“You should always be trying to write a poem you are unable to write, a poem you lack the technique, the language, the courage to achieve. Otherwise you’re merely imitating yourself, going nowhere, because that’s always easiest.” ― John Berryman
I have long loved this quote for it’s diverse application. It is advice for writing, for life, and especially for education.
In the school where I teach, many students are below grade level. But not that many are far below grade level. One temptation teachers face is to give students work they can already do. The problem with that, of course, is the problem relayed in the Berryman quote. You go nowhere if you only do what you already can do.
I’m trying to stretch myself as a runner. My temptation, of course, is to run the same distance and the same pace all the time. But the only way to get faster is to always (not only) be trying to run a little farther or a little faster. If I run the exact same distances at the exact same pace week after week, I may build a base, but I will inevitably plateau and never get faster. I have to push myself.
The trick as a teacher is finding the right balance between “base building” and “stretching” my students. A student who is always and only ever faced with the challenge of writing the poem they are unable to write will likely be frustrated. But the student who is only ever trying to write the poem they know they can write will go nowhere.
