On April 28th and 29th, RMHS celebrated Poetry Day by devoting a class period to completing various activities involving poetry. All English classes, regardless of grade or level, went to the library to complete these activities. The English teachers decorated the library by stringing lights, decorating a Christmas tree with poems, and hanging tapestries in conference rooms to make the library feel a bit more “poetic.”
Some activities included writing your own haiku, mad lib poetry, sharing a poem, adding a poem to the “poe-tree”, and making poems out of scrabble letters. There was also an activity that required creating a poem, taking a selfie in front of it, and then posting it on social media. My favorite activities were contributing to the tree, and creating a short poem out of scrabble letters. Moving from one station to the next made the period fly by and by the time the bell rang I, as well as many other students, did not want to leave. Poetry has never been my favorite topic in English, but Poetry Day inspired in me the motivation to practice this writing form.
I began to wonder if more class time devoted to days like Poetry Day or Real World Problem Solving, would encourage RMHS students to develop a new appreciation for the subject matter presented. Perhaps, days like these would give students inspiration to become more interested in academics.
Caitriona O’Doherty, a junior at RMHS who took part in Poetry Day, stated that she “liked poetry and [would] like to do more activities like this [in the future].” Akshita Rao, a junior at RMHS, as well, added on to O’Doherty’s statement, “I really enjoyed poetry day. I think it’s a great way to take a break from English class and explore the different kinds of poetry styles. I learned a lot of new things about poetry and I think it was a good interactive learning experience.” Rao then went on to state that she would “love to do more activities like this in the future and do hands on activities that allow us to learn about the different styles of writing.” If more days throughout the school year were formatted similar to Poetry Day, students would become more interested in a topic and be able to apply it in a more realistic, everyday way.
These school days would not have to be strictly devoted to English material. While a day could be devoted to different Shakespearean plays or his life, a day could just as easily be dedicated to chemistry, biology, or environmental science experiments with a focus. These experiments would not be the usual experiments currently carried out in class, but rather directed toward applying what one has learned. These days could also branch out to other subjects not typically offered at RMHS, allowing students to broaden their exposure to different topics.
Mrs. Leia Richardson, an English teacher at RMHS who organized Poetry Day, stated the following about the experience, “I like it because there is not a grade attached to it, it’s just for enjoyment, it’s like playing [with language]. Even if it’s not perfect, or even if some of the activities are a mess, at least people are still playing and exploring, and to us [English teachers at RMHS] is what the day was all about. She then went on to state that “I would love to do more activities like [Poetry Day]. There are a lot of poets that are scientists, so it would be fun to get Mr. Buono involved, or what you were just saying, other days where you can immerse yourself in a subject, but not necessarily have to produce a product; just enjoy it.”
There could be a day devoted to the study of philosophy or other atypical foreign languages, music theory, or even a day directed towards students sharing their culture. All of these variations would allow students to be exposed to different materials in a fresh way that could have the potential to inspire students, perhaps even to find their passion. After all, isn’t school supposed to be about learning new things and finding out who you are?