What does poetry have to do with elections? Isn't poetry the responsibility of English Language Arts teachers? What does poetry have to do with Social Studies teachers? Bear with me while I explain an interdisciplinary teaching idea that begins with a poem, but ends with a lesson in representational government.
Langston Hughes' 1924 poem, "I, Too," got me thinking about the democratic principle that elected government officials represent all voices - all ethnic groups, all economic levels, all gender identities, all ages, all geographic areas, and all demographics.
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I, Too
Among the vast number of Library of Congress resources on Langston Hughes, I discovered a poem written for a Community College competition that was inspired by "I, Too." What might our students write in a similar way about how they, too, sing America? As the 2024 elections approach, how are local, state, and national candidates responding to the concerns of groups that define our students or their families, their communities, their socio-economic status, and so on?
Below is the poem inspired by "I, Too" from the Poetry and Literature pages of the Library of Congress:
I, too, sing America.
I am the working mother.
You offer me glimpses of the “good life”
As I pass by your stores.
Well meaning, you show my child a wonderful time
Flaunting the fanciness I will never afford
Before dropping him off at my trailer door.
“Why don’t we have those things Mommy?”
“What happened that made US poor?”
This lot of poverty is looked on with disdain
As though this position is solely my blame.
Tomorrow,
You could be at my table
If your job was no more.
I would never offer you
the scraps off of my floor.
Then you will see how valuable I am
As the rich get richer on the backs of the poor.
And be ashamed that you thought I was just
Stupid, ignorant or a whore.
I, too, am America
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I am neither an English Language Arts teacher nor a Social Studies teacher, but I am curious how the experts would connect the Langston Hughes poem and the student poem to voting, democratic ideals, and even activism throughout an election season. How do you think students would respond to an assignment to write an "I, Too" poem of their own? Would such an exercise increase their interest in elections and candidate speeches? Do you have other ideas of how to turn poetry into community action?
Please share your ideas in the comments. (You're welcome to tell me my idea is crazy, too!)
6 - 8 9 - 12 13+ English/Language Arts Social Studies/History Poetry Voting Representational Government
It’s a wonderful idea 
Mary Johnson
and great way to connect poetry to politics and issues. The election is going to be a challenging time for teachers and one way to be inclusive of all perspectives from students is to add activities that go beyond discussion and research - as a poem does.
For more on inaugural poetry, check out Primary Source Learning: Inaugural Poems & Poets. In this post you'll find videos of the inaugural poetry recitations along with videos of the corresponding presidents' inaugural speeches and ideas for learning.
I think your idea is fantastic Mary Johnson. Poetry can definitely provide commentary on our country and politics. Below are some additional resources to help make those connections to "I, Too" specifically and to other political poems.
We used the original Walt Whitman, I Hear America Singing, to contrast it with Langston Hughes's version when we used it with preservice teachers here at MSU Denver. The differences in upbringing are clearly apparent, so students quickly understood the connection. Students were divided into 2 groups to discuss each poem and then we came back as a class to discuss.
Images, too, were used to add in some context and inquiry thinking. This image was paired with the Whitman version.
... and this image was paired with Hughes' version.
In the spirit of multimedia(!), Billy Collins has a recording of him reading 'I Hear America Singing', and this recording of the 'I, too'. Poetry, especially, lends itself well to working with listening literacy skills.
I love the idea of students writing their own response poetry! They could do an Observe, Reflect, Question on the images above, and then use the words for poem fodder, like combining response poetry and found poetry with a little primary source analysis thrown in. :D
