15-year-old Boys and Poetry

Today's post was brought to you by my fifteen year old younger brother, Evan. Evan is one of the strangest, most hyperactive, and creative kids I know. He says or does something hilarious and doesn't even understand why it's funny. I absolutely adore my little brother, even when we're driving each other crazy. Now, personally, I don't have a problem with poetry. I don't always understand it, but it's interesting once it's explained. Evan does NOT feel the same way at ALL. For his lit class he had to write a two hundred word explanation of his position on poetry. I thought it was too entertaining not to share (he got a hundred for this and praise from the teacher).


"I hate poetry because I'm not artistic at all. I cannot, for the life of me, understand what a poet is talking about. The only time I can understand poetry is when the symbolism is so obvious that it feels like the writer is talking down to you. It feels like the writer is saying, "Oh, you see, the rabbit is symbolic for innocence, and because you've listened so well, you get a gold star!" Yeah, I'm not a three year old. You don't need to hammer this in. I'm sure I don't suck that much. Another reason it makes my blood boil is that a lot of the time the teacher makes us analyze it so much, we get to the point that we're smashing our heads on the poem. You don't need to tell me that the bird in the cage means the writer wants freedom. I think anyone with half a brain cell can figure it out. However, the teacher usually insists upon explaining it not once, not twice, but twelve freaking times. It is so incredibly boring. I mean, I know that this is for people with a developed sense of art, but by God, you don't need to go into depth about every last blade of grass you come across. While on the topic of "boring", teachers don't even attempt to make it an enjoyable experience. One of my teachers once said, "School is work, not fun". That may be true, but "A good teacher can make his students learn, a better teacher can make his students want to learn". If you actually try to put some effort into it, I'm sure it can be an enjoyable experience. However, if you just throw a piece of paper at us and say "Read this and write an essay about how the sun is hot" then everyone is going to be angry. Wow...I really went above the requirements needed to write this, didn't I?"