language arts

This excerpt is from an interview with J. Patrick Lewis:
(the entire interview is here.)

If you were in charge of language arts, particularly poetry, instruction in the elementary grades, what changes would you make, if any, to the way language arts and poetry are taught in schools today?

Pat: At the risk of sounding imperious, I would…

• Ban all “poetry units.” Poetry should be a daily event in every class, not just in Language Arts.
• Encourage poetry cafes where students, teachers, custodians, clerical staff, even parents are invited to share their work.
• Work closely with school librarians to figure out ways of making the library as much of a magnet as the playground.
• Encourage students to write every day.
• Emphasize the supreme importance of strong action verbs, personified verbs.
• Emphasize the unimportance of adjectives and adverbs.
• Share poetry books of all schools, not just the ones you, the teacher, favors.
• Introduce a daily “Metaphor Minute,” wherein students are given a single word and asked to define it metaphorically.
• Applaud students’ failures, embrace them—failure is the only road to success.