March 2020

Pre-Reflection

Personal Feelings Reading Poetry -

I have always felt inspired by poetry and have explored it little by little. I liked the simplicity of it and the way that it was shorter and narrowed in on a single topic. Over the years I would get excited about seeing Shel Silverstein books in classroom but that is really the most notable poet I remember until I reach high school.

When I reached high school I was introduced to loads more poetry and was provided several opportunities to write it in my own English classes. But I was never picking up poetic literature until I reached college. I went through many types of phases for poetry from loving Pablo Neruda and reading his poetry in Spanish to reading other gaggles of Spanish poets such as Federico García Lorca and Jorge Luis Borges. I then was introduced to Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur by a close friend and I fell in love with her writing. On top of being so powerful to woman, it was also so detailed and paralleled my life in that exact moment. I felt so connected to the book that I carried it around in my backpack and read it almost every night for six months. That is around the time, I began to explore similar poetry of that of Rupi Kaur's and Sarah Kay's.

Writing Poetry -

I would not say that I have every enjoy or sought to write poetry in my spare time but I do appreciate when my poetry serves a purpose like for class or project.

If I were to write poetry, I feel like it would be so personal that I would feel silly for even presenting it to an audience. Additionally if I wrote poetry, it would be more free verse. More like longer statements with a blunt purpose.

Teaching Poetry -

I do not know much about teaching poetry but do think that I could teach them about the types of poetry but I hope to dive further and go beyond what I was taught in school. I remember distinctly learning about free verse, lyrical, haiku, and rhyming but we were never offered the opportunity to practice those types of poems we read examples but never had the experience of trying out or writing our own poetry.

This is something that I want to do differently and be more open about with my own students.

How I know I have read a GREAT poetry book -

When it just hits home and you can relate to those words in ways you could have never described. When there is a hint of curiosity, admittance, and emotion back by the words spoken or written.

Post-Reflection

Personal Feelings About Poetry -

I still appreciate Rupi Kaur's words as they were healing for me during a time of need but I have grown fond of the diverse poetry we have explored in this class thus far. After reading Georgia Heard 's Awakening the Heart, I have developed an appreciation for poetry that extends deeper than ever before. In the first three chapters of her book she describes poetry in this whole new light. That poetry is an extension of ourselves, our true natural selves.

Writing Poetry -

Although writing poetry is still new, I think that teaching it is easier than I believe. I think that by letting students be free to write they have the opportunity to make mistakes or grand gestures is okay because it is their poetry.

In my own opinion I would say that kids are the better poets as they see life in ways adults have been cultured not to.

Georgia Heard describes writing poetry in a way that is more pleasing and natural than we are traditionally taught in public school. She makes it seem adventurous and fun, a method that is going to engage more readers and poets alike.

Teaching Poetry -

Although it is not directly implied I would say that Textbook by Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a great and wonderful model that shows children how to create poetry. Many of her entries, I would consider, poetry and believe could be a mentor text for children of all ages.

I was inspired in chapter one of teacher, Fran Rosen's method toward teaching and engaging with poetry. I was entranced just by reading Heard's observation of her classroom. Rosen made it seem so simple and she used tools she already had to engage student's in the poetry observation, creating, and exchanging process.

Like Heard and Rosen, I want my student's to explore poetry through observation and noting. For them to develop a keen ear and eye for the roots and hidden places of poetry.

How I know I have read a GREAT poetry book -

I think that poetry is more accessible than I thought. Heard made it evident that poetry is all around us, on the bus, in the streets, and even in the bathroom stall. Poetry can be anything. It can be long, short, words or sentences. I think that I know I have read a great poetry book when it meets my needs. If I feel connected to the text and it entices emotions.