The Poet's Heart: Sarika Singh on the Power of Poetry in Education

Have you ever felt a poem tug at your heartstrings, or stumbled upon lines of verse that perfectly captured your emotions? Today's podcast is a treasure for anyone who’s ever been moved by the power of poetry. We’re joined by the poet Sarika Singh, whose insights into the transformative impact of poetry on education are nothing short of inspirational. Together, we explore the emotional journey of poetic expression and its ability to connect us to our shared humanity.

Poetry is often seen as an enigma, a puzzle that only a selected few can unlock. But as Sarika and I unravel the myths surrounding this timeless art form, we discover that the poet within us is just waiting to be set free. In this heartfelt exchange, we talk about the universal appeal of poetry and the importance of creating spaces where everyone can enjoy the liberating power of poetic creation. Our discussion navigates the strategies to foster personal expression and connect with contemporary works, ensuring that poetry can be more than an academic exercise — it can be a source of pure joy and unity.

The episode culminates with powerful accounts of writing’s extraordinary influence on young lives. We share the stories of two students whose experiences with writing reveal its capacity to be a coping mechanism and a pathway to self-discovery.

To learn more about Sarika Singh, go to sarikasingh.in and listen to her podcast series, "Communicate 101: Speaking Writing Tips."

The Haze

I tried so hard to wipe it clean

To bring the window back its sheen,

I rubbed hard, it stayed undone

Alas, it still looked a hazy sun.

I wet my cloth to clean this time

Imagining now all would be fine,

I wiped again with all my might

My glass was fuzzy though sun was bright.

The haze kept growing further some more

My pulse was fast, my hands were sore,

The view distorted more than before

I ogled frozen at the smoggy outdoor.

Suddenly I felt my cheeks were wet

Chapters

• 0:32 Topic Introduction: Poetry in Education + Research
• 2:51 Introduction Sarika Singh
• 9:41 Importance for Students
• 11:30 Why Do Some Prefer and Some Avoid Poetry?
• 13:26 How to Draw Out the Poet in People
• 18:10 How Has Poetry Helped Students?
• 20:56 Awards and Biggest Reward
• 22:31 Recommendations to Parents, Teachers, and Students
• 25:14 The Haze, a Poem By Sarika
• 27:27 Call to Action
• 27:38 Wrap Up

Transcript

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 0:10

Welcome to the Brighter Side of Education. I'm your host, Dr. Lisa Hassler, here to enlighten and brighten the classrooms in America through focused conversation on important topics in education. In each episode, I discuss problems we as teachers and parents are facing and what people are doing in their communities to fix it. What are the variables and how can be duplicated to maximize student outcomes? In this episode, we delve into the exquisite realm of poetry and its impact on education. How does introducing poetry to students enrich their learning outcomes?

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 0:44

Poetry not only narrates stories, but orchestrates a symphony of words painting vivid landscapes and melodies that no other form of literature can emulate. Yet among the various literary genres adolescents can explore, poetry remains the least chosen. In episode 15, Teens Rediscovered the Joy of Reading, Beth Denafrio shared insights from a 2023 reading survey among high school students revealing that only one out of 120 students expressed a preference for poetry. What's disheartening is that this isn't how the journey with poetry typically commences in education. We often begin with an innate fondness for poetic expression. However, as we mature, this affection tends to wane. Language transforms from fanciful to pragmatic, and words shift from playful sounds to utilitarian tools. While acknowledging the immense power of this practical facet of language, it's essential to recognize its limitations. Engaging with poetry, both in reading and writing, enables us to transcend these boundaries. Research indicates that exploring poetry nurtures children's literacy development due to its cognitive complexity and ability to engage multiple senses.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 1:56

In 2022, Natasha Beaumont explored the impact of poetry on second language acquisition in her study, "Poetry in Motion, Rhythm, Rhyme and Embodiment. As Oral Literacy Pedagogy for Young Additional Language Learners." Her findings showed clear correlations between poetry and enhanced verbal fluency, phonemic perception, comprehension, improved listening and pronunciation skills, as well as positive socio-emotional motivation. Despite the myriad benefits of poetry and learning, researchers note that pre-service teachers often feel ill-equipped to teach poetry due to negative or limited experiences during their own education. Furthermore, practicing teachers might hesitate to incorporate poetry into their curriculum due to pressure to prioritize guided instructional materials for reading or simply due to a lack of exposure to high-quality poetry instruction and experiences. Joining me today to explore the profound impact of poetry on student learning and share strategies to integrate it into instruction is Sarika Singh, an accomplished poet and the published author of Poetry Made Simple, volumes 1 and 2. Sarika specializes in creative communication skills coaching through her online teaching platform and hosts the podcast series Communicate 101 Speaking Writing Tips. Welcome to the show, Sarika!

Sarika Singh: 3:18

Thank you. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you for having me over. It's lovely to you know you have an audience of parents and teachers and students, and these, these are people I love to chat up with. So thank you for the lovely opportunity.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 3:31

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the conversation and poetry it's one of my favorites. My son is a poet and I just remember his inspiration, and so I'm really excited to be able to be talking to you about the importance of poetry and education. So can you tell us a little about yourself and what led you to becoming a poet?

Sarika Singh: 3:51

Sure. So to tell you about myself first of all, like I'm a proud mom, proud daughter you know family first, as they say. But yeah, I've been a teacher. I've been a coach for about 24 years now in counting, and back then I was teaching creative writing when it was just a concept and you know I literally had to explain what it meant. It was not about marks and numbers at school, it was much more. And about me, my latest love is podcasting and I'm just a crazy learner, always looking out for a teeny-winey window opportunity to learn. I think that's what keeps you going. So, yes, that's me.

Sarika Singh: 4:32

So I have always written poems for as long as I can remember and actually I never thought much about it. I would just scribble on the used papers and newspaper corners and just anywhere random. It was my mum who used to collect all my scribbles and she used to try to imagine what I was feeling or going through. Once, I remember, I found her in tears when I returned home from school. She'd read one of my poems and she concluded, after all her motherly calculations, that I'd had a break up. Oh, so she was feeling so bad for me. I was just in grade five and you know, the poem wasn't even remotely close to what she was thinking, but that's another story. But yeah, so yeah, poems have been there forever.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 5:26

I think that's pretty powerful. When you're saying that the interpretation was different, poetry can have such a strong emotional connection with the reader and sometimes as poets we put a lot of ourselves into the poems and then how someone can identify with that might be a little bit different than what we were thinking. Just goes to the power of poetry.

Sarika Singh: 5:48

Yeah, true, I agree, it's very powerful. Personally, you know, I feel I find it very embalming, it's like therapeutic.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 5:56

Yeah.

Sarika Singh: 5:57

We poets. Somewhere we can just see beyond the obvious. It's just that's what I think poets are. That's probably what makes us different from the rest of the people. If you're, say, driving by a beautiful countryside, you spot maybe some beautiful old oak tree and you're like if you're a poet, you're captivated by its power, you're in an awe of its solitary presence. You pull over and you start thinking okay, what is this tree feeling? What's the journey so far? How are the branches dancing in the breeze? You think about all the woodpeckers and the hummingbirds which are sleeping safe, you know, in the branches. So the poet is painting with the words, and all these concrete images that we bring onto the reader's mind are just painted automatically. An ordinary person, I believe, is not even going to pull over. Maybe a painter would do, if you ask me. Yeah, I think poetic about all artists. So I think a poet is an artist.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 7:00

Was there a poet who inspired you?

Sarika Singh: 7:02

I find inspiration everywhere and I think the list is rather long. But yes, the one who actually made me fall head over heels in love with writing per se and appreciating literature was my English teacher in grade five, Dr. Bhavani. She was a doctorate in literature then and even currently, like 30 years later, she is pursuing another PhD. She is really passionate about literature. In fact, I dedicated my first book to her. She was quite an inspiration. I think she made an impact on many of our students here. You know, whenever I teach because you're so in love with somebody who's inspired you, so whenever I'm teaching, I just hope secretly that I'm able to make an impact on some students life just the way my teacher did for me. It just wants to carry on like a chain reaction.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 7:53

Yeah, do you have a favorite poet now that you like to read?

Sarika Singh: 7:58

My favorite poet. Yeah, too bad, I have too many favorites and these days I enjoy reading poems, you know, written by my students. Oh, they're just so innocent and they're actually unadulterated and written straight from the heart. So I kind of have new favorites every day. But if you ask me, like, which is your favorite, you know we always have that one poem which always come to your mind when you know you have somebody ask you favorite. So I think the inspiring poem "Don't Quit by Edgar Ray Guest. I just love the poems. It's very inspirational even now as a grown up person. It was inspirational when I was a kid, so I think it has quite an impact.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 8:44

What does poetry mean to you?

Sarika Singh: 8:47

Poetry? That's a good question. So personally, I feel poetry is just being me. I see myself closest to myself when I write poetry and I think there's something special about everyone who's writing poetry. And the world, if I may say, has a very romanticized view of poetry. Ordinary people will probably just call it glass broken or you know good, for nothing was but to a poet a broken was. Maybe they'll see a pain in the crack, maybe they'll see a femininity in its slender neck, maybe they'll see the heartache, you know, of the flowers that it holds. So poetry is just beyond everything. You look through something and go deeper into it and understand where it comes from.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 9:38

So poetry is just being me. How is poetry important for students?

Sarika Singh: 9:43

It's a very good one, because I feel today everyone needs poetry, not only students, but especially students. Why I say so? Because you know the quantum of stress that we have students this age is several times more than what we used to experience. Like you know, you and I, there's marks and numbers and grades, competition. They have to write all those essays and you know the financial issues, they pay up pressure and all sorts of things like drugs and relationships and what not.

Sarika Singh: 10:18

And when there is poetry there is a certain amount of therapy which comes with it. I think it brings in a sense of healing, a sense of well-being, and that's really important for students Because when you verbalize your feeling, I believe that helps you gain perspective on a fit today. And when you add maybe rhythm or you know lyrics or maybe rhyme to your writing, I feel the healing effect of words is even amplified because you connect with it much more Writing. Students really really need poetry these days and the kind of therapy it brings with it, which is really really in demand. I mean, we can't forget that Egyptians wrote in papyrus and dissolved them in liquid and, you know, gave it as medicine. So words do have that magic and you know why not? I was reading the other day you have the anxiety and depression association of America 80% of your students feel stressed and 34% feel depression. So, yeah, why not poetry? You know, why not give them a medicine without that medicine thing? I think it's going to make a lot of difference.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 11:30

Why do you think some people prefer writing poems, yet others completely avoid them?

Sarika Singh: 11:35

So I believe everyone has a potential to write a poem. That's what I tell all my students. You know some of them come and say, "no, ma'am, I can't rhyme." I said, no, poetry is not about rhyming. So it's. You don't think it's like one big task. But it's true that some people prefer writing poems and some will just avoid it. They'll be like "no, no, no, poetry is not for me. I believe nobody is right or wrong. you know each to his own. But you know, just think about it.

Sarika Singh: 12:01

Have you thought why some people can paint beautifully but they have difficulty adding three and three? Or some people can understand the intricacies of calculus like I can't, but they struggled to write a two page essay. It was a contrasting character. So it's all about which side of your brain dominates Left or the right. Because people, you know, like us, who are heavy on the right side of the brain, we're more imaginative, you know logical and we see patterns, shapes and sizes, and that's why we have this little artistic ability for the singing and painting and writing poetry. But the left brain dominated people. They're more analytical, they're more, you know those mathematicians and so they're more analytical people. That's my understanding. So I have one colleague who was 100% left brainer and he once said to me poetry is something anybody can do. You know, anybody can string together a few sentences and, you know, break it into lines, finish in 15 minutes. You don't need to be smart to do it. Do something more practical. That's what some people think about poetry, unfortunately.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 13:12

You bring up a good point, and so there's people who are more logical than those who are more creative, and it tends to be the more creative, imaginative people who tend to maybe be drawn more towards poetry compared to the more logical. But now you've written two volumes of poetry, made simple, and it discusses how you can draw out the poet and people. So maybe those left a dominant brain, logical people there's a way to still draw the poet out of that. So how do you do it?

Sarika Singh: 13:44

I really like the way you print this question, draw out the poet. So you actually, you actually, you know, implied that there's already a poet who's waiting to bust out.

Sarika Singh: 13:56

So, believe you me, it really is that there is a poet in each one of us. So yeah, I've been teaching communication skills like creative writing and poetry since 2000. So it's about 24 years, 24 lovely years, as we speak, and the first message which I give to anyone who comes to my class, a child or an adult, and who wants to write poetry, is you're free to write. There are no officially sanctioned rules of poetry. And when I say this, this message itself I've seen it's very inviting because it gives you the freedom. It gives you the freedom which poems promise. And after we scribble a little bit, you know initial writings, then we seamlessly learn some degree of structure, you know the writer reins in some ideas and you know we start working productively. It's like a cohesive flow. But that freedom is extremely inviting to anyone who wants to start. And then they start learning poems, and imaginatively and with fun. But they do everything for themselves.

Sarika Singh: 15:03

Throughout my classes I just keep trying that their experience of consuming poetry is not academic, it's not like an academic exercise and they're not learning to catalog some poetic devices. They have to learn to appreciate poems. When they appreciate, you know, those writing devices and that elusive figurative language, it automatically finds a way into their writing. I also make them read a lot of poetry because that really helps. In a group class, for example, I make them read each other's poems and they are so eager to read, believe you Me, because they know someone's going to read this. It's like a little show and the show of letting words of your favourite poems wash over you without necessarily digging for deeper meanings. So it's kind of fun.

Sarika Singh: 15:56

Another trick which I've seen work with new poets like you said, how to draw the poet out is introducing new poets.

Sarika Singh: 16:04

I mean, with all due respect to all old poets and their wonderful poetry, I truly appreciate that and I feel it's important for budding poets to relate to poetry. They should not think it's some kind of an alien language. And the content of the poems also makes a huge difference, because the subjects that you know the society today is dealing with are very different from what the old poets wrote about. I mean, it's nice to read about the old content, but we have to write about modern issues. Like writers writing about modern issues, poets have to do the same. In fact, I tell my students focus less on Dickinson, let's check out the works done in the class by Jimmy and Tia and Abhi and Grace, because they have to appreciate each other and they have to feel capable of it. They're writing is relevant, so I think that will make it. When the topics are more relevant to them, poetry automatically becomes more relatable and easier and fun, and when something is fun, I think we all want to do it, isn't it?

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 17:13

Yeah, I do think so. I know as first and second grade teacher and I loved poetry. The children love listening to it. They had a really hard time writing it and it was because of this idea of I want to say this and I don't know how to say it, to make it rhyme or I don't know how to do like a haiku. So it's going to have a certain amount of syllables. There's a lot of language arts that goes into the structure of teaching poetry and so I could see where there's some of those mental roadblocks of I'm not a poet because I can't do this. So maybe if they forget it down first and then we can come back and look at the mechanics or look at the rhythm, Otherwise they keep getting lost in just trying to rhyme and the whole thought behind writing that poem is lost.

Sarika Singh: 18:04

So, they completely go off track and brings in a lot of rambling, like most of us do.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 18:10

So you've been teaching communication skills. You talked about how you've been doing it since 2000 so it's almost 25 years and how many of your students have written their first books. That's got to be very proud moment for you as a teacher to know that you have students that have gone on to write and to publish and author their own books. How is learning poetry help them?

Sarika Singh: 18:32

Such a pleasure to teach. I'm loving every bit of my journey as a teacher. It's the achievements of my students truly which makes me proud. So you know, like one of my students who's currently doing cognitive mathematics at Harvard and she wrote her first book with me, it was a time when she was like a walking pressure cooker. She had the pressure of a grade 12 board exam. She had the pressure of university admissions Plus. She was struggling personally because her mom was undergoing chemotherapy in New York and it was a tough time for her. And in her own words and I won't forget her words it's just like man. This book helped me sell through. Now, for me, that is truly rewarding.

Sarika Singh: 19:21

It's truly unfortunate that many people don't believe that writing poems are serious. Right here, I mean, if it can get you into Harvard in a course of your choice. I mean, what's the argument about? Another student of mine was struggling because she was struggling announcing her sexual orientation and she didn't have the courage to discuss it because her family was very conservative and came from a very conservative background. She was really struggling. She was feeling like a square peg in a round hole. Her health was suffering. Her grades were falling. She was even falling afraid to some of those habit forming substances.

Sarika Singh: 20:00

She wrote her first anthology with me. It gave her a new streak, a new way of hope and she developed a confidence. She found freedom and it opened a whole new area of communication channels for her to voice herself. I'm not going to name her, but she has her own YouTube channel now and you know a lot of things where she's brought out the confidence in her. In my journey, little journey of teaching, I've worked one-on-one with some 2500 class students, over 10,000 in a group setting. There have been a lot of twists and turns, like we all go through lots of evolution, and it's just been extremely meaningful. So, with those rewards, when I see the students, when I see the impact it does on them, I'm truly happy. I'm very happy.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 20:56

You've won many awards, including a Lituroma Award and a Kamavera Shakura Global Fellowship by Aikongo and the UN. Can you talk about these?

Sarika Singh: 21:07

Well, I'll give a very simple answer to this. So Lituroma was awarded to my poetic personality and Karambish Shakura by Aikongo, and the UN, which was a global tradition, was recognizing my philanthropic personality. So of course, it feels good to get these awards, to get the recognition, and I'm truly humbled. I mean, we could all do with some appreciation, isn't it? But for me, the biggest award is something different. It comes cloned in different attires. You know, when I see the metamorphosis in my students personalities when they come up to me and I hear their success stories, when they share things with me which they're unable to share in many places, that's my true reward.

Sarika Singh: 21:58

For me, the biggest reward is when my students are able to voice and they're able to accomplish whatever they really want to do with their lives and careers. And in fact, if you ask me secretly, my biggest reward is when the young girls they look up to me and they say I want to be like her. It's like that you get fuel. You know it keeps you going. Somebody wants to be like you. It's exciting, it's the biggest reward.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 22:23

It really is just to know that you've been such an impactful role model in a young person's life, so you are that. What do you recommend to our listeners?

Sarika Singh: 22:34

I'm assuming today the audience has a major chunk of parents and teachers and students. I'll address each one separately. To all the parents listening I would say please, please, please, encourage your children to express themselves. Writing should be fun and should not be a hideous task. So a positive reinforcement goes a long way, you know, in developing your child's personality, his characteristics, his skillsets, his potentials. And to all the teachers tuned in I would say your students look up to you. You're those mama duck, to these ducklings. So if you express yourself, they too will learn the same. And over the years.

Sarika Singh: 23:21

You know there are many tricks which are used in the class to excite the students, to motivate them. We have something called candy points. You could do something like that. They keep collecting the candy points and there's a jackpot to be won every quarter. So in an online class I use a lot of videos, you know, to motivate them, to teach them multiple things at one time, because children have a short attention span and they get bored so fast. So if they've written a debate, I'll make them fight it out. If they've written a dialogue, they'll emote it. If they've written a story, they'll make a PowerPoint show or a video to present it Like that. You know they're always busy doing newer things, and I think innovation is the key. That's what I would say. The teachers need to keep innovating. And to all the students listening anyone can write poetry and you can too, so you just need to have hunger in your belly to learn, learn and learn.

Sarika Singh: 24:21

I'm going to plug my podcast also here. You've already done that. So, yeah, Communicate 101: Speaking Writing Tips," and you can hear it on Spotify, apple, google, wherever you hear your podcast, because it's just free learning. It just meant to create some positive impact on you, at least somewhere. Some part of your life will be touched, so maybe something you can learn and add value to yourselves. If you're a listener, but you're not a parent, you're not a teacher, you're not a student, and you sure know someone who's a parent or a teacher or student, you can do all of that, and I really want to give a big shout out to Dr. Lisa Hassler's super informative part and she's spreading the good word. So please share it with all your friends and spread the good word.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 25:12

Thank you. You know you have a poem that you're going to share with us.

Sarika Singh: 25:17

Sure, I'm glad to share small one I wrote just last week. I terribly missed my dad, whom I lost 11 months ago. So this one's dedicated to you that it's called, The Haze. I tried so hard to wipe it clean, to bring the window back its sheen. I rubbed hard. It stayed undone. Alas, still a hazy sun. I wet my cloth to clean this time, imagining now all would be fine. I wiped again with all my might. My glass was fuzzy, the sun was bright, the haze kept growing further, more and more. My pulse was fast, my hands were sore, the view distorted more than before. I ogled frozen at this moggy outdoor. Suddenly I felt my cheeks for wet Glass was clearing. My eyes were smiling, my tears fell. My glass did clear. What had blurred my vision was my unshed tear. Thank you.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 26:41

That was beautiful.

Sarika Singh: 26:43

Thank you for the patient ear.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 26:45

Well, thank you so much. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you for joining me today to discuss the importance of poetry for students and its impact on education. It's that touch of humanity, so I'm really glad that you came on and we can talk about it.

Sarika Singh: 26:59

Thank you very much. It was really really nice sharing the time and space with you and your lovely audience.

Dr. Lisa Hassler: 27:08

To learn more about Sarika Singh, you can go to her communication skills website at sarikasingh. in that's S-A-R-I-K-A-S-I-N-G-H. in, or listen to our podcast series "Communicate 101: Speaking Writing Tips," available on all platforms where you can hear your podcasts. The call to action is to promote a love of poetry in students by taking the time to teach poetry and thereby allowing students to benefit from the many rewards over their lifetime. If you have a story about what's working in your schools that you'd like to share, you can email me at drl isar ichardsonhassler@ gmail. com, or visit my website at www. drlisarhassler. com and send me a message. If you like this podcast, subscribe and tell a friend. The more people that know, the bigger impact it will have. And if you find value to the content in this podcast, consider becoming a supporter by clicking on the supporter link in the show notes. It is the mission of this podcast to shine light on the good in education so that it spreads, affecting positive change. So let's keep working together to find solutions that focus on our children's success.