Two children’s authors discussed the power of poetry and how it can be harnessed as an engaging educational tool for children during a panel discussion on the opening day of the 15th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) on Wednesday.

The session “How Children’s Poetry Can Be Made a Worthwhile Educational Objective” moderated by Alia Al Mansoori saw Jordanian Mohammad Jamal Amro and Abu Dhabi teacher Liam Kelly push for a wider embracement of children’s poetry in schools using technology and social media. 

“We need [technology] to teach poetry today,” said Kelly, a primary school teacher who’s authored the Worried William series – based on himself while growing up in Belfast –  with an aim to help children beat anxiety and stress. “It’s the video aspect of it that can help make poetry more engaging, especially because children usually don’t like to speak out in the open. 

Using gadgets, social, media tools and audio-visual platforms, they are now better positioned to express themselves. And as parents, we will have to be prepared to accept that these platforms will become the norm in five years time from now.”

Kelly, who’s pledged to plough all of the money he makes from the Worried William series back into child mental health services, has also set up a Facebook page where children send in poems. 

“Poetry is music and kids absolutely love playing it in their minds. You let them be free, let them talk, let them express and give them the tools to do that. I love poetry and I want children to love it as much as I do,” added the Northern Irishman during the engaging discussion that also explored the significance of children’s poetry in imparting educational values and concepts to young readers, and whether poetry can effectively and efficiently convey educational concepts to children.

“We cannot force children to take up poetry but we can certainly introduce them to an interesting medium that can help the child learn through poetry,” said acclaimed children’s author Mohammad Jamal Amro, known for his captivating and educational poetry. “We have to rise to match the mindset of the child by providing them what they want. The mistake we often make is that of overlooking certain programs they may adapt to better, failing to provide material they may instantly take a liking for,” he added, while referring to how he once read a poem as part of a performance where he acted to engage a child who was otherwise not interested in poetry. “And soon after her mother told me I was a magician.”

The duo spoke at length about how poetry has long been recognised as a powerful medium for expressing emotions, thoughts, and ideas and yet how its role in education is often ignored. “Poetry can be used to teach important values, concepts, and also skills to young readers,” said Amro.

The session was hosted at the Cultural Forum in Hall 3 of the Sharjah Expo Centre where the 12-day festival is being held until May 12 under the theme ‘Once Upon a Hero’.