Teacher works to make English lessons fun

This article appeared in the Tampa Tribune on Oct. 27, 2002.

By MEGAN HUSSEY
Tribune correspondent

NEW PORT RICHEY - Jan Ledman, an English teacher at Gulf High School, doesn't teach her students simply to read and understand poetry. She teaches them to love the art of written verse and inspires them to create - and sometimes publish - their own poems.

Perhaps that's why Ledman, a teacher for 28 years, was invited to the 92nd annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English, Nov. 21 to 26 in Atlanta. The group is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and language arts.

Ledman will join friends Sean Sexton, a teacher at Springstead High School in Spring Hill, and Mary Kay Madden, a Tampa Catholic High School teacher, to present ``Foregrounding the Imagination Through Poetry: Prompts and Techniques'' during the conference.

``This session has something to offer teachers not comfortable with teaching poetry,'' said Ledman. ``We present classroom techniques that weave poetry with other English lessons involving grammar and literature.''

Many of the techniques are designed to make English fun. For example, students can learn parts of speech by writing poems containing a predetermined number of nouns, verbs and adjectives.

``This is more interesting than many workbook exercises, and gives them [students] the energy that comes with writing your own poem,'' Ledman said. ``It's a sense of ownership that helps them learn.''

Another technique, ``found poetry,'' encourages students to rearrange newspaper articles and cereal box text into an original poem.

``Students get a sense of what a poem is,'' she said.

During her eight years at Gulf High, Ledman has sought other ways to make poetry challenging and enjoyable. She sponsors a monthly coffee house - a live showcase for student poets and dramatists that also features appearances by local poets such as Bob Zappacosta.

Students can showcase their talents Dec. 14 at the Pasco Arts Council's Winter Break, which Ledman is helping coordinate. They also can present their poetry at meetings of Gulf High's Poesy Club and in the school's annual literary magazine. Ledman, who taught for 13 years at Ridgewood High in New Port Richey, sponsors the club and magazine.

``The kids come up with great things,'' she said.

Ledman's students have claimed top honors in the Writing Recognition Program and the PRIDE writing competition. ``And in a recent poetry contest sponsored by the Hudson Regional Library, 13 of 17 high school winners were my kids,'' she said.

Ledman, who has a master's degree in English, has written articles for newspapers, magazines and the Florida Council of Teachers of English newsletter.

Still, she was uneasy at first with the idea of writing and teaching poetry.

``I had been teaching for 18 years and didn't have the confidence to teach other than the standard stuff in textbooks,'' she said. ``But as I began to work with the poets of Tampa Bay, we became like a family.

``I have always gone to friends' poetry readings, to be an audience and support group for them,'' Ledman said. ``I tried hard at a couple of poems, and surprisingly they turned out well. I loved being in the creative zone and was so absorbed that I continued my efforts.''

One of her poems will appear in the 25th anniversary edition of the women's literary magazine Calliope.

``When I go to poetry workshops, I used to introduce myself as a teacher,'' she said. ``It took me years to see myself as a poet.''

But teaching remains at the forefront of Ledman's interests and activities. Three years ago, she helped coordinate ``Don't Let Your Kids Leave Your Classroom Hating Poetry,'' a round-table discussion presented at state and national conventions of the Council of Teachers of English.

She plans to use her students' poems at next month's national convention: ``I'm going to demonstrate how students start with the germ of an idea, incorporate diction, rhythm and poetic sounds, and end up with a final draft.

``I look at poetry as a long-term avocation,'' Ledman said. ``It's such a wonderful genre, as it opens up appreciation of what our language can do. It shows so much depth; it's so personal.''