Teaching to Wonder: Responding to Poetry in the Secondary School Classroom

Reneé B. Meloche is an instructional consultant with the Halton Board
of Education.

Poetry can be an intimidating component of the English language arts
classroom. Often studied as a self-contained unit, poetry lends itself
to the subjective criticism of teachers and students impatient for the
correct interpretation or frustrated by subtleties that require in-depth
analysis. Carl Leggo attempts to provide a book that combines practical
strategies with current theoretical perspectives. Unfortunately, the
theory interferes with the practical, and more questions are raised than
answered.

Four main theoretical perspectives (reader-response, semiotics,
deconstruction, and cultural criticism) are explored, and suggestions
for activities and strategies accompany each. In the first chapter,
Leggo proposes to define a poem, but then offers only descriptions of
various types of poetry. Subsequently, he deals with general instruction
(teachers acting as facilitators, for example), but fails to be specific
in explaining what this might look like in the classroom. The activities
and strategies are neither as numerous nor as diverse as implied by the
introduction. Also missing is the notion of assessment and appropriate
criteria for quality poetry; in today’s educational climate,
evaluating “effort” is not always an option.

Several poems from a variety of sources are included, along with a list
of recommended anthologies.