Lee Bennett Hopkins, champion of poetry for children, dies at 81

By Sue Smith

It is interesting to see this educator's approach to teaching. Poetry is less commonly used in a lot of language arts classes today, but it can provide students with other ways of looking at the world. Poetry, as Lee Bennet Hopkins said, can also teach children about the brevity of language, and how to express an idea, emotion or concept with limited words if the words which have been used have been selected with care.

In the age of Twitter and texting, when language might be brief but not sophisticated or beautiful, poetry is a way of using language in ways which are sophisticated and beautiful. Lee Bennet Hopkins provided a positive and fresh approach to the teaching language and I believe it should be encouraged more, especially in classrooms with younger students.