On the 9th of December, eight IGCSE 9th grade student-teachers conducted a haiku workshop for the middle school. Having completed a haiku mini-book project themselves in the previous term, they felt confident enough to take on this challenge.
“Students were given some preparation time, a workshop plan, and some guidelines to work on in pairs, with some tips here and there,” shared Mrs. Amishi Doshi, their English teacher and mentor for this workshop.
A haiku is traditionally a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5-7-5 syllable count, which focuses on directness of expression and juxtaposes two images and/or ideas. The student-teachers provided a brief history of this ancient form of Japanese poetry, explained how to write a haiku and facilitated the writing process.
“The student-teachers did a great job! They [even] followed a structured lesson plan,” shared MS English teacher, Mrs. Shyamala G. “It was delightful to see them helping students individually, particularly those who needed additional help. The students really enjoyed the session,” added MS English teacher Mrs. Chandrika Patel.
“To learn from a different person, especially a fellow student, was a new experience,” shared Vedant Patil, Akashmalli Class. “I wrote one poem and [the student-teacher] said it was impressive. I was delighted and wrote seven more.”
For the neophyte teachers, teaching wasn’t as easy as they anticipated. They faced a few disinterested students, but managed to channel their indifference into the desired form of expression.
Sarcasm
I’m not bored at all
I’m not using sarcasm
When does this class end?
– Araj S. Dariwal, Manoranjita Class
“At first, [the participants] didn’t open up. As we interacted with them more, they relaxed. As the atmosphere became more casual and informal, they came out with a lot of creative ideas,” said Vrisha Vekaria.
Although traditional haikus generally use nature as their subject, when students were given the option to write haikus on topics of their own choice. The workshop concluded with a haiku-writing contest, where students had to come up with a haiku in three minutes.
Featured below are select pieces from each class:
Neuer
Blocking all the goals
Top or bottom he is there
The god of football.
– Parun Sethupathy, Mandara Class
Fireworks
Bursting in the sky,
They have lots of bright colours
Shining in the dark.
– Ritvikaa Sarathi, Manoranjita Class
Little Slug
A small little slug
Climbing up big Mount Fuji
Hope he won’t fall down!
– Cibikumar K, Kanakambara Class
Rivers
Rivers flow down hills
Shimmering in the bright sun
Home to many fish
– Shravya S. Iyer, Akashmalli Class