{"id":22611,"date":"2022-05-02T12:12:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T16:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/?p=22611"},"modified":"2024-12-26T10:11:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T15:11:31","slug":"peter-kahn-on-teaching-poetry-and-the-power-of-the-spoken-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/peter-kahn-on-teaching-poetry-and-the-power-of-the-spoken-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Kahn on Teaching, Poetry, and Power of Spoken Word"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When most of us think back to our K-12 education, we can\u2019t recall every single class we had or every teacher we encountered. The ones we remember are the educators who left a lasting impression on our lives. For thousands of students, that teacher is Peter Kahn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A former Chicago social worker, Kahn has been an English teacher since 1994 and a spoken word educator since 2003. He founded Oak Park and River Forest High School\u2019s Spoken Word Club shortly thereafter, and it has since grown into the largest school-based club of its kind in the world, with an alumni base that includes the likes of National Youth Poet Laureates, professional comedians, and even NBA champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s been featured on PBS NewsHour<\/a>, NPR Morning Edition<\/a>, and CBS Chicago,<\/a> and his 2020 poetry collection, \u201cLittle Kings,\u201d has poems featured in The Guardian<\/a> and \u201cThe Forward Book of Poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had the pleasure of talking with Kahn about his career in education, spoken word poetry, memorable moments, and his passion for public speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oak Park Model: Peter Kahn’s approach to teaching poetry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In his early days as an English teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Chicago, Kahn hated teaching poetry at first. In his own words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI used to hate poetry. I hated it as a student. I hated it as a teacher. I was inept at teaching it,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the mid-\u201990s, I brought in a former student, Jonathan Vaughn, to help me out. He mentioned the idea of a poetry slam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Peter
Kahn with some of his poetry students<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The poetry slam involved allowing students to perform spoken word poetry before a panel of judges, with the highest score winning. When the student who had the lowest grade in the class at the time won the competition, a lightbulb went off in Kahn\u2019s head. He decided to redesign the entire poetry unit to be based on developing the student voice through spoken word poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kahn and his fellow English teachers accomplished this by focusing the curriculum on contemporary poets \u2014 particularly featuring writers of color and musical artists, and then shifting the focus toward getting the kids to write and share their own poetry. By the end of the week-long unit, the students would get up in front of the class and share one of the poems they wrote during the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The power of the spoken word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s in those moments, when students are in front of the class sharing their works of poetry, that Kahn sees students develop their sense of voice \u201cquickly and profoundly.\u201d He explained that oftentimes there is resistance from students when the poetry unit comes around because of how often it\u2019s not taught the right way. At the end of this five-day unit, the Oak Park Model<\/a>, the results speak for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen students get up there, it develops empathy and self-esteem in the room,\u201d Kahn said. \u201cThey realize that what they have to say is important and meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Peter
Kahn and Oak Park Model alumnus Iman Shumpert with poetry students in London<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Those students also get the chance to belong to something through the Oak Park and River Forest High School Spoken Word Club, which Kahn founded in 1999 \u2014 and which is still going strong today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having taught thousands of students throughout his career, he has no doubts about how valuable spoken word poetry can be to students who are struggling. One high-profile example is NBA star, Zion Williamson. Kahn is in contact with Williamson\u2019s former creative writing teacher, who told him that Williamson now writes poetry when he\u2019s going through challenging times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The long list of Oak Park Model alums that Kahn has taught firsthand includes the likes of NBA champion, Iman Shumpert; former Scholastic Arts National Youth Poet Laureate, Natalie Richardson; National Youth Poet Laureate, Kara Jackson<\/a>; and comedian, Langston Kerman<\/a>. Kahn\u2019s book, \u201cRespect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School<\/a>,\u201d which he co-edited, features a vast collection of his students\u2019 work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transformative experiences and chance encounters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the summer of 2003, Kahn was working with schools in the borough of Hackney in East London \u2014 the lowest-performing district in England at the time \u2014 and decided to take a sabbatical to stay an extra year to create a teen poetry slam. He hired poetry coaches to help him work with students from the borough, honing their writing skills and teaching them to create spoken word poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Kahn
Kahn with Oak Park Model alumnus Langston Kerman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the year, he and some colleagues hosted the London Teenage Poetry Slam at the Bloomsbury Theatre at the University of London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy the end of it, I had tears just streaming down my face \u2014 because I knew I was leaving London to come back to Chicago \u2014 and because of my pride in these young people who, in many instances, were from three boroughs that were pretty much forgotten by society and avoided by society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They got up there and did remarkable stuff and had such powerful words and performances. I think I cried on stage like three different times. It was the most beautiful thing. All the young people \u2014 you could just see that it was a life-changing experience for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a decade later, at a pub in Hackney, Kahn had a chance encounter with a woman who was talking about how \u201cyears ago, my daughter worked with someone from Chicago \u2014 this poetry slam that changed her life.\u201d He got to speak to the woman\u2019s daughter and hear how the poetry slam he co-founded was a \u201ctransformative experience\u201d for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A ripple effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Part of the beauty of spoken word poetry, Kahn explained, is creating something that never existed before. Through the Oak Park Model, he has gotten to share this phenomenon with thousands of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this ripple effect that I see when I look at past participants and where they are now,\u201d Kahn said. \u201cSeeing what the alumni have accomplished brings me a great deal of pride and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Peter
Kahn at the Poetry Foundation<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
He continues to power that ripple effect in the world of keynote speaking, having been a guest lecturer at Oxford University, Northwestern University, UNC Charlotte, and the University of Wisconsin as well as a keynote speaker at the National Council of Teachers of English. He\u2019s also presented at the Poetry Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes down to it, Kahn loves guiding students, other educators, and audiences of all kinds through the process of self-discovery, finding their voice, and motivation. That\u2019s what education is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like helping people see their mission in life and how to achieve that mission,\u201d he said. For more information on booking Peter Kahn, visit his profile<\/a> on AAE\u2019s site. Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School is available now<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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