The Red Room Company’s national poetry education program transforms the way poetry is taught in Australian schools and learning institutions by bringing young and emerging poets into classrooms across the country to run practical writing workshops. During the workshops, poets inspire students to develop read, listen, compose and perform their own poetry, which simultaneously enriches curriculum outcomes.
I really appreciated Dr Tamryn Bennett contacting me recently regarding opportunities for the students at our school and my postgraduate pre-service teachers to have fun learning more about poetry with The Red Room Company. Here’s a brand new video where Tamryn explains how students and schools are supported to gain a contemporary appreciation of poetry.
Red Room Education focuses on regional, remote, culturally diverse and disadvantaged communities. Here are some of the hundreds of poets who have been involved and their poems. More information about the flexible program structures and costs can be found here with examples of school projects from Marrickville, Riverside, Concord and St George Girls High Schools.
A program for 40 students from Years 7-10 at our school is currently emerging that will link some excellent pre-service teachers, including Rhiannon Hall, a young poet who keenly supports the South Coast Writers Centre (more about this in a future post).
You will enjoy exploring the resources produced by the company including teaching resource cards and at their Red Room YouTube Channel. Read articles from the Guardian Teaching and Learning Hub to learn more or maybe check out the Flickrstream.
Later in the year I will post some of the poems and videos of performance poetry our students produce in partnership with the poets who generously share their time and The Red Room Company.
Anyone have some good news stories about students discovering poetry?
Featured images courtesy of Prue Upton and The Red Room Company.
