Some of my thoughts to start us off with the Introduction and Chapter 1.....
Georgia mentions hearing a woman asking her husband if she has poetry inside her. Do you have poetry inside you? Do you think it¹s vital that a teacher has or learns to have poetry inside to teach children to love poetry?? If you don¹t think you have it, how would you go about growing it?? I remember writing kind of silly poems in elementary. Certainly not loving poetry. High school, hmmm not really. College I was an English major and did love the Romantics. But it¹s been since then that poetry has actually entered my life deeply. Think it was partly deciding to work with poetry with my high school students and later elementary students that dipped me in so deeply and passionately. My students enthusiastic response caused a reciprocal response inside me. So I would say I didn¹t originally have poetry in my heart. I think we can grow it as we experience it with our students!! I still feel unsure at times when I write poetry. It still feels like a risk. But my students demand that I take that risk. Georgia comments on the importance of listening deeply so we can hear the poetry seeds inside our students. I think about the pressures we are facing in schools at this point in time and that those pressures make me field hurried, and sadly that pressure seems to make me actually talk too much. How do we carve out that time to listen? And to see our children with new eyes that can find the important seeds that are theirs? Georgia talks about the importance of choice and time. She suggests poetry centers. I¹m wondering which center or centers would you start with and why? I do remember some powerful poetry my students wrote when I created a center (I didn¹t have this idea for regular centers then) around Georgia O²Keefe. We had studied her art a bit in my 5/6 class. I set up an art center which included a cow skull, a nautilus shell, and a red oriental poppy. Students observed first, just informally writing details they noticed. Then they sketched and/or painted. Then they wrote poetry. It was pretty amazing. It took well over a week but was one of the best experiences of the year.the kids said. Oh and I did use the poem that Georgia shares about looking at something carefully and deeply to introduce the whole thing. So I am eager to try some of the other centers here though some speak to me more than others. Grab onto any of these comments or start your own. HERE WE GO! Sally _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
