Poetry in schools.

[Leanne]

Personally I don't think of poetry as separate to any other form of literature, or any other form of writing for that matter. In my classroom I use it for lessons in English, science, maths, geography, social studies... pretty much everything. I use it as both a way to teach and a way for students to express themselves. To do this, I guess more teachers need to be familiar with a wider range of poetry and its potential.

I tend to think that teaching it as a separate subject sets it on a pedestal that it doesn't deserve. Don't get me wrong, I love poetry beyond most other forms of writing - but I don't want to see it rarefied and made into something purely academic and elitist. We already have enough of that going on. I want it broken down, served with spaghetti and beer or foie gras and champagne with equal facility.

So no, I don't think it needs to be a separate subject in schools but I do think it should be taught better in universities to teacher candidates, so that they can use it properly in their classrooms.