The "schedule-OCD" part of me is trying really hard not to think about what we were supposed to have done this week - and how that will now be pushed into next week. I'm trying not to think about how I will have to reschedule the mandatory standardized test practice and review days. I'm trying not to think about the test that was originally scheduled for LAST week that will now - hopefully - be sometime next week. Instead, I'm trying to think about the positive things that come from unexpected days off and interrupted schedules: much needed rest, time with family, and fun with neighbors. This "bonus" time also gives me an opportunity to reflect.
One of the most unexpected - and important - components of my time in Poland was the time we used to reflect. We actually built-in time to think about, write about, and discuss how activities, events, and experiences made us feel. We reflected on how such things impacted others and how we could use those things to influence our students. So often in life, we are bound to the calendar - appointments, lessons, classes, practices, meetings - that we often run out of time to THINK about the things that we are doing. Why are we doing them? Are they important? Are we meeting our goals? Are we happy?
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| The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding-- riding --riding-- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door. |
So, today, I've been reflecting on memorization. As part of their poetry units, I have required my students to memorize poetry. My seventh graders memorize the first stanza of Alfred Noyes’s narrative poem “The Highwayman.” They also memorize Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” This year, my eighth graders have had an option to choose their poem; they either memorize “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost or “O Captain, My Captain” by Walt Whitman. They were supposed to be finished with their recitals. The weather delayed that plan. Lucky them! They've had a LOT of extra time to memorize. Realistically, that’s not what they've been doing - and that's totally fine! But, they've had the time.
Maybe, just maybe, though, one or two of them have looked out at the glistening snow and thought, “Whose woods these are, I think I know. . .” Perhaps they've had that extra moment to stop and watch woods fill up with snow. Maybe they've used a little morsel of this extra time to hear the “sweep of easy wind and downy flake.”
That's what I hope. I hope that they’ll think on those simple words - masterfully combined by one of the masters - and reflect on the beauty of this blanket of Alabama snow. Maybe they'll even recognize that this snowfall has delayed their obligations and that this week they have had fewer "promises to keep" and fewer "miles to go before (they) sleep." I hope that - just maybe - someone has thought about it.
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| My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near |
One of the joys - in my mind, anyway - of knowing something “by heart” is that it helps us connect to the world around us. It helps us recognize themes in our world. Is memorizing poetry a Common Core standard? No. Will it be on their end-of-the-year assessment? No. Is it important? I think so!
As the daughter of a quintessential English teacher, recited verse was just a part of life. My mother LOVED literature. She loved poetry, stories, novels, and scripture. I wish I had a record of all the passages she could quote from memory. I’m not sure many days of my life went by when she didn't quote from something. She knew the prologue to The Canterbury Tales in Middle English. (SERIOUSLY. That was my childhood.) She quoted lines from poetry and plays. She regularly popped out a scripture applicable to my most recent wrongdoing. There was a quote to go along with almost any circumstance of almost any day in our little world.
As a child and teenager, I thought she was extreme. I thought she was possibly the nerdiest of the nerdy. I VOWED I would never subject my children to life as a “teacher’s kid” - especially not an English teacher’s kid. But, now, years later, here I am. Teaching English. Correcting grammar. Spouting off lines of literature. Wishing I knew more.
Of course, there is a debate about the worthiness of memorization. Rote memorization. Boring. Non-skill-based. However, I believe there is great value in memorization.
- It requires commitment.
- It requires focus.
- It forces us to LEARN the text. We KNOW what it says. That helps us develop text-based arguments.
- It makes nuances of language come alive. We notice word choice, figurative language, and sound devices.
- It helps us make connections to and recognize themes in the world.
- It builds self-esteem. My students really seem proud of themselves when they finish reciting poetry. They had a challenge, and they met it!
- It makes one seem educated. Put all the things on the list together, and I suppose this is somehow the culmination. I’ve never heard someone quote literature or scripture and thought, “Wow, they seem dumb.” On the contrary, I think, “Wow, that’s impressive!”
Of course, memorizing often brings moans and groans. I certainly remember moaning through “My love is like a red, red rose. . .” as a high school freshman. I remember groaning through “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. . .” as a sophomore. The list could go on. Hindsight, as the cliche goes, is 20/20. I wish I had learned more. I wish I could readily quote from hundreds of texts.
Thankfully, I typically know enough of a reference to “Google it” when I need to. There are so many passages that are worthy of committing to memory. I think I’ll even begin working on some with my own kids! We’ll probably start with “If-” by Rudyard Kipling and portions of “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout” by Shel Silverstein. They seem appropriate. Maybe that’ll be how we use a little time as the snow melts away.
In this day and age where students struggle with focus, commitment to what a text actually says, and understanding “real” language, I believe memorization finds a useful home.
Here are some links to articles that explore the importance of memorization. What do you “know by heart”?
In Praise of Memorization: 10 Proven Brain Benefits
Why I Force My Students to Memorize Poetry
In Defense of MemorizationShould
Students be Memorizing Poetry?
Rote Memorization: Overrated or Underrated?
Poems to Memorize & Memorable Poems - Alysion's Bucket List of Poems to Read Before You Die.
Caroline Kennedy on Learning Poems by Heart
