By Junior Indy Behr
It’s that time of year when PVS students wander the halls mumbling lines of verse under their breath. It’s time, again, for the annual Palm Valley School Poetry Recitation–something we’ve done at PVS for fifty years. Parents have told me Poetry Recitation Finals are their favorite PVS assemblies. And, English teachers seem convinced the world is a better place with poetry in it. Students, however, don’t . . . always respond with joy at the prospect of reciting poetry before crowds. Indy Behr argues poetry reciting is good for us–kind of like taking your vitamins.
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Recently, Alyna Llapitan authored an article, “An Ick I’ve Had,” advocating for changes to Palm Valley’s annual Poetry Recitation Competition–a competition that, in the Upper School, segues into the national Poetry Out Loud competition. Personally, I enjoy this annual tradition, and I also think it offers valuable learning opportunities for students.
Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that occurs annually. About ten years ago, Palm Valley melded its 50-year-old Poetry Recitation with national Poetry Out Loud standards. While students in nearly all grades still participate in Palm Valley’s Poetry Recitation, in the Upper-School English classes, students pick primarily poems from the Poetry Out Loud anthology. Typically, guest judges are brought into classes for one day. They choose 2-3 winners per each class, depending on class size. Those winners move on to the Upper-School finals.
I think that Poetry Out Loud is great because it teaches students two very valuable things that will be useful throughout their lives. Firstly, it teaches students how to speak with confidence. I understand that some people really dislike speaking in front of others, and I have had that fear myself, but if you go through high school without attempting to combat this, you will face many hurdles in your career. Speaking with confidence is a skill that is crucial in almost every career imaginable. Secondly, Poetry Out Loud teaches students about not just the value of poetry, but the value of literature as a whole. Though perhaps not all careers involve it, being familiar with literature and having an appreciation for it is something that will help everyone in my opinion. Cultural context and exploration can effectively be taught through these poetry recitations, and we learn about many poets as well as different types of poetry through this program.
Alyna made the point that Palm Valley should consider having students perform only in front of the judges rather than having to perform in front of their entire class. While I understand where she is coming from, I think this defeats the purpose of this competition being a way for students to feel more comfortable performing in front of several people. When you have to present a plan to your office at a job later in your life, you will be doing it in front of thirty people, not three. She is correct that in 9th grade we opted for performing solely for judges; however, this was due to the pandemic, and this is the reason we reverted to the original system the following year.
Overall, I do very much sympathize with those who are against the Poetry Recitation continuing in its current form. Despite this, I still think that these opponents could still learn several valuable things from this competition, and I wholeheartedly support it remaining in place.
*Join us the the Upper-School Poetry Recitation Finals on Friday, December 9, at 2:15. Do you have middle-school recitators you want to cheer for? Join us for the Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finals on Tuesday, December 6, at 1:10.
