Ken Robinsen describes it as "killing creativity". Many children in this modern society are getting breeder out of their creativity. Introducing poetry as a compulsory subject can prevent this from

A common misconception found among students is buried within the idea of poetry. There's always a looming idea of what makes a poem “good,” or what type of mold a poem should fit. All that they learn in school supports this idea. Edgar Allan Poe's works are pristine examples of syllable stressing, whereas Robert Frost's generally follow a predictable rhyme scheme. While it's important, and some would argue a necessity, it can also have the unintended side effect of discouraging students from writing on their own.

As a means to express myself, I turn to spoken word, which is defined as performance poetry. I have been passionate about creative writing and performing ever since I was in elementary school, but I had not realized that I could put the two together until my freshman year of high school when I discovered the work of Shane Koyczan. From there, my interest developed, but I did not audition for Walnut High School’s Spoken Word Team until my junior year. My involvement with the team motivated me to write more as well as share my work with others during events such as Open Mic Night. Poetry is an art form that I comfortably use as an emotional outlet, and I write poems about what is currently affecting me and topics I want to explore, hoping to

Over the past month, we have been studying the concept of reading and writing in different communities. To assess this, we have read two different texts. Richard Rodriguez’s the achievement of desire”, from his autobiography “Hunger of Memory”; and Lucille McCarthy’s “A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing across the Curriculum” from “Research in the Teaching of English”. Both answer key questions regarding what it takes to become a great reader and writer, however, from the reading that I have done, each one only answers one part of the question. Rodriguez’s main focus is in the aspect of reading, whereas McCarthy mainly focuses on the writing portion. Both do a decent job of analyzing and putting forth a view of how they believe a person can best perform in these environments. This then allows us to use their concepts and create our own version, based on their points of view. But why should we care? Most people at this level of academia will have developed a system of writing that works for them, and will have a difficult time breaking from it if they’re process doesn’t meet the criteria that Rodriguez, and McCarthy put forth. The reason it’s so important is because of implications these ideas have. Both authors put forth concepts that are indirectly related to one another and that are highly beneficial to all who will apply them. They will force you to conform to new environments in order to succeed, this in turn will make you more

Poetry allows the writer, the reader and even those listening to get a deeper sense of being. It gives us the opportunity to break free from simple and boring routine. If done correctly a poem will done correctly a poem will be able to stir emotion, and create wonder. In order to this however all the part that make up a poem must be in sync. Its tone, diction, imaginary, rhythm, symbolism and subject matter are all critical areas. A good poem will draw an emotional reaction from its audience, whether those are light and upbeat or darker more serious feelings they will come away with a new experience, changed by what they just experienced. Two such poems that embody what a good poem should be are “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath and “Harlem”, also published as “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. These poems elevate the experience for reading, listening and writing poetry, and serve as an excellent reference for a poem should be.