Examines the sacredness of language from the early history of language, and how poetry from all times and cultures connects and heals. Describes the author's work in a poets-in-the-schools program and how the children's poems healed the heart of a Chumash Indian elder. Argues that poetry of all peoples can help to truly blend people, rather than…

Describes how sketch journals are used at various times throughout the day and consistently throughout the year in the author's classroom. Presents a demonstration of the theme of experience and the powerful role that it can play in helping teachers improve. Notes how the author encourages students to reach deeper and to enter their own doorways…

This paper speaks from a poetic voice and briefly discusses the untamed nature of metaphor and narrative. Then the story is shared. The tale relates to how healing of identity, after eons of racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of social isolation and internalised sorrow, requires deep abiding patience. Situated in transpersonal or spiritual…

A generation of change in Higher Education (HE) has seen a progressive shift to utilitarian values and the consequent questioning of the nature, purposes and roles of the university. This in turn leads to the question: what does it mean to be a university academic today? This suite of poems entitled 'Exploring Identity' arose in response to these…

Corrigan remembers well the angst and conflict of adolescence, as well as how important the right book at the right time could be in helping kids understand themselves and others. That ability to identify closely with teens permeates her story in verse, "Splintering," several verses of which are included here.

This presentation explores how contemplative practices, especially those anchored in an active listening to silence, are integrated into creative writing courses. It pays particular attention to a course taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point and to a course on the poetry of war and peace taught at the University of…

This article considers J.M. Barrie's satirical treatment of the Platonic doctrine of reminiscence in "Peter Pan," and how Barrie's work both honors and undercuts it. It will first analyze the Platonic notion of the doctrine of reminiscence in Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" (1807). It will then…

The results of an action research project that was designed to explore what lessons could be learned from using an innovative strategy to help high school students write more authentically are described. A number of factors that led to the students' success are cited and examples of the poems are included that resulted from this innovative…

While a wealth of knowledge about the teaching of poetry exists, many teachers are still fearful about teaching it. Others have tried unsuccessfully to write poetry with students and have turned to merely reading poetry on occasion as a means to teach the genre. This article seeks to debunk the mystery surrounding the teaching of poetry through…

The language of self-belief, including terms like shyness and diffidence, is complex and puzzling. The idea of self-esteem in particular, which has been given fresh currency by recent interest in "personalized learning", continues to create problems. I argue first that we need a "thicker" and more subtle moral psychology of self-belief; and,…

What can listening to children's ideas about poetry teach us? This article considers ways in which exploring primary-aged students' perceptions of poetry can inform teachers' work with children. Using strategies from earlier studies in secondary schools, a small-scale project with Year 6 students revealed their complex and sometimes contradictory…

This study explores the meaning of the death of a companion animal through autoethnographic poetry in conjunction with narrative reflections. This method expands the depth and scope of poetry in qualitative research by transforming expressive works into both the subject and product of inquiry.

Higher and lower schools routinely take their cue from luminaries like NYU dean Catherine Stimpson, who famously opined that academic objectivity and intellectual rigor equal "mishmash." As a result, they feed students a diet of bland, uninspired readings. Carol Iannone is thus not surprised at the ensuing hand-wringing when the teaching…

An effective mode of reflective practice and reflexivity is through personal professional narrative and story exploration. All professional and personal experience is naturally storied; telling or writing stories are prime human ways of understanding, communicating and remembering. Narratives of vital or key areas of professional experience can be…

Learning to write well often proves to be one of the most difficult areas in the English language arts for young children. However, in these fourth- and fifth-grade language arts classrooms, children are offered opportunities to explore, think through, and express meaning across and within sign systems--in particular, using art, drama, and…