# What if we stopped teaching poetry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 13, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091 "2003-11-13T20:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091/121 "2003-11-18T19:43:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I know many people who cannot write a decent essay. Not a one of them can quote Frost, point out the symbolism in Tennyson, or accurately define a caesura. Yes you are right. I was feeling extremely discouraged when I posted. Skimming through the thread, it seems a lot of people who think poetry shouldn’t be taught in schools don’t even understand what poetry _is_. Poetry is definitely _not_ an out-dated form of communication. You may not feel comfortable reading and writing in certain forms, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push yourself and learn how. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091/122 "2003-11-18T23:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > ## \*Originally posted by sugaree \* Originally posted by Dogface 1: Prose is inherently inferior to poetry. 2: Anyone who is no utterly enamored of poetry is automatically stupid. > > No one has said anything even close to either of these two assertions. If you truly feel this way, can you please quote the offending lines? Happy to oblige: > [@](#): > > Poetry says so much with so little. > > Prose says so little with so much. A very obvious statement that prose is inherently inferior to poetry. > [@](#): > > Look around at your favorite television and movies. References to poetry abound! > > … > > Ignorance will be your grave, you stupidly grinning viewer! This was addressed to all “poetry naysayers”. Thus, prose is inherently inferior to poetry, and all who are “poetry naysayers” are “stupidly grinning viewers”–ie, stupid. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by Dogface As it stands, we have tons of kids graduating that can’t change a tire, balance a checkbook, do their taxes, cook a meal beyond microwaves, eat healthy, type, use a computer, etc. These are basic things in our society. Yet, they have had 4 years of lit/poetry, higher math, sciences, and history. I did not originally post the above. I demand a retraction to your fraudulent claim that I posted the above or proof that I did. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091/123 "2003-11-18T23:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*Yes you are right. I was feeling extremely discouraged when I posted. > > Skimming through the thread, it seems a lot of people who think poetry shouldn’t be taught in schools don’t even understand what poetry _is_. Poetry is definitely _not_ an out-dated form of communication. You may not feel comfortable reading and writing in certain forms, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t push yourself and learn how. \*\* So, how IS the air up their in your pretty white ivory tower? ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091/124 "2003-11-19T00:33:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\* A very obvious statement that prose is inherently inferior to poetry._\* No, that is not very obvious at all. I didn’t say it, but I don’t read it as a judgement at all. The comment is pointing out the differences between the two styles of communication. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface. \* > \*\* Thus, prose is inherently inferior to poetry, and all who are “poetry naysayers” are “stupidly grinning viewers”–ie, stupid. > \*\* No. “References to poetry abound!” != “Prose is inherently inferior to poetry.” Stupidly grinning viewers- yes, grinning stupidly because they are ignorant of the allusions whooshing over their heads. You know, ignorance. Like the kind this message board is supposed to be wiping out. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface. Really. I doubled-checked this time. \* > \*\* I did not originally post the above. I demand a retraction to your fraudulent claim that I posted the above or proof that I did. \*\* Oops. Fraudulent? Not at all. I made a mistake copying and pasting the posts I was replying to, which I overlooked until you pointed it out, and I am happy to acknowlege it. The above was originally posted, of course, by **sghoul**. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091/125 "2003-11-19T01:36:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*So, how IS the air up their in your pretty white ivory tower? \*\* Hmmm. I edited the poetry magazine for my very poor, very crime-laden, very diverse high school. I was always amazed at the quality of poetry kids would turn in. Sure, there were a lot of “I loved this guy and he broke up with me and now the black roses are raining thorns of pain” and that kind of crap. But there was also a lot of serious, deep reflections on drugs, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, race, immigration, the nature of the “ghetto” and other other subjects relevent to my fellow students’ lives. It was really amazing. They never really taught us to write poetry. I thought we were going to end up with a lot of trash. But something about this particular form of expression really resonated with a lot of the kids who grew up in households where artistic expression wasn’t valued One advantage is that poetry is portable. You can do it on scraps of paper. You can do it during class. It doesn’t require expensive supplies, specialized training or even exhibition. We all have the primary tools- a command of language. Lots of people write poetry and never tell a single soul. But performing poetry can be amazing. If you’ve ever watched a slam poetry competition, you’d know that poetry is not just a pursuit for leisurely intellectuals. The guy that fixes your car, the girl that sells you hamburgers, the man who cuts your lawn- they may all be (decent) poets. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. My first exposure to poetry was when a member of the “Poets in the schools” program visited my second grade classroom. One of my poems ended up being published in a book about teaching poetry to children. That sparked my imagination and I’ve been writing poetry ever since. I went on to persue poetry in college. I can only hope some of my fellow students did. At the least, I hope their ability to create and publish their works let them know that their lives and experiences- though poor, hard, and likely obscure- are meaningful. And that they are capable of expressing themselves in a meaningful way. That they can create art, and produce work that are worthwhile. It’s hard when your family doesn’t care how you do in school, your life looks like it won’t amount to much., and nobody has ever had anything positive to say about the work you’ve done. And for some people- quite a few in my experience- poetry can be the thing that changes that. Does that mean we should have manditory ten hour a day poetry classes? Of course not. What should happen is students should be exposed to writing poetry through a couple of workshops at a young age, before they develope prejudices against it or assume they can’t do it. Occasional poetry and creative writing units should be worked into every English class- you don’t need more than a week or two a year. And the English cirruculum should continue to be sprinkled with poems to discuss and analyze because they provide a way to teach critical literary analysis without all the pitfalls of discussing novels. Plus, they provide some cultural background. I’m not a big fan of delving into structure, diagramming, memorizing and analyzing rhythms. Rather, I think it is enough to read and discuss. Additionally, we should remember how important it is to fund the art and encourage student publications and performances. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-we-stopped-teaching-poetry/213091.md?page=6)