Poetry discussion on The Best Of School by D. H. Lawrence.
" The Best Of School"
I recently studied " The Best Of School" by D. H. Lawrence. I made
this piece my choice as I found it not only poetic but also
informative. It gives you some insight as to how some teachers
possibly think in their day in school. D. H. Lawrence was once a
teacher and therefore had prior knowledge to the theme this poem was
based on.
The poem was written in the early 1900's but still would be
appropriate in present day schools. " The Best Of School" is written
through the eyes of a teacher. It is an optimistic view of young boys
learning in the classroom
I was impressed by the way Lawrence made many references to soothing
natural imagery and that is what made this poem my first choice. He
uses water imagery to explain his relationship with the boys. He
refers to the teacher as " Sitting on the shores of the class," saying
that the boys were like the seawater coming into the shore. The second
and third lines are a contrast to each other. The second line says
that " The boys and the room in a colourless gloom." The classroom is
described as a dark and gloomy place but " Bright ripples run." The
second line gives a negative description of the gloomy classroom but
the third line gives us a positive contrast for although the room is
dark the boys are bright.
" The Best Of School" gives us a sense of children growing which I
felt was very optimistic and positive. I could feel that the teacher
had great admiration for these boys. Words such as "Sweet" and
"Ripening", gave me a sense of the boy's knowledge growing as time
goes on, just like the fruit they are ripening and becoming sweeter.
The boys are focused on the task t...
... middle of paper ...
...s backgrounds, which meant they were destined for
dead end jobs. " The teacher seems to lose hope in the pupils " I will
not waste my soul or my strength for this." Which is a total contrast
to how the teacher in " Best Of School" felt about his pupils.
The writer's use of language, such as " cling" and " cleave" suggests
the closeness between the teacher and his pupils. The structure of the
poem is based on the pupil's willingness to learn and also the
teachers joy at watching them learn.
" The Best Of School" was an exceptional poem, which left me with a
warm feeling. It made me think more about the teachers I encounter
every day and how unfulfilling it must be when they encounter pupils
who have no intention of listening or learning. It has made me value
my teachers more to realise it's just as rewarding for them to teach,
as it is for me to learn.
Throughout history, men are taught that they are the head of the household. This idea is implicated in everyday society. At some point in history women were expected to submit to a men commands. One poem in particular that gives us an inside idea of what it was like growing up during the 1950s is called Sixth Grade written by Marie Howe. This poem speaks about sexual harassment that can be interpreted as six grade version of rape, innocence, and gender role. Howe uses limited use symbolism but crucial to connect her to her audience and to make a statement about where the origin of male violence originated.
The poems Pietà by James McAuley and November by Simon Armitage are confrontational as they revolve around the theme of life. Life, death and grief are all something that every person will experience here on earth. Life… Death… Grief…The existing themes are already confronting but with the poets application of poetic techniques the two poems are able to be effective.
For this assignment, I have decided to write about a famous poem of Billy Collins which is titled as ‘Introduction to Poetry’ written in 1996.
The three sources I have selected are all based on females. They are all of change and transformation. Two of my selections, "The Friday Everything Changed" by Anne Hart, and "Women and World War II " By Dr. Sharon, are about women’s rites of passage. The third choice, "The sun is Burning Gases (Loss of a Good Friend)" by Cathleen McFarland is about a girl growing up.
As a college student, I often find myself inundated with work. To make it worse, these assignments usually are uninteresting and irrelevant. It is in the midst of these tedious exercises that I begin to wonder whether all of this work is worth it. When this issue creeps into my mind, I think back to my reasons for choosing to pursue this profession. When I started college, I knew that I could not function in a typical nine to five job. The banality and predictability of such a career simply did not appeal to me. So that essentially ruled out any course of study which would lead to such an occupation. I also knew that I wanted a job that would allow me to make a difference in people’s lives. My mind carefully contemplated the list of possible vocations, and ultimately the field of education seemed to possess the strongest appeal. A teaching career, I figured, would allow me to have a strong impact on the lives of young people. I wanted to help them grow both as students and as people, just as my teachers had done for me. So, despite the warnings of many current teachers, I enlisted myself in a curriculum devoted to teacher preparation.
Once this becomes the norm for teachers they tend to become uninteresting, and students are the ones reaping the consequences. Rose acknowledged this cycle of learning apathy, writing, “But mostly the teachers had no idea of how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond”(1989, p.2).
John Taylor Gatto, who was a teacher at the public school for twenty-six years, and the writer of the essay “Against School” that first appeared in Harper’s magazine in 2001, censures and blames the American public school’s educational system in his argumentative essay with various convincible supporting ideas. Gatto argues that the demands of public education system’s schooling are essential problems in “Against School”. Gatto shows some positive examples of the educating without forced schooling and shows models of the ‘success without forced modern schooling’. Indeed, the writer insists that historically forced schooling is not related to intellectual and financial success in American history. James Bryant Conant, who was the twenty-third
Whenever people read poetry it takes into another planet, wonder how? Most authors of poetry have managed to take people into places they never seen before. Their use of imagery can describe both a majestic place or a nightmare on earth, and anything in between. For example, the use of metaphors can connect objects, or places to another, and as a result a metaphor can uncover new and fascinating advantages of the original thing. Another example is alliteration that provides importance, and sometimes supports in memory because it is catchy and perhaps humorous. In the magical world of poetry, all the rules of formal writing go out the window and create a piece of art, something that is entirely unique. Poetry is also very unique because it rarely uses characters; instead it uses literary devices that describe everything in depth. Overall, poetry uses many ways and methods to intrigue its readers to what more and more poetry. With hundreds of spectacular poets we have today it is made possible.
In his work, “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin poured out his point of view on how he believed American children should be taught. Throughout the essay, Baldwin focused on a specific race of school children: Negros. Perhaps this was because he himself was an African American, or even for the mere idea that Negros were the most vulnerable for never amounting to anything — according to what the American society thought during the twentieth century, specifically the 1960s when this piece was published. With the focus determined, the reader is able to begin analyzing Baldwin’s main appeal through the essay. At first glance one could argue that the essay has no credibility with Baldwin’s lack of not being a school teacher himself; however, when further evaluated one could state that whether or not he was a school teacher has nothing to do with the fact that he establishes his credibility, he appeals to morals, emotions with authority, and values, which thus outweighs the possible negativities associated with his argument.
As a young lady I have decided to become an early childhood education teacher. Throughout my high school years many of my friends have been thrilled to study a higher education level in college. The majority believe that being a teacher is not what I should do for the rest of my life because the income is not as immense as other careers. Many suppose that this job is simple, but in reality his job re...
In this notable Ted Talk video "Do schools kill creativity?", Sir Ken Robinson discusses how public education systems demolish creativity because they believe it is essential to the academic growth and success of students. Robinson created a broad arrange of arguments to persuade the viewers to take action on this highly ignored issue, and he primarily focuses on how important creativity is. There are classes within schools that help utilize creativity, but they are not taken seriously by adults in society. Therefore, the value of creative knowledge decreases. Robinson uses an unusual combination of pathos and ethos to make an enjoyable dispute for implementing an education system that nurtures rather than eats away at creativity.
Alfred Tennyson gifted the Victorian Era, and the literary world with two iconic poems. The author explored the themes of personal development and culture clash in one of his most famous poems, “Ulysses”. Tennyson also discovered and analyzed the themes of love and death through his renowned and eminent poem, “Tears Idle, Tears”. The poet was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire in 1809 in the East Lindy district of England. Tennyson experienced numerous amounts of difficulties in his childhood and growing adolescent phases that spilled into his adult life. These trials and tribulations became a foundation and source of inspiration for Tennyson, who used them as a stimulus and catalyst to aide his literary progress and ideas. Two of the most prominent poems that Tennyson wrote were “Ulysses “and “Tears Idle, Tears”. These poems defined the peak of his literary endeavor and symbolized the struggles that Tennyson had experienced in his life. Throughout time readers have been able to distinguish a direct correlation between his life journey and the poems he crafted.
Contemporary female poets are a very powerful group of female poets that with their poems shows major events and issues in society. Contemporary female poets usually all have an underlying theme of politics, women rights, life events, and sexuality. Contemporary means living or occurring at the same time and some contemporary female poets are, Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks. Adrienne Rich, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks were all writing in the late 1900s. The Women Rights movement and the Civil Rights movement were two events that occurred during the time of the late 1900s. These two movements was heavily incorporated in each Brooks’, Rich’s, and Giovanni’s life and influenced their writings. Each of these women put their personal feelings about political issues in their poems, which makes the theme of their work politics. The theme of these three women work is different aspects of politics, such as women empowerment and women rights, and racial pride. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich, “Nikki-Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni, and “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks are the three poems that each represent the theme of politics regarding women rights and empowerment, and racial pride.
For many people today, a career for life is no longer an option. Most people will hold
My motivation also extended from watching my parents, both my mother and father are employed as primary and secondary teachers in public schools, respectively. Also on my mother’s side her parents were both worked in secondary education. Whilst I didn’t realise the exact power of their influence until recently, I have come to note that it was probably their enthusiasm and love for their job, their constant desire to learn and make a difference in the world through education that has influenced me into choosing my career path. Their roles have also made me realise the importance of teachers and the power they have to help those in need and change lives.