I enjoyed our discussion today - very real-life. It certainly brought to our attention the power of words (like feminine) and their openness to interpretation. I am interested in hearing some suggestions for additional poems that we may study. Perhaps we could all find three or four poems that are thematically or otherwise linked and then present them to one another in small groups. That way students who have an interest in a specific area could have a chance to examine it. Do you have any thoughts on this idea?
Please comment.
I found discussing what is a "feminine" poem vs a "masculine" poem to be a rather uncomfortable topic. Any time you have to add a criteria to what a "feminine" something is, you risk offending people. I would have liked if the conversation had been started in a different matter and instead of saying we've been reading lots of masculine poems, saying we've been reading lots of poems with male characters and things involving war, brutality, nature and tough, life altering choices. I think the discussion then could have been routed much more to the way it was intended to be when it was brought up in the first place.
ReplyDeleteYes, words are important and we all need to think carefully about what we mean to say before we say it. Having said that, I think we also need to have a certain spontaneity in our discussions and not be in fear of offending one another. If we all try to be respectful and mature, and I think we are, then we shouldn't have to worry. I am glad that Shelby and Rebecca noted their concern. As I said in class, I think it's true that many of the characters and authors I choose are males. I don't want to start counting for equality, but I will be looking at the novels I use, to see if I can't make some changes in this area. I've also been looking at giving choice through the use of lit circles as a way to giving more independence.
ReplyDeleteI know we've already done our lit study this year, but having an opportunity to do another, maybe one of a certain amount of choice?, would be really fun.
ReplyDeleteWhen i said that i thought we were reading a lot of masculine literature it was not my intention to imply that i would in return like more "feminine" literature. Feminine was not the route i was trying to take. I was thinking just less brutality and war-like pieces, and more pieces focused on other issues. It would be nice, however, if some of these pieces could be around women, because i would like to somehow feel a connection to the characters in that way. The last piece of literature, ive read in english class, that was about a woman was "The Girl With the Baby"and that was 2-3 years ago.
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