Poetry Out Loud is a program in which students can recite famous poems and get over their fear of public speaking or simply bask in the glory of having the spotlight.

  This is a national competition that Ms. Laird and Mrs. Toelkes, two English teachers at Independence High School, have taken to their school and the Liberty Union High School District.

  “We’re the only school who does it because back in 2005 I was approached and asked if I wanted to do it [the program]. I was iffy at first but the first year I did it, 2006, was amazing so I continued on,” said Laird.

  The two English teachers have a passion for poetry and would like to share that with students who volunteer to participate in the event.

  “We give an assignment to every student to remember a poem from the website (Poetry Out Loud), there are over 400 there so they have quite a selection,” said Toelkes, “it is an English assignment that they will get credit for, but students can volunteer for more credit if they participate.”

  Since this is a national event, the students can win cash prizes as well as chances to be on live television if they advance.

  “There is the classroom level, then the school finals and finally the state and national levels,” explained Laird.

  The event at school level does not have to be a huge event but these teachers like to give out participation certificates, and a rose to all of the contestants. They even give out bronze, silver and gold medals to the first second and third place winners.

  “We like to make a big deal out of it because we like when the students actually feel like they’ve done something with their time and months of memorising the poems,” said Toelkes.

  The competition is judged based on accuracy, physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding and overall performance.

  “We have volunteer adults who come to judge the event, they will watch for any stutters, any hesitation, any mispronounced words. They love to do it so they come back every year,” said Laird.

  The televised level, in which students had to memorise and recite two poems from the website, took place on February 11th while the California state level will take place on March 12-13. The three round national competition takes place on April 25-26 at the Linser Auditorium, at The George Washington University, in Washington D.C.




http://www.poetryoutloud.org