Bukowski on Poetry

I think this lesson went fairly well,though not necessarily according to plan...
What I think I could have improved on:

• My directions for the Tea Party activity - I could have modeled how I wanted students to utilize the notecards (I think there was miscommunication, as you guys started to order yourself with your cards)
• I think I should have played Bukowski reading the poem instead of having a student read it - what would this imply? Did it really matter since I didn't follow up with the discussion questions I thought I would?
• I always have rough beginnings easing into the role of teacher in front of you guys, I think I would behave different in front of high school students because I wouldn't feel as awkward
• I don't think I ought to "censor" myself, but I think that some things I say need more explanation for a high school audience - "taboo male fantasy", "misogynist", "poet laureate of skid row", etc.
• I wish I would have done something with the classroom physically to fit with the discussion that was taking place between students verbally; although our class has no problem debating with one another, it may be more difficult for high school students to respond to faces/voices they can't see

What I thought went well:

• the discussion! I had no idea the class was going to get so into the poem. I'm glad I didn't drop it in favor of an actual beat poem
• I was surprised at how well I actually followed the discussion taking place, I didn't know I had it in me to take in so many points of view at once
• I discovered just how comfortable I am with conflicting and heated view points
  
• Getting the students up and active with poetry, instead of sitting in their desks for traditional discussion

I think this lesson would translate well into a classroom, but I think it would take much more guidance and action on my part to get it going. I'm not sure how students would react to the content of the poem, or if such a passionate discussion would take place at all. It's hard to say. I think that a discussion would have to be prompted via images or comments by myself to either push people's buttons or serve as a devil's advocate to elicit a response. I feel like the lesson didn't actually teach anything about Beat poetry, but I also planned for it to serve as only an introduction, so all is not loss. I think much more would be made of my aims through the homework, the DVD, and the ensuing discussion. I noticed just how sarcastic I was after this lesson - I question whether or not this can have negative repercussions in my classroom...