I found the article written by Showalter to be interesting, and could relate to many of the things that were written about teaching poetry, and overcoming students aversion to it. When I began teaching literature I found that some of my students were reluctant to study poetry, and that not all teachers were willing to embrace it either. When I met with one of the instructors at my school I was surprised to learn that she didn’t even teach poetry in her classes. She explained that her students found it too difficult to understand, and she felt it was easier to engage them with short stories and plays. In a way I could understand her point of view, but I still kept poetry readings on my syllabus because I thought that as an English teacher I had a responsibility to teach poetry in a literature class. When I first attempted to discuss poetry in the classroom I found that some students assumed that the poetry we were to study would be difficult to understand, dated, and irrelevant to their lives. During our class discussions, when we began to breakdown some of the poetry, students began to open up as they could see how the poetry we discussed related to their own experiences and beliefs.

Before we can expect students to value any form of literature we must first show them how it is important to everyday life, and how studying literature can benefit them across different curriculums. As a student I found value in studying things that I could relate to my own life and experiences. The classes that I enjoyed the most, were ones in which the teacher taught the subject in a manner that made it real to me. I agree that in order for poetry to be studied more in the classroom as instructors we “ must select from a fuller range of poetic texts, and we should present them in a way that encourages reader to connect the poems to their lives” (64). The writing correctly points out that teaching poetry can be a daunting task when you consider all of the elements that go into interpreting a poem. The textbook that I use incorporates a diverse selection of literature that covers an array of issues. Being able to discuss both contemporary and classic works makes it easier to find writing that can be relatable and engaging to young students.

I was also happy to see that the writing discussed the benefits of reading poetry aloud in class and in using portfolios. I recommend that my students read poetry aloud at home, and also have them read it aloud in class prior to our discussions. I have never thought about having the whole class read in unison, but can see how this technique could be beneficial to the learning process. I also like the idea of having students to keep a poetry portfolio as a way of exploring and analyzing poetic language.  I like using in class writing assignments to help students think deeper about the readings that we cover in class, because it gives them the opportunity to be more critical about their interpretation of poetry before we talk about it as a group.  If students have a poetry portfolio that they can reference throughout the course it can help them keep track of their own progress while also assisting them with future writing assignments.