CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL LITERACY
By Mrs. Rani Venu
Senior English Teacher,
Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School,
Nungambakkam, Chennai, India [PSBBSSS-NGM]
November 21st, 2017
ABSTRACT
Creativity plays a major role in the fostering of critical literacy among students the world over. “Critical literacy” is defined as the ability to actively read text in a manner that promotes a deeper understanding of socially constructed concepts such as power, inequality and injustice in human relationships.
Poetry is a powerful genre in the field of literature that has always lent itself to the exploration of various situatons, for centuries. Themes like war and peace have been of prime importance, even before the advent of machines.
The
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Teachers can use various techniques to encourage the development of critical literacy. Students can be guided to read literature analytically. After they read the text, they can extrapolate, express their own ideas and opinions, even challenging the text. They can air their views, write essays or poems of their own, expressing their own ideas.
Poetry is a powerful genre in the field of literature, that has always lent itself to the exploring of various topics, for centuries. Themes like ‘war’ and ‘peace’ have always been of prime importance, even before the concept of ‘social justice’ or ‘human rights’.
The CBSE Literature textbooks of the students of junior college [classes XI and XII] deal with these topics in right earnest. 1) A Doctor’s Journal Entry by Vikram Seth, taught in Std.XI, and Survivors by Siegfried Sassoon [Std.XII] are two classic examples of war-related poetry. Creative activities like the ‘shadow play module’ done by students and ‘roleplay’ – apart from discussions – lead to a critical analysis of war and its condemnation as students internalise the consequences of war – the horrors caused by nuclear bombs (Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945) and war in general.
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The debate makes them ponder over the modern universal question about the threat posed by machines, even though they are man-made. The students enjoy the activities but become a thinking and questioning community, while they imbibe the language and writing skill of the poet.
CONCLUSION
Thus the students are given ample opportunities to explore the text in a creative and critical manner. The activities are followed by class discussions in which students review and analyse the work of the poet. They are encouraged to write their own poetry/article to bring out contemporary incidents of social concern.
The teacher serves as a medium towards social progress by empowering the tender saplings under his/her care to be thinking individuals. The students assimilate the nuances of the English language and improve their reading, writing and speaking skills as well.
When creativity is used as a tool to foster critical literacy, the aim is realized – of encouraging young students to become thoughtful and active citizens and agents of social change themselves.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
- Maya Angelou, American poet and social rights
There are many things in this world that are impossible to understand without first hand experience.This can be especially irritating for people who have the knowledge, but see everyone else with the wrong idea. Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen show this in their poems about the common misconception of war glorification. Through imagery and the use of similes, they explain what it's really like for a person to go into battle. To outsiders, fighting in war is a noble cause worthy of envy and praise, but from the inside perspective the only thing war does is take away the innocence of
The powerful poem ‘Weapons Training’ showcases a sergeant, through malicious words, guiding his troops. However it is through ‘Homecoming’, where Dawe exposes the brutal hopelessness brought forth by the futility of war. Therefore it can be seen that war has an emotional toll on both families and the soldiers. Both poems have a recurring message that all war does is bring loss, death and mourning, showcasing Dawes strong opinions about a futile
...ntation in 20th century war poetry undoubtedly shapes its type and purpose, be it for nationalistic propaganda or to prompt a global paradigm shift, the purpose can be seen to stem largely from the author’s involvement in combat or war life. Authors such as Owen Seaman, who have no first hand experience of the content of their poems, create patriotic propaganda in an attempt to keep young men enlisting, and others such as Rupert Brooke who exemplify blind optimism and nationalistic intentions in a romanticised view of what it would be to die.
War and its ramifications for those who are unfortunately entangled in it, is an issue that has fueled both political discussion and literary exploration throughout the previous century. Underived, authentic accounts of the experience and effects of war, from those who have served in it, can be especially enlightening for the majority of society who have had the fortune of not being intimately familiar with war. Through the examination of poems and stories written by soldiers, who were inspired by their involvement in conflict, one can obtain a greater understanding of this gruesome aspect of life, without having to directly experience it. Similarly, soldier turned poet, Bruce Weigl, has contributed his perspective on war through his literary
Understanding the effects of war and the appalling experiences our soldiers have to endure while fighting for their country facilitates communicating effectively about literature and its function in the context of American and world history and culture (SLO2). The purpose of imagery is to help get the poet’s message across in a language that is strong and vivid.
Poetry’s role is evaluated according to what extent it mirrors, shapes and is reshaped by historical events. In the mid-19th century, some critics viewed poetry as “an expression of the poet’s personality, a manifestation of the poet’s intuition and of the social and historical context which shaped him” ( Preminger, Warnke, Hardison 511). Analysis of the historical, social, political and cultural events at a certain time helps the reader fully grasp a given work. The historical approach is necessary in order for given allusions to be situated in their social, political and cultural background. In order to escape intentional fallacy, a poet should relate his work to universal
While critical thinking can still be achieved without reading; it cannot reach its full potential on thought alone, and it certainly relies on literacy to stand. Literacy provides sources, language provides words to back up thought, and reading opens a person’s mind to new words and ideas. If someone is unable to read or chooses not to read, many facts and ideas are lost to him. Reading also helps a person organize their thoughts. Without organization a person can articulate their thoughts just not as orderly. To better illustrate this point think of this metaphor: Picture a mother and her child. The mother represents the people and language is represented by the child. The mother loves her child so much and wants to do everything she can to help her child along in life. The child grows up and, because his mother did everything in her power to better him and give him a bright future, he flourished and went on to change the world. If a society desires to erect something that can change the world, they need to do everything in their power to better their language. They need to delve deeper into books, yearn for knowledge, listen to others opinions, grow their vocabulary, and know how to establish truth. When a nation strives to better their language and give it all their love and time, that language will continually grow until it changes the
Poetry has been used for centuries as a means to explore emotions and complex ideas through language, though individuals express similar ideas in wholly different forms. One such idea that has been explored through poetry in numerous ways is that of war and the associated loss, grief, and suffering. Two noted Australian poets shown to have accomplished this are Kenneth Slessor with his work ‘Beach Burial’ and John Schumann’s ‘I Was Only Nineteen’. Both of these works examine the complexities of conflict, but with somewhat different attitudes.
World War one and two. Both these wars stole many young men’s lives from them. Stole sons from their mothers. Stole brothers from their sister but also stole many innocent lives in the process. An estimated 60 million lives lost and for what? For land, for power, wealth. War is brutal, gruesome, costly and pointless. What good could possibly come from a war? The truth is without these wars, the world of literature wouldn’t be the same. These wars bought rise to names such as Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, and Edward Thomas. Among all that death, destruction, and calamity; somehow great poets were born.
‘Poetry can challenge the reader to think about the world in new ways.’ It provokes the readers to consider events, issues and people with revised understanding and perspectives. The poems Dulce Et Decorum Est (Wilfred Owen, 1917) and Suicide in the Trenches (Siegfried Sassoon, 1917), were composed during World War One and represented the poets’ point of views in regards to the glorification of war and encouraged readers to challenge their perspectives and reflect upon the real consequences behind the fabrications of the glory and pride of fighting for one’s nation.
World War I impacted poetry profoundly. Poets who served in the war were using poetry to share their horrific stories about the hardships they faced. These poets became known as “war poets.” They wrote about the traumatic, life changing experiences that haunted them once the war was over. Intense poems started emerging that portrayed the mental and physical struggles soldiers faced. Two examples of the impact that World War I had on poetry is seen in the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “Repression of War Experience” by Siegfried Sassoon.
Although war is often seen as a waste of many lives, poets frequently focus on its effect on individuals. Choose two poems of this kind and show how the poets used individual situations to illustrate the impact of war.
The simple definition of war is a state of armed competition, conflict, or hostility between different nations or groups; however war differs drastically in the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in “Song of Becoming.” Yet, in “Dulce et Decorum Est” it took a man dying in front of a soldier's face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” are poems about people experiencing the monstrosity of war for the first time. One is told from the perspective of young boys who were stripped of their joyful innocence and forced to experience war first hand. The other is from the perspective of a soldier, reflecting on the death of one of his fellow soldiers and realizing that there is nothing he can do to save him. While “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” both focus on the theme of the loss of innocence, “Song of Becoming” illustrates how war affects the lives of young boys, whereas “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts the affect on an experienced soldier.
Literacy is an on-going skill that teachers and students alike should commonly study and practice in all grades. Problems faced by teachers, especially teachers in higher grades, are not having the skills to be effective teachers of literacy. To effectively teach literacy across content areas, a teacher would need skills such as knowledge of the reading process and the ability to cultivate the knowledge gained in order to make informed decisions within their classrooms (Clary, Oglan, Styslinger,
In “A Defence of Poetry,” Percy Bysshe Shelley puts forth the claim that poets are the “unacknowledged legislators of the world” (810). Although Mrs. Bush might disagree, Shelley argues convincingly in favor of such a position. To deny poets their right to speak to that which is political would be in essence denying them their existence as poets. Poets must fulfill this role, according to Shelley, because out of all people, they are most capable of doing so. In his own poetry, specifically the poem “Sonnet: England in 1819,” Shelley strives for a goal no different than that of the poets who participated in “A National Day Against War.” The preamble to Shelley’s remarks, written by the editor, best categorizes what good poets can and must do: “awaken readers’ minds to higher values” and get them to take action (801).