Is it important to study poetry in schools?

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor, talks about the importance of poetry in the primary school curriculum

THE exposure to and study of poetry in primary schools is on the decrease with 93 per cent of children not having access to weekly poetry readings or lessons. It’s a shame when considering how different the study of poetry is to prose and non-fiction writing as poetry offers a more diverse range of styles that can be analysed for meaning.

Poetry is probably one of the more diverse forms of writing and not studying poetry limits the knowledge of modes of expression.

I remember writing my own poetry in primary school as well as reading it and it was very influential for my creative writing skills as well as the way I developed critical reading skills. Poetry can often be difficult to get one’s head around with the true meaning of it often hidden among challenging language, syntax or form, leaving you to have to work it out for yourself but poetry made specifically for children combats this issue and allows them to explore the joy of poetry without being overwhelmed. Also, being able to understand and analyse poetry is arguably a transferable skill that will help young children in various other subjects during their time at secondary school and even going into the world of work. Poetry allows writers to express themselves in ways that often can’t be achieved in longer prose books so the study of both is paramount. their feelings and that this isn’t always a comfortable concept to consider in terms of simply speaking to someone; sometimes it’s easier to have our emotions crafted into words on paper. More than anything, there needs to be better training for teachers in order to give adequate and thought-provoking lessons about the importance of poetry. Failing this, primary schools need to at least offer spaces for children to be able to consume poetry by their own choice whether that is through libraries or offering poetry books.

We should be teaching children that it’s important to open up and convey