But would it be the poem you loved in that mood, at that given moment?

I think that's how I'd choose in a poetry deathmatch, yeah.

Well, it wouldn't really matter if their favorite poem changed, as far as my goal in the class. To get teenagers to take a published poem (whether it be classic or contemporary) and invest in it to a level that they were willing to perform and defend it would be my real goal. Sneaky underhanded teacher way of getting them to hear 20+ excellent poems and debate the literary merits et al!

They're competitive little buggers. In the end, I would definitely tell them that there is no such thing as an actual "best poem" that everyone will ever agree on, but at that point it wouldn't matter anymore.

Now I'm getting it - best at that moment, via the setting of the deathmatch.

See, this is why I never get beyond question four on the Meyers-Briggs whatsis tests.

To get teenagers to take a published poem (whether it be classic or contemporary) and invest in it to a level that they were willing to perform and defend it would be my real goal.

As long as they don't all choose Yeats's "The Second Coming". Adventures in overwrought fanfic have taught me that it really is possible to take a pretty good poem and render it meaningless by repetition.

Also true of Eliot, although people go all over the map on his work rather than beeline to a single poem. Also, I have a poem someplace called "The Love Song of Audrey", which is what would happen if Prufrock were a dog. (There is whining and shoe-chewing involved.) It brought the original back to life, for me, and I know how absurd that sounds.

I see what you're saying, Nutty, but I do think that for the kids who haven't been exposed to it, "The Second Coming" will still be very powerful for some. I have a similar "oh god, not again" reaction to most of Dickenson's work, which I know is unfair.

Adventures in overwrought fanfic

heeheehee

See, this is why I never get beyond question four on the Meyers-Briggs whatsis tests.

Deb - I actually do this whole process with my students at the beginning of the school year! I think that everyone benefits from having a better understanding of personality theory. It actually answered a lot of questions I had about my relationship with my parents and my SO when I first did it in college. However, I do understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. :) If anyone is interested, I recommend checking out some of the books on this site. (Btw - I have no affiliation with MBTI services - I just have found it to be a really useful process and have used it with my students to build a stronger class understanding)

If the only thing M-B teaches kids is that people react differently to the same situation - it has to help the class. I keep thinking about th epoetry deathmatch. Really - it works no matter how much interest the kid brings to it. every kid brings in one poem - with a paragraph saying why the chose it. Takes minimal effort for those that don't care about poetry. By the end of the deathmatch- even if a kid still doesn't like poetry - they should have some idea of how to approach it and what makes a poem. much better than a poetry unit.

Heh. Off-topic, but Kristin, ought to let you know, the whole "your favourite flavour is (choose one) vanilla, strawberry, chocolate or spumoni" thing with me is a very very very old 'Deb doesn't do that' deal - I invariably answer look, this is insane, did you mean today? Do I have a headache? Who am I with? Do my shoes hurt? How was the morning news? What's the weather doing?"

I'm completely in the minority, but we've had this discussion, both here and other places - I think it was Natter - quite a few times.

I know they can be incredibly useful, although I remain violently opposed to using them for workplace screening, because they can mean that the best person for the job is swept aside for a better personality fit, something I dislike intensely; it ought to be both.

I just mean that I tend to be in the whackaloon little one bazillionth of crazy people who send the test results skewwhopping, because I do not cohere.

What's more? If anyone demanded that I take it, I'd deliberately fill in the wrong answers, just to mess with them. So I won't take the things.

the best person for the job is swept aside for a better personality fit

Well, it's not like personality fit doesn't factor into "best person for the job."

Well, it's not like personality fit doesn't factor into "best person for the job."

Yes, I agree. That's why I ended the sentence with "it ought to be both".

I do think skill set has to be considered as much as anything else. And what happens if the test is administered to someone who wants the job is doing their best to fill in the answers they think the employer wants to hear?

But I honestly do not want to argue this, because there's no argument. As stated, I do grok the usefulness of the tests. I just said, and continue to say, that I don't believe in them for myself, and wouldn't take one, not that the rest of the world shouldn't.

ita, it turns out this McDermid character is a series, even. This one is fun and (relatively) light. FYI.