Game Players

It was my first professional workshop. During a long discussion on ‘how to teach poetry’, my supervisor had welcomed my ideas and asked me to share them with my colleagues in a “Poetry Workshop”. I was quite thrilled with the opportunity and started to work on the format. I knew that I would have to make it very interesting for everyone to follow and absorb the learning, or else the effort to integrate the methods would be futile.

Normally, Poetry was treated as a break from the lengthy and draining language week. It was a less serious aspect of English Language and was considered by most teachers as a reading, memorizing and vocabulary class.

I presented my plan to the Supervisor who approved it with much anticipation. “I hope this ambitious effort pays off!” Inside, I hoped for that as well as I was a new member to the team and most teachers were strangers.

I constructed a picture in my mind. It was important to know where to stand, how to express, how to allow space for positive discussion and discovery. I had a set of twelve teachers and each one came in with a different set of expectations. Some entered with a fake smile that indicated a little professional jealousy, some sat tapping their feet in anxiety whilst some cracked loud jokes to get over the unnecessary seriousness being attached to a poetry laboratory!

A little uneasiness always sets in when the crowd is too varied. I prepared myself for a few flexible changes analysing the mood of the room and went around making cheerful conversation with the teachers while waiting for the supervisor to join us. She came in with her introductory speech and motioned me to begin.

“When we are asked to submit our poetry plans, we usually jot down the name of the poem, poet and enter a list of vocabulary that would be discussed before a formal reading of the poem. Then we ask our children to learn the poem or have a collaborative rhythm check. Some of us plan a few questions and that is round about the approach that we hold towards our Poetry lessons.” I began with the feedback that I had received from the supervisor.

I took hold of the projector and presented a colourful audio visual for a comic poem called, “My dad, your dad”! The poem was very descriptive and carried a dialogue between two friends who sat discussing their dads and their different manners. I narrated the poem with the expected ‘clarity, speed, pitch and tone’. The teachers enjoyed the animated effects on the screen and laughed at the silly comparisons.

When the visual ended, I asked the teachers if they had ever tried creating a picture from the poems that they had taught. Mostly the answer was a negative. Fortunately however, the mood for an interesting workshop was set at the very beginning and I was granted their attention and interest to feel more confident.

The next activity that I had planned was an extension of the first idea. I placed the teachers in groups of four and handed them two different poems on ‘Aliens’. They carried a lot of description and the task was for them to create an arty comic strip for the poetry pieces. I handed them their papers and colours. It was amazing to see the spirit with which they worked on their poems and art work! To imagine the enthusiasm of the children! Some beautiful depictions of the poems were created and as we shared each group’s work, I asked them, “What did you gather through this activity?” They immediately replied, “It was fun! I think the comprehension aspect was fantastic!”, “I would love to introduce this as a primary activity!” 

They had liked the idea very much. I was glad to learn that they had picked up the right pieces to understand the criteria well. The working of a child’s mind on paper reflects his comprehension levels and helps you evaluate your choice of poems.

I had kept all my surprises in place. I was now enjoying a little of their trust and they were looking forward to the next game. Prior to the workshop, I had approached the drama teacher to help me role play a poem titled ‘Bad Hair day’. For that, she had gelled up her hair in a freaky manner and as soon as she entered the workshop, the teachers fell into peals of laughter! It was a task to get through the poem without breaking into a viral outburst of emotion! “Yes, we can make our poems so much fun with the use of props and the power of role play!” I was enjoying the spirit of learning that crops up when the heart agrees with the logic of the mind.

The final activity was the crux of the entire workshop. It was spread around the corridor by setting up various stations. The teachers moved in their groups into the corridor to understand the activity well.

“This final activity will help you formulate your closing remarks on the very purpose of understanding what you teach. You will visit each station as a group following the instructions labelled for your convenience. The idea however, is to collect as many words at each station to add to your vocabulary list that will eventually help you write your own poems!”

Group 1 moved to Station 1. It was important to choose a title for the poem and they browsed through various Poetry books to select one that appealed to them all.

At Station 2, I had kept few dictionaries and the thesaurus for the teachers to collect as many related words and synonyms as they wished to bring about some meaning to their poem’s title.

Station 3 was about using their senses. This was the most successful station. I had kept some things inside paper bags and covered bottles to feel, taste and smell. The idea was not about knowing and identifying the objects but to relate to the feelings that they awakened within. Here again some talented and creative teachers came up with a huge list of emotions, colours and places.

The hidden desire to create the best piece was visible through their constant dialogues and discussions over the most appropriate words.

Station 4 was about pictures. I had placed some personal photographs onto a table. Each picture reflected a certain aspect of life, like youth, festivals, innocence, bonding between sisters, togetherness etc. It was amazing how some groups used these pictures to create such wonderful thoughts.

The idea was to create a word bank at all these stations to finally move onto station 5 to create a poem.

At this station, the teachers finally sat down to pen down their ideas. They enjoyed each other’s input. As a group they wrote their poems, punctuated them and circled the words they wanted to lay stress on while reciting.

I had arranged for a recorder to record their precious hard work and wanted to use it as a memo to understand that even though we might not indulge too much into poetry or enjoy that artistic inclination, we can still understand and therefore, teach the poems with a lot more conviction.

They moved on to record their poems and at the end of this activity, we all gathered together to listen to each group’s effort and made a self-evaluation. The thrill of having created their own verses was evident.

The objective of this activity was not to particularly make students create poetry in class, but was to provide them with an insight into what goes into creating a poem. It was to make them realize that:

“Poetry is not about knowing, or believing or even thinking……it is about feeling!”

The workshop ended with hand outs that stated the “Objectives to a better Poetic Plan” and the ability to transfer the true spirit of a poem across a classroom.  

The teacher’s poems were printed and laminated and were displayed in the staffroom to remind them of their own creative genius!

The Poetry workshop was a successful attempt at creating an interest to plan better in class. I conducted many other workshops later in my career and believe that all successful workshops had one common ingredient that enhanced their flavour, the ability to bring out the child in each one of us! 

We can’t play the game well, until we become the players and understand the rules and objectives.