Re: teachers in trouble in VA

[Victor Steinbok <Victor.Steinbok@VERIZON.NET>]

At 7:29 AM -0500 9/1/01, kber wrote:
> Mickey
>
> first, I am not an English teacher, although I did teach 8th grade
> English and reading for one year in the past.  I do loave poetry,
> and in the past hae been very fond of Herbert.  Yet I do have to
> question the sanity of the state dept if they are going to use
> Herbert as an example of a metaphysical poet.  Not that he isn't,
> no, that's not my point.  Given the scope of English and American
> literature, it would seem to me that to include even one poem by
> Herbert, much less the several necessary to justify his having been
> a question on the SOLs seems to me a striking imbalance.  Frogive my
> sarcasm, but is it possible the E.D. Hirsch has a fixation on
> Herbert?  The gentel Englishmen wrote some wonderful poems, but is
> not normally considered as having had major influence on other
> poets, is he?

If it's European, Hirsch is fascinated with it. His goal is to
resuscitate Western Civ from the "dead white men" grave.

> Besides, and this is far more basic question, how do you properly
> assess understand about and knowledge of poetry by multiple choice
> questions?

A couple of friends did a survey of test questions on poetry (one was
getting ready to do a dissertation on the subject) and found that
poetry questions ask two things--first, identify references to
content, quotes and historical "facts"; second, regurgitate what
you've been told is "the" interpretation of anything that may be in
doubt. No analysis, no understanding. (An typical example is a pair
of questions, "An example of allegory is ABCD" and "The word X in
'...' is an example of A simile B metaphor ...")

> Is there as wise English teacher out there who can illuminate my por
> beclouded mind on these two issues?

I am no English teacher (not even native speaker, at that), but
poetry is not restricted to the English language. Every country
teaches poetry, some with a nationalist twist (as poetry is the
easiest genre to subject it to). It is also often used to
discriminate by social class, since not everyone has the same access
to it.

       VS-)

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