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On the 27th of April, AISG held the Poem in the Pocket day. This event was aimed to make poetry more fun and “visible” and to get students to “grab a simple poem” and share it with their peers.
A major problem in this event was that many AISG students did not participate. For example, Robbie H, a ninth grader, did not participate because “[he] didn’t realize that it was going on.” He also noted that “there were too many events in that week to keep track of what was happening.” Henry Y, another 9th grader, said that he didn’t participate because he doesn’t like “poems because they are hard to understand.” Furthermore, Jason Pan, a freshman, said that he didn’t participate because “poems require lots of analysis”.
The lack of interest in poetry is clear in our community. Poem in the Pocket day was advertised rather well, with posters and announcements plastered in the hallways. Despite that, more than half of my classmates did not participate in this event, or they just took a poem for the candy that was offered. This raises a big concern for the English Education department of AISG.
They are trying to improve attraction towards poetry in various ways:
Slam Poet
The English teachers are considering bringing a slam poet for next, next year’s author visit. Because slam poets often say their poems with a resemblance to rap, this may have a better appeal to students instead of the traditional author talk.
Creative over Analytical Work
Mrs. Barga also says that “[she] tries to include more creative work in 9th and 10th grade” to hook students to like poetry. In my opinion, I do prefer to do creative work over analytical work.
If you have any opinions or concerns about AISG’s lack of interest towards poetry, you can comment below!
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