ABSTRACT
The title of this chapter comes from a chance remark by one of the teachers represented in this discussion. This student-centered, reader-response-oriented teacher did not praise her student for understanding the poet and sharing his exalted ideas and feelings—she turned the tables and noted that the poet just might have had the same feelings as her ninth-grader. It may seem a small point, but it is a powerful one, a political reversal that underscores a respect for students, even in relation to mature literature and established writers. Through this connection, the teacher insists that the poet and the reader are allied, equal, and in the same human territory. Finally, it has the effect of giving the student intellectual standing and confidence.
