Moving Forward with Poetry Lessons: Exploring how poetry can stimulate creativity and criticality in English secondary schools

Diehl, M.B.

Abstract

Creativity is no longer seen as a gift for the few, yet poetry is often still perceived as a subject for a select group of people. Although the definitions of creativity and criticality constantly shift, poetry seems to be a stagnant part of English in the secondary curriculum in the UK. The most recent poem in the anthology is from 2010 and teachers are still struggling to find time to engage learners in a creative and critical way within the constraints of the curriculum, although many voice their concern and are willing to change the way poetry is taught and learnt. In year 7 and year 10 of a school which was observed, it was found that a lot of group work took place to create a space for dialogue and discussion of not only existing interpretations but also the students’ personal experiences and connections with the studied poems. However, the teachers felt that they were unable to be as creative as they would like with poetry due to time constraints, and found they were more focused on teaching the necessary tools for passing exams. This constrained approach removes the focus from students’ creativity, which is concerned with innovative thoughts, and criticality, which questions creative thoughts. These two concepts seem to lie at the heart of teaching and learning poetry if we look at poetry as a ‘vehicle for understanding’ rather than a puzzle to unpick.

Citation

Diehl, M. (2020). Moving Forward with Poetry Lessons: Exploring how poetry can stimulate creativity and criticality in English secondary schools. In A. Simpson, & F. Dervin (Eds.), The Meaning of Criticality in Education Research (127-149). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56009-6_6

• Online Publication Date: Nov 27, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Mar 31, 2022
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Pages: 127-149
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Book Title: The Meaning of Criticality in Education Research
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56009-6_6
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1645551