Poem-reading & creative-writing, and vice-versa
I Build Walls
Our lesson preparation has no longer been limited to the textbook or students’ book for quite some time. We gather material from the internet (blogs and e-texts, educational sites, schools and universities), friends, postcards, newspapers, magazines, books. I came across one in particular, through a friend, and we both use it in class. It is called “I build walls”, and like many others we know the author, just the address:
Furthermore, when teaching students of 14-18 years old, we notice how they deal with - and sometimes master – equipment, codes and new gadgets as an extension of their personalities. The same way they are a multitasking generation, they use the internet and social networks as one needs air to breathe: their life depends on how much they are seen and read, and how well they af f irm their thoughts, without exposing themselves.
I Build Walls I build walls: Walls that protect, Walls that shield, Walls that say I shall not yield Or reveal Who I am or how I feel.
The poem provides verses students identify themselves with; they can build different texts from this one; they can talk and write about their personal experiences, they can listen to each other and open themselves, mostly in writing, by means of a composition created around this poem. The results can be amazing: confessional, poetic, descriptive texts are produced, but only read aloud when the student agrees to it. When marking students’ written work, the teacher is more like a confessor than just a linguistic or style corrector. Adolescents’ self-consciousness prevents them from practising social skills to overcome their shyness. English lessons provide different contexts and experiences; provide the opportunity to develop social skills without feeling awkward; provide extra information to break the ice and to deal with real face-to-face communication.
I build walls: Walls that hide, Walls that cover what’s inside, Walls that stare or smile or look away, Silent lies, Walls that even block my eyes From the tears I might have cried. I build walls: Walls that never let me Truly touch Those I love so very much. Walls that need to fall! Walls meant to be fortresses Are prisons after all. Apparently, the more we communicate using technology, the less time we find to face-to-face c o m m u n i c a t i o n / c o n t a c t . “ Wa l l - b u i l d i n g ”, therefore, seems to be a very up-to-date topic well worth exploring, for reasons technology has provided.
Cultivating social-communicative skills in class always touches on the question of friendship, feelings, emotions and affections. To culminate this sub-topic, there is a saying I confront my students with: “Sometimes we put up walls. Not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to knock them down.” After going through the four skills, reading, speaking, listening and writing, I believe the fifth should be thinking, and this saying is thought-provoking and challenging enough to throw a hot potato to friends; much can be said and debated and written about friendship and walls. References: “I Build Walls”: Reading Comprehension, Vol. 8, No. 3, April 8, 2003 http://rhlschool.com [Copyright 2003 RHL]
Carmen Sofia Gonçalves