Remember when poetry meant memorizing lines by Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost, and then reciting or writing them for an exam? Well, times have changed. Chicago high school teacher Peter Kahn—who teaches not English but Spoken Word—has developed a Spoken Word Club whose impact is such that graduates return, to extend a helping hand to others, as members of his Motivational Mentorship panel.
The premise is quite simple: students are taught to express emotions, experiences etc., via poetry or spoken word, which they then perform before huge, paying audiences. The validation received from the audience coupled with the catharsis of releasing the pent up feelings proves liberating for the participants. As a result, students begin to view themselves differently, therefore perceiving their future in a new and brighter light. Later, these same students return to the high school using spoken word to reach freshman and sophomores, thereby giving back and, simultaneously, “paying it forward.”
Mr. Kahn has hit on the essence of effectively working with young people: respect them and their experiences. Through his Spoken Word Club, he provides a venue for his students to share their lives, vent their frustrations and begin moving toward newly created vistas for their lives—all this from what amounts to modern day poetry! Words are powerful and, clearly, empowering students to use them is transformative—so much so that students want to reach back and help those who come behind them. How simple, and yet, how profound.
That’s my opinion. What do you think?
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