Poetry Matters

Vol 2 No 22

A little something different this week....

Fluidity

Honors kids
Y’all are chill
Active participation
Happy people, fun times

Exploratory
The coolest thing
An open knowledge place
We don’t want to make knowledge restrictive

Gauging interest
Get your voice heard
What’s important to you
Anything we want to talk about, we can

It’s pretty chill
Keeping the motif
A minimal rules club
You never know with rules

Not super structured
No unnecessary hierarchy
That would be a lot of work
And we already do a lot of work

Kinda like a family
It’s all about support
Making a community
We want that space outside the classroom

Fire and drive
Loose and fluid
Instill that spark
All you have to be is curious

…Keep it going…

The above is something called a found poem. I didn't use another 'text' per se, but rather I used the words of Blinne Kreiger (with some help from Jill Bond) during the informational meeting of the brand new, near official Honors Club. As I sat there and listened, I was struck by how their words resonated with me and showed me that all the work we have done in Honors has....well...found root in these students. They are living, breathing embodiment of all that is Honors and I'm so excited to see where this new venture goes. Well done, ladies.

Found Honors

Vol. 1 No. 12

Recently, the Honors Advisory Board developed and conducted a survey of all students enrolled in an Honors course in the Fall 2016 semester.  I don’t know a lot about data and the like, but they tell me that the 26 responses we got back was an excellent return.  I hope to get even more next time we conduct one.  Those that did respond said some amazing things about Honors, though, and I would like to let you see what they said.  To that end, I’ve created a ‘found poem’ – where I built a poem using only the words that were provided on the survey.  The only changes I made were some spelling and tenses here and there.  Other than that, I simply rearranged phrases, shortened sentences, and removed some punctuation to come up with what you see below.  I hope you enjoy.

Honors Survey, 2016

I. The dedicated faculty...

My teachers have been wonderful

truly engaged with both the students and material

They set a great example for their students

and do much to encourage and sustain inquisitiveness

Relatable…

I like how they care about how we do and don't want us to do badly

they are genuinely invested in our education

Knowledgeable but humble and approachable

Teacher's teaching ability…hard work and preparation.

Caring…

The willingness of honors teachers

to go on a 25 minute tangent from the original discussion

to answer a legitimate question you had

about how the subject relates to something else

Eagerness…

Each faculty member is unique and has an interesting perspective

I find these individuals incredibly intelligent

and I want to learn as much as I possibly can from them.

                their dedication to ensure an actual learning experience occurs.

                                                                                    Realness…

Always…seem to care very deeply about what they’re teaching

this makes it much easier as a student to feel engaged

how dedicated they are to their work.

professionalism mixed with fun discussions

Understanding…

The teacher is mostly hands off…

II. The classroom scenery

The relaxed atmosphere is so comforting especially during stressful times

It allows us to learn the way I think we should;

Allowing for students to guide class discussion

Everyone in the class has the same or more interest in the topic as I do

The connection you build with your classmates

because of the small groups you're taught in

                When students teach each other they learn more

and are more interested and motivated to study as well

The small classes, comforting atmosphere,

class discussion rather than lecture, interesting topics

Honors classes attract individuals interested in learning

and having fun while doing so…the atmosphere

III. The honors experience…

It has been one of the best experiences of my life

It's unlike any class I’ve ever had

Honors have been an amazing experience

It helped me to see things differently

Honors just needs to be experienced to be fully understood