It is notoriously hard to keep boys interested in education, particularly in secondary school and particularly when the subject is poetry.
Which is why the innovative thinking of a teacher at Holy Cross High School in Hamilton comes as a welcome addition to the curriculum. Peter Kelly realised some pupils see poetry as flowery or irrelevant to their lives and interests.
So what Mr Kelly did was introduce rap into his poetry lessons, in particular rap battles in which pupils compete with each other.
This idea could have gone down badly with parents - after all, rap does not have the greatest reputation for encouraging positive attitudes. But, as Mr Kelly points out, the best rappers are witty and ingenious.
And the idea seems to be working, with pupils at Holy Cross taking to the rap battles with enthusiasm.
Not only is this exactly the kind of approach the Curriculum for Excellence is designed to encourage, there is another lesson to be learned. Whatever Michael Gove says in England, schools are not just about learning by heart. They are about learning to love a subject and taking that love out into the world.
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