| The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent a select group of children's poets and poetry authorities agreed with the literary theory of Louise Rosenblatt that the reading of and listening to poetry ought to be an aesthetic experience. This study focused on the implications of this theory for kindergarten through third grade children.;A construct of the aesthetic stance, as espoused by Louise Rosenblatt, was developed. Three main categories were defined: classroom environment, teacher attitude and poetry activities. The recorded comments of these poets and poetry authorities were then examined in order to ascertain to what extent they were consistent with this construct.;Conclusions about particular uses of poetry in the schools included continual, integrated and spontaneous uses. These other points were also made: (1) Greater acceptance of students' feelings and personal reactions; (2) Increased emphasis on nonsense poetry; (3) Greater use of chants, jingles, jumprope rhymes and songs; (4) Increased opportunities for children to express personal feelings about poetry through the arts; (5) Greater use of poetry books and anthologies and less reliance on basal texts as the primary source for poetry selections.;Six major children's poets, past recipients of the Poetry Award bestowed by the National Council of Teachers of English, were selected as one part of the study. They were David McCord, Aileen Fisher, Karla Kuskin, Myra Cohn Livingston, John Ciardi and Eve Merriam. Three well-known authorities in the field of children's poetry were also selected: May Hill Arbuthnot, Lee Bennett Hopkins and Leland B. Jocobs. |
