“Poetry is a Tremendous Ally”: Children’s Poet Michael Rosen on Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Poetry

Abstract

Revolving around an interview with the contemporary children’s poet Michael Rosen, this article examines some of the potential effects of teachers’ attitudes toward poetry. The interview explores Rosen’s views on teachers’ attitudes toward poetry and the implications of such attitudes on students’ engagement with poetry. This article argues that teachers need to act as role models by positioning themselves as readers of poetry in order for students to perceive such reading as an enjoyable activity.

• poetry
• teachers’ attitudes
• reading
• teachers’ positioning
• student engagement

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Michael Rosen for agreeing to be interviewed and for helping with this article. More information about Rosen’s work can be found at: http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/. He blogs at: http://michaelrosenblog.blogspot.com/.