Inspired

As I was writing my post for this week, I couldn’t help but think of the movie “Never Been Kissed” in which Josie Geller an editor at a newspaper, played by Drew Barrymore, poses as a high school student for an article she is writing. In this scene, Josie is asked to read a scene from Shakespeare and while doing so has a flashback of her own high school days. Enjoy!

(Fast-forward to about 5:40 to 6:27) 

Although it may be a little too soon to tell, I truly feel that last Thursday’s class meeting will be my favorite class yet. Seeing my fellow classmates putting themselves, along with their thoughts and emotions, out there and pouring their hearts out in front of everyone was such a moving experience. Without a doubt, all of us, at some point in our lives have suffered from a fear of being judged, of being ridiculed, of wondering if our work is “good” enough. As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, I believe that much of poetry should be non-judgmental and not-graded. It is almost impossible to place a letter grade on something so personal and so intimate. 

Not only was it inspiring to see my fellow classmates abandon this fear of being judged by others (unfortunately something I need to work on), but their poems itself were even more touching. We all come from so many different backgrounds and experiences, yet every single poem had an aspect we could each relate to-- whether it be heartbreak, going through changes, being stuck in the past, education, and so on. 

More importantly, however, it was interesting to experience firsthand the power of poetry and how the interpretation of a particular poem does not stop merely with the author. It was exciting offering and hearing others’ interpretations of a given poem, then hearing what the author had to say and the meaning he or she sought to convey. Overall, this was such a moving experience and definitely one that should be integrated at the high school level. 

Amazing and inspiring work, everyone!