Do you appreciate poetry? Do you understand it well enough to teach it to your kids? Today on Home School Heartbeat, HSLDA president Mike Smith and Kathy Weitz discuss the need for training in the art of poetry.
Mike Smith:
This week, I'm talking with Kathy Weitz, longtime homeschooler and one of the authors of the curriculum “Classical Writing.” Kathy, up until a few decades ago, poetry was just assumed to be part of a well-rounded education. Remind us why it's still important today.
Kathy Weitz:
Mike, poetry is the chosen form for a lot of the foundational literature of Western civilization: certainly the Bible, which is full of poetry—and not just in the Psalms. Also Homer, and Virgil, and Milton, and many other great literary works were all written in poetic form. These all are part of what is called the Great Conversation, and what is best in Western literature and culture for the past 2,000 years assumes familiarity with these great works. Even our own Founding Fathers, and greatest statesmen of the last few centuries, almost to a man, quote the great and noble poetry of the past.
Mike:
Thanks, Kathy. Those are great reasons for why we should work to make poetry a priority in our homeschool program. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
