Testimonials

What People are Saying about Poetry Inside Out

Teachers, students, parents and renowned poets and translators are excited by PIO!

“This is a program that should be everywhere.”
—former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky

“I have been teaching Language Arts to sixth graders for six years in this community and have used many curricula to attempt to meet their many literacy needs. This program met them in so many different ways and the results were remarkable.”
—2008--09 and 2009-10 PIO teacher

“All of my students looked forward to poetry because of [the instructor] and her love for translation. They worked together and would even argue which way to translate lines.”
—2008-09 7th & 8th-grade PIO teacher

“Translation made me use words that I knew but did not say…made me think of other words from other people with different languages and made me use words that I didn’t even know.”
—2008-09 PIO 6th-grade student

“When I translate I can feel what the person is talking about...like I step in their shoes and feel what they mean.”
—2008-09 PIO 6th-grade student

“Words in a poem are not like everyday language…they have more than one meaning. You need to pay attention to the context in order to find the meaning of the words and the meaning of the poem.”
—2009-10 PIO 6th-grade student

“This is how it happens…when you read some poems…a rainbow comes out of your head…you climb up to the top of the rainbow and slide down into your imagination.”
—2009-10 PIO 4th-grade student

“The students were really engaged and making some serious observations about language and the process of translating.”
—Adam Wiedewitsch, Teachers & Writers teaching artist, New York City

“I am so impressed with the teaching and the students—how quickly they grasped the basic concept of translation...since so many of the kids are living in a bilingual world, they get the concept in an organic way...”
—Sari Wilson, Teachers & Writers teaching artist, New York City

“Not only has this program given students access to the exciting Spanish language cultural heritage of which they are a part, it has also reinforced my core instruction of skills and concepts. I am enthusiastic about participating in the program in future years.”
—Karen Zapata, Teacher, Fairmount Elementary School, San Francisco, CA

“My students genuinely enjoyed their poetry sessions; I feel they greatly benefited from the PIO program. It allowed students to express themselves through poetry and learn about their own personal styles. I believe it is an experience they will never forget.”
—Teresa Rodríguez, Teacher, Sanchez Elementary School, San Francisco, CA

“Poetry Inside Out offers bilingual students an exciting revelation: translation is not only an indispensable resource in the daily life of their families, but a rich form of artistic expression, an entertaining puzzle of words that they are uniquely suited to crack.”
—Letica Duarte-Trattner, Teacher, Bryant Elementary School, San Francisco, CA

“I actually don't want this to end... It has been one of the best and most coherent elementary Spanish ‘programs’ I have been able to teach.”
—Glenn Kenyon, Teacher, Buena Vista Elementary, San Francisco, CA

“If you could have seen the way their faces lit up when students chose their poem [to translate to English], it was magical. They really got into it and were happy to do the translating. They are starting to realize that being bilingual is a beautiful thing, not a social curse.”
—Alejandro Lofaso, Teacher, College View Elementary, Denver, CO