The students of Cynthia Reves’ English class could win a trip to Washington D.C. and receive a cash prize if they recite a poem selected from the Springboard textbook or from the Poetry Out Loud website. Hold On! They must first enter in the Poetry Out loud school-wide contest and win. Then they have to win the state competition.
This contest has many benefits that all students should join.
Some of Reves’ students might contemplate meeting the minimum requirement of reciting a poem of 10 lines for the class assignment and to disregard the contest’s many benefits because reciting the poem in front of judges is too stressful to them.
True, however, this contest is an opportunity to overcome anxiety.
For one, they could challenge themselves to see if their skills of delivering the poem could make it to the state competition or even to nationals. Every time they encounter challenges such as forgetting their lines, being too stressful, or even just thinking this is not for them, pushing through and coming out victorious is the best feeling ever.
Overcoming anxiety isn’t the only benefit of this contest. Self-confidence develops as they start to practice for the school-level contest.
They will have to recite to a panel of judges, which is scary enough. However, they will put many hours into getting their poem memorized and also will help build their confidence to express their feelings.
That feeling is expressed through the poem they find that they enjoy to share.
The website (Poetry Out loud) has a variety of poems. When scrolling through the poems, one will resonate with them. Finding the right poem is key. If the poem is meaningful, their emotions will show and the message of the poem will stun everyone.
The student who wins the school-wide competition is also given an opportunity to participate at a state-level competition. The state winner will receive $200 and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete at the National Finals as state winner. The first runner-up in each state receives $100.
At the National Finals, $20,000 is awarded to the National Champion, $10,000 for 2nd place, $5,000 for 3rd place, and $1,000 for 4th-12th places.
There are many more experiences to be discovered as the individual student is the one who creates them. Join the Poetry Out loud contest. This could be a life changing moment. Any McKinley student can join. Visit https://bit.ly/POLEntry.