Poetry discussion on

“ The Best Of School”

I recently studied “ The Best Of School” by D. H. Lawrence. I made this piece my choice as I found it not only poetic but also informative. It gives you some insight as to how some teachers possibly think in their day in school. D. H. Lawrence was once a teacher and therefore had prior knowledge to the theme this poem was based on.

The poem was written in the early 1900’s but still would be appropriate in present day schools. “ The Best Of School” is written through the eyes of a teacher. It is an optimistic view of young boys learning in the classroom

I was impressed by the way Lawrence made many references to soothing natural imagery and that is what made this poem my first choice. He uses water imagery to explain his relationship with the boys. He refers to the teacher as “ Sitting on the shores of the class,” saying that the boys were like the seawater coming into the shore. The second and third lines are a contrast to each other. The second line says that “ The boys and the room in a colourless gloom.” The classroom is described as a dark and gloomy place but “ Bright ripples run.” The second line gives a negative description of the gloomy classroom but the third line gives us a positive contrast for although the room is dark the boys are bright.

“ The Best Of School” gives us a sense of children growing which I felt was very optimistic and positive. I could feel that the teacher had great admiration for these boys. Words such as “Sweet” and “Ripening”, gave me a sense of the boy’s knowledge growing as time goes on, just like the fruit they are ripening and becoming sweeter. The boys are focused on the task that the teacher has set them. “ As they write, their heads busily bowed.” The words “ busily” show us that the boys are thinking while they work and the word ...

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I could understand this respect for their teacher as I have had teachers who have shown me respect so I return it. This makes you want to work harder to show that they have taught you well.

The teacher only sees hope and optimism for his pupils he uses a simile to describe the boys learning from the teacher “ Discovery, like birds that steal and flee.” The boys are stealing the teacher’s knowledge and the teacher is happy for them to steal his knowledge. The teacher is generous and willing to help the boys. Throughout the poem the teacher is described as a vast source of knowledge to the boys. As if they just needed to look at him for inspiration. He was going to have a great impact on their learning years thus making them able to go out into the world with an optimistic future.

In comparison to another poem I read “ Last Lesson Of The Afternoon” I found “ The Best Of School” to be more optimistic. In “ Last Lesson Of The Afternoon” he describes the pupils as a “ pack of unruly hounds” which portrayed them as disobedient. The teacher says, “ How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart?” this is totally different from the other poem it uses much more violent imagery. In another part of the poem he writes “ On a quarry of knowledge” and “hate to hunt” the pupils hate learning and are not interested in gaining knowledge unlike the pupils in “ Best Of School” That’s why I preferred this piece as it gave you a feeling that the boys would have a much brighter future and their time in school would be enjoyable to them. Whereas the boys in “ Last Lesson” it’s perfectly clear that the boys are from working class backgrounds, which meant they were destined for dead end jobs. “ The teacher seems to lose hope in the pupils “ I will not waste my soul or my strength for this.” Which is a total contrast to how the teacher in “ Best Of School” felt about his pupils.

The writer’s use of language, such as “ cling” and “ cleave” suggests the closeness between the teacher and his pupils. The structure of the poem is based on the pupil’s willingness to learn and also the teachers joy at watching them learn.

“ The Best Of School” was an exceptional poem, which left me with a warm feeling. It made me think more about the teachers I encounter every day and how unfulfilling it must be when they encounter pupils who have no intention of listening or learning. It has made me value my teachers more to realise it’s just as rewarding for them to teach, as it is for me to learn.

By Leighona Mills