The Value of Teaching Poetry in School

Poetry education has many values.

In an age when schools and students are evaluated more and more by standardized test scores, teachers and students might feel inclined to push poetry to the back burner while they focus on more objective subject matter and quantifiable skills. Journalists, poets and arts commissions have called for a renewed focus on poetry in schools, citing many values inherent in studying poetry.

Language Skills

In the "Poetry in Education" section of its website, the Indiana Arts Commission asserts that poetry study can help fulfill many of the language arts academic standards held by the Indiana Department of Education. These skills include reading comprehension, critical analysis, word recognition and vocabulary development. The Indiana Arts Commission cites a 2002 study conducted by the California Poets in the Schools that found that students who had studied poetry showed improved skills in vocabulary, critical analysis and reading comprehension.

When students read and attempt to make sense of new poems, they have to look up words they don't recognize and use their critical analysis skills to understand a poem's meaning, tone or mood. Students must be sensitive to context, diction and the sounds of words to understand a poem. This sensitivity to language will help them in other reading and writing pursuits.

Enjoyment

Students involved in the California Poets in the Schools Poetry Evaluation Project reported that they had fun writing poetry, and that it helped them organize their thoughts. In her executive summary of the Poetry Evaluation Project, Dr. Jana Kay Slater reports that students' attitudes about poetry, including their enjoyment of reading poems and their confidence in their ability to write poems, improved significantly after studying poetry in school.

Memorization

Both Boris Johnson, writing for the "Telegraph," and Michael Knox Beran, writing for the "City Journal," suggest that the study and memorization of poetry at an early age encourages sensitivity to the subtleties and complexities of language, as well as a general appreciation for poetry and literature, one of our culture's great traditions. A 2010 article in "The Guardian" cited former poet laureate Andrew Motion making a similar argument; he called for schools to hold poetry recitation contests. Poems or individual lines students memorize at an early age might linger into adulthood, providing enrichment and pleasure for years to come.

Patience and Attention

Students who have grown up with information readily available on the Internet might not see the point of memorizing a poem that they could find so quickly online. However, students might find that by studying a poem carefully enough to memorize it, they will come to understand it more deeply. Studying a poem to memorize and recite it surely encourages closer reading and listening than a quick scan on the computer screen.

Creativity

Poetry writing provides young children and students with one more way to express their thoughts and feelings. Students exposed to poetry at an early age might find this particular outlet for creative expression suits their temperament particularly well. Many students might not have the opportunity to explore this creative outlet outside school.

References

• Indiana Arts Commission: Poetry in Education
• California Poets in the Schools: Poetry Evaluation Project, Executive Summary
• The Telegraph: Learn Poetry
• City Journal: In Defense of Memorization
• The Guardian: Too Much Rap, Not Enough Proper poetry, Says Former Laureate