Poetry could make youths become excellent thinkers
By: Zeckrin Rahman
Tags: Critical Thinking, Poetry, Youth, Creativity, Literature

Poetry could make youths become excellent thinkers

Thanks to Thought Catalog @thoughtcatalog for making this photo available freely on Unsplash 🎁 https://unsplash.com/photos/cOW3_hqmWp4

Poetry, the oldest form of literature, involves words with fascinating rhymes and rhythms like waves on the ocean.

It lies within stories from generation to generation.

It encapsulates the essence and meaning of life and humanity.

So how does poetry enables thinking and strong values to young people, especially in the 21st century, where words lurk behind big screens and visuals?

To start, we must understand the notion that youths are essential towards humanity greatest failures and successes, as well as the survival for a stable society.

We must first understand how youths are being shaped by the world and the environment around them.

During the stage of adolescence is when most of their beliefs, values and perceptions are manifested and developed. These would likely continue for the rest of their lives. They are capable of change … but their values that they hold dear determines the difficulty of that change.

What individual youths believe in and are taught in their adolescent years develops and strengthens as they grow older. It forms their reality and the way they act.

Youths are the main catalysts for society’s values and the outcome only reveal themselves through an abundant of hard times and strenuous efforts. But all worth while.

So what requires youths to make these changes?

What entices their values and pose challenges to their own lives?

And what do we equip them with to overcome it?

Creative and Critical thinking

Fundamentals that stems from the art and sciences has proved to send waves of changes that formed the world we live in.

From huge and inspiring movements… to groundbreaking inventions and innovations.

All of which required active thinking, collaboration, transferable skills, human values and resilience.

Creative thinking develops youths to express and validate themselves. Portraying what they see as true and consolidate them through people and values.

Cliché version: Thinking outside of the box

The power in which one is able to create ideas that are genuine and unique, reveals the capabilities of oneself. That combined with collaboration and solidarity expands the possibilities for humanity to thrive and sustain.

Critical thinking strengthens the mind. It helps to solve problems both big or small, as well as improve the qualities of us humans and the way we do things. It requires an active learning experience and motivation to dig deeper into challenges and find effective solutions. It helps us to reflect and do better than before.

These two values shape us and define the world we live in. And without these two, the progression of humanity will falter.

Poems provide a platform to develop creative and critical thinking. Its very nature presents a great extent of material to allow training and development for active thinking, strengthening the minds to think in multiple perspectives.

The principles of writing and understanding a poem provoke the thinkers actively.

Poetry are formed by a variety of components such as:

1) Rhyme

2) Hyperbole

3) Simile

4) Personification

5) Metaphors

The countless expressions that could be created with these components allows youths to express creatively. And it differs from cultures, countries, race, religion and beliefs. Making it more unique and interesting.

The context and the way it could be interpreted requires critical thinking from readers to validate their views, as interpretations of a poem may vary from person to person.

Poetry creates a space for active thinking without stress and judgements.

Poems are often generalised as simple… but many fail to realise it could be complex.

That it could be more than just recited in a play or read from books.

Through practice and exposure… poetry may reveal as an opportunity to strengthen the minds of youths.

To allow them to think and act.

To interpret and to change.

Creative and critical thinking are part of the building blocks of society. For youths, these values are most important in today’s world and that it is vital to ensure not only to these values come from youths, but also sustain them for the next generation.

Poetry could make excellent thinkers. Literature may sustain the ground for creativity and wisdom.

It needs to taught, appreciated and valued by youths all around the world.

Poetry needs to be recognised as a core experience throughout various levels in every educational institution.

We strain ourselves the pain

To release us from the shackled burdens

Our souls wildly staggered and our hearts kept shut

Struggled to keep us sane

We tire ourselves till nothing much

Little do we know

That our minds helps us keep in touch

Call to action

For Youths,

Surround yourselves with literature. Learn things you never had in mind. Write or read a poem. Try it out. Write something peculiar and post them on your social media, share them. Write a poem about love, life, your experiences, anything. Immerse with your creativity.

For Educators,

Challenge yourself to what you think is true. Poems are not just random rhyming words or artistic pieces of traditional literature but rather they could provide spaces for learning. Poems could entice the young minds to tackle solutions creatively and critically.

For Parents,

Children are in their own spaces of reality. They follow their own rules and what makes them so unique is their ability to see what adults could not see. A space in poetry allows them to explore interesting ideas that could strengthen their humanity. Their young minds could develop themselves into powerful thinkers that could overcome future challenges, no matter the scale.