Should teenagers be taught how to write poetry?

[Jennashby_87]

i think it is important to expose teenagers to anything and everything that is possible. Is everyone going to take poetry from high school and incorporate it into their adult life outside of school? no. But even if just a few fall in love with it and decide to make a career out of it, isn't that worth it? As a teenager we are all expected to do a lot of things that we do't necessarily want to to do, but the teenage years are were you are suppose to try everything right? That way you can develop your likes and dislikes and truly start to shape yourself into the version of yourself that you want to become as an adult. Then you can choose what you do, and don't want to put your effort into.

[ActiveDreamer]

Poetry should be taught, but it doesn't necessarily require skill. Poetry should be taught because it can be an outlet for your emotions. Feeling pent up energy? Holding something in? Express it in poetry, or drawing, or running, or cooking, or my personal favorite music. I've been taught poetry and all the factors that play into different types of poetry, but I don't focus on the requirements like rhyming or how many lines there should be. True, learning about different poetry types have taught me the basic principles, but nothing is "do it right or fail." Mess around with it and have fun. Poetry is an opportunity to express yourself, not be criticized on your writing abilities.

[Kayzed]

Definitely yes. It would be a good avenue for them to express themselves. It would not only build their expression but also enhance their ability to communicate. It will open their minds towards creativity and foster relational characteristics.

[tjportugal]

Teens should be taught how to READ poetry and engage with it; from there they would learn how to write it. However, you can only teach so much about arts. Then it has to come from within. That's, perhaps, the main lesson to be learned.

[Julie-p]

Literature classes should have poetry books, but I personally don't think that teenagers should be forced to write it. It would only make them dislike it. Besides poetry is an art and, just like painting or danging, it's not everyone that has a talent for it.

[Melina the reader]

I believe you can teach the rules of poetry to anybody, but as for teaching how to write poetry, that is impossible. Poetry is an art, and you can't teach a person how to paint, or to draw, you can merely help them to become better!

I agree that you can't teach poetry. But I don't even think there are rules you can teach. If you read a few poems you get to see the form they usually have and. get a feeling for it. But the very nature of art is that you can express anything in it naturally and without restrictions.
Art is not a form or a concept. It is formless and many great artists have expressed that they feel like their art is coming through them and they are merely a vehicle to express it (I can confirm this feeling by my own experience). This can only happen if you don't lose touch with yourself and in that case with language (or whichever tool you use to fulfil your art). That is nothing that can be taught in school.
I think that we try to make too many things too intellectual these days... you can't understand everything with the mind, in fact I think the mind is greatly overused.

[Samwisekoop]

Should students be taught how to sculpt or paint so they can produce masterpieces of graphic art?

As far as i know, there are more people who write poetry than there are who actually read and enjoy poetry. We have plenty of people writing poetry.

IMO it is not something that can be taught - that is to say the craft of poetry can be taught, but not the art.

How like summer, love.
After sweltering passion
autumn must arrive.

I could be taught that 5-7-5 was a format.

Well said. I think the exact same thing. Poetry is something that flows from the heart. Although skill is required, it is not something that is the same all across the board. Poetry is defined and is perceived differently by everyone.

[lexbass06]

I believe that every teenager should be taught about poetry. Poetry is a special way for every person to express themselves. And, contrary to many people on this forum, I believe that every person is born with an equal capability to write good poetry. As said above, poetry is not an art that is clearly defined. Poetry has many forms, and is different for everyone. As such, though people's ideas of what poetry is might be different, when they write it, it all has special meaning. Obviously, the skill of writing poetry must be developed, but everyone can do it. And as for teenagers specifically, I think we can all agree that the world we live in is a hectic one, and an outlet for their emotions could very well be a source of relief for many.

[Dnnnicole_]

yes!! because it's fun writing a poetry!!

[Micky_20]

Yes of course. It brings up there reading and writing skills

[Arite Seki]

I wrote my first poem when I was eleven and it was for an english competition in my class. It was the first time I ever really felt what it was like to express my emotions without having to explain them and it honestly helped me deal with a lot of turmoil at the time. Being a teenager is universally difficult, because you're dealing with new experiences. I think if more teens wrote poetry, it would help them put to paper the difficulties they're experiencing and help them come to terms with it in a more meaningful way.

[brown_gal]

Although poetry is not something that you teach, children should be encouraged to read more, which can make them fall in love with the language; hence they may love poetry and write one.

[Honest-reviewer]

It depends on the person’s interest! For me personally poetry is boring.. No offence, but I do not enjoy reading or listening to a poem. So if I were a teen and were forced to write poetry then I would definitely hate that person.

[Wildflowertheorist]

I guess poetry is one of those things that comes naturally and cannot be taught. You just need to have a strong command on the language in which you are writing poetry.

I completely agree with you, as long as you know what you're feeling and have the right words and a moving rhythm, you've got a good poetry.
More than anything, I believe, poetry is a feeling which has moved you and holds the power to move an audience and that could be just one person.

[AnandaSquire]

I believe you should never force someone to learn something that they don't want to learn, especially if it doesn't have much practical use. We can show teenagers the value of learning poetry and then give them the choice to choose from there. It should not be mandatory. There is a certain beauty and quality of interest when there is an element of choice.