Poetry in the History Classroom

The Peterson chapter on poetry was interesting as I had never thought about employing poetry as a pedagogical tool outside of the English classroom. As poetry can be a daunting form of writing, even for english students, I feel many students would be hesitant to take it up as a means of expressing their thoughts about a subject area. Peterson’s ideas about the precision of the language are enlightening, however, as poetry really does demand the writer to focus on what they are trying to convey and can be used as an outlet for properly organizing a student’s ideas and articulating them to an audience. 

While poetry can be used extensively in the English classroom, I am interested in exploring how it can be utilized in the History classroom as well (my second teachable). It can be a very important tool in history for developing a historical perspective. The ability to take on the perspective of individuals within a historical context is an important, but potentially challenging skill for history students to develop. As poetry requires precise and meaningful language, students can organize their thoughts about historical figures and their world-views. This is demonstrated through the “two voice” poem in Peterson’s text detailing the perspectives of both french and english Canadians in the early formation of Canada. Through this form of poetry, students must complete extensive research of two opposing sides and articulate their findings in a concise and focused piece of writing. Through this process, students can refine their writing ability while also developing a historical perspective.