Discussions

Your Name and Title: Glynnis Moore (Dr)

School or Organization Name: St Alban’s College

Co-Presenter Name(s):

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Pretoria, South Africa

Language in Which You Will Present:       English

Target Audience(s): Secondary School (English) teachers 

Short Session Description (one line):

How might preparation for and engagement in a protest poetry festival enhance Grade 10 boys’ understanding of global conflict?

Full Session Description (as long as you would like): A description of a project undertaken by me in which I used participation in a protest poetry festival as a means of deepening boys’ understanding of global conflict. 

A group of Grade 10 boys was engaged in planning and participating in a protest poetry festival in order to enhance their understanding of global conflict. The protest poetry festival consisted of two main components: an open mic session and a poetry slam. The boys explored the concepts of protest, most specifically within poetry. They discovered areas of global conflict and researched their own chosen areas of conflict, then, through a guided process, they wrote their own poetry which they performed at the festival. They performed their own poems at the open mic session and the process of preparing for the festival inspired the impromptu poems in the poetry slam. Through the creative process of participating in a protest poetry festival, the boys increased their understanding of global conflict. They were able to experience the action of protesting destructive and unethical ideas in the world, and in so doing allowed that world to have significance in their lives.

Through their engagement in the poetry festival, the Grade 10 boys in the study were able to participate in an affective manner that allowed for an empathetic engagement with the plight of those involved in global conflict, thus creating a noticeable sense of affinity with other global citizens.

 It became evident that global citizenship can be integrated into the existing curriculum and even enhance the teaching of something which boys typically had not enjoyed studying, such as poetry. They articulated an enjoyment for writing and performing poetry. In addition, boys expressed an interest in the causes, effects and results of global conflict. They showed empathy towards those suffering violations of human rights and injustice.

 Boys were interested in exposure to alternative means of social change. Poetry was felt to be a meaningful component of action and to be a meaningful agent for social change. They were able to experience agency in protesting destructive and unethical ideas of the world and by allowing that world to have significance in their lives. They felt a sense of empowerment which indicated the desire to be agents of change.

 The creative response to personal discoveries about global conflict provided the opportunity for experiential learning that appeared to have a powerful affective impact on the boys. It provided for an emotive response which was experienced through their writing, performing and being a part of an audience to their peers which appeared to create a definite shift in their thinking and way of viewing the world.

There was a sense that the boys were able effectively to engage in inter-group communication and to become a part of a community that crossed social, cultural and political boundaries. There was also a sense that they had become aware of prevalent geopolitical risks. There was a transformation of prior limited thinking and an expansion in a previously narrow worldview. The creative response through a poetry festival was effectively able to awaken and grasp the boys’ attention in a manner that led to a greater understanding of global conflict.  The participation and engagement in the protest poetry festival enhanced Grande 10 boys’ understanding of global conflict.

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