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Regular
Posts: 87
| I know this is waayy off topic, but I'm genuinely curious. Why do they still feel it is necessary for us to read Shakespeare in high school?
IMO, I find Shakespeare very hard to understand and get the meaning out of (Coming from an AP student on the honor roll). Why is it still relevant? I know that the main ideas about what he writes about can still be seen today for the most part, but why can't we use another form of literature, at least in a language that is closer to what we are used to reading. I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts are? Please share! |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
  
Location: Pacific Northwest | I might be weird but I've always liked Shakespeare. I think it's because a lot of his writings are still relevant to today. Like a lot of sayings we have, themes, etc all originated from his writings. I don't think it's necessary or that you will fail at life if you don't understand Shakespeare or enjoy his writings, but could you imagine if you came across a person that had never, ever, ever heard of Romeo & Juliet or the saying "to be, or not to be, that is the question"? So I think it's something that will always be taught just because it's something our society is "expected" to know.
Edited by livexlovexrodeo 2013-12-18 9:27 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 557
Location: Kansas and loving it | Love Shakespeare! Especially Richard III! Now is the Winter of our discontent. Made glorious by the sons of York. The war of the Roses is history. Really enjoyed the mini series The White Queen. |
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Blessed 
Location: Here | It is literature and great literature expands your mind. I am thrilled to read they are still teaching it. |
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 I Love My Mares!
Posts: 1613
Location: Moved to Montana | The complex linguistic patterns and unusual vocabulary (for modern speakers) challenges the learners brain to recognise patterns and make associations. In plain language it makes you better at thinking and decoding meaning in the unfamilier. So it makes you sarter and betterat learning. |
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 Living in Denial and Loving it
Posts: 1555
Location: minnesota | Why do we still teach history?
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Blessed
Location: Here | toomanycolts - 2013-12-18 9:34 PM
The complex linguistic patterns and unusual vocabulary (for modern speakers) challenges the learners brain to recognise patterns and make associations. In plain language it makes you better at thinking and decoding meaning in the unfamilier. So it makes you sarter and betterat learning.
Yeah what she said !!  |
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I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | Also the more Shakespeare you read, the easier it gets. In high school we read Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and a couple of sonnets. Eventually I got to where I could read it without needing to look at the footnotes. It really is kind of like learning a new language. I haven't read Shakespeare in a long time, I bet it would be harder if I tried to read a play right now.
But I mean honestly, people would be AMAZED if they knew how many common phrases were originally coined by Shakespeare. "Dead as a doornail" "it was Greek to me" "in a pickle" "star-crossed lovers" "method to my madness" "vanish into thin air" "wild goose chase", there's so many of them it's unbelievable!
And the Lion King was loosely based off Hamlet (: |
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Fire Ant Peddler
Posts: 2881
| Since it is requirement and my students are not necessarily the brightest bulbs in the chandelier I found a website that has the OLD ENGLISH version on one side of the paper and modern English on the other side of the paper. My NONREADERS even enjoyed the assignments.
If you are having difficulty with the old English you might try this. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/
This is for Romeo and Juliet but there are translations of the other plays as well because I have used them. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 927
Location: Iowa | Our special readers get a easier modern version to read. Spark notes help alot too. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I love Shakespeare. I love the language--he's so clever, once you figure out what the characters are saying. I also love reading Jane Austen. And Beowulf. And Geoffrey Chaucer. And Charles Dickens. I'm a nerd tho and enjoy the challenge. |
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| There was something we studied that was worse than Shakespeare, but having a hard time remembering it-was it the old English version Beowulf? I can remember concentrating so hard in trying to read it that there was no way I could understand it! |
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 To the Left
Posts: 1865
Location: Florida | If you only read what you are already familiar with, how will you ever expand your mind and your perception of the world? Remember he who ignores history is doomed to repeat it.
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 Goat Giver
Posts: 23166
| I'd rather read Shakespeare than the average "text" any day. |
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  Sweet Tea
Posts: 3496
Location: Home of the World Famous "Silver Bullet" | JazzyGirl - 2013-12-18 10:34 PM Why do we still teach history?
why do we not teach government and why our nation should not be dependent on it.  |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | kmcsunshine - 2013-12-19 7:25 AM I'd rather read Shakespeare than the average "text" any day.
I cannot "like" this post enough.
My 14 year old niece cannot spell worth a lick because she is too busy with "lol, omg, totes magotes, cray cray, me 2, k, etc. etc"
Good luck to the English teachers of the next generation.... students will be walking zombies with their smart phones. Idiocracy anyone? |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | Because Shakespeare is excellent writing.
It's also quite easy to break down and explain the underlying themes and symbolism in a classroom setting. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | The question is.....Why not? |
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 Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
Location: Bandera, TX | Thank God they are still teaching Shakespeare and other classics. It opens your mind and helps you think. You might not appreciate it now, but you will in the future.
I had to take 6 years of Latin in school.... And yes, that language has been dead for "quite a few" years even while I was in school. I hated it then, but now I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it. |
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Texas Taco
Posts: 7499
Location: Bandera, TX | GoMistyGo - 2013-12-19 7:42 AM Thank God they are still teaching Shakespeare and other classics. It opens your mind and helps you think. You might not appreciate it now, but you will in the future.
I had to take 6 years of Latin in school.... And yes, that language has been dead for "quite a few" years even while I was in school. I hated it then, but now I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it.
And... I'm German and also went to school in Germany. English is my second language and we learned it in school. We had to read Shakespeare in English.... in our 4th year of English class may be... We read Midsummer' Night 's Dream first. So you think you are having a hard time with it...? |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | While we are at it, why don't we quit teaching math. After all we all have calculators available. |
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 Night Chatter
Posts: 1907
Location: Mississippi | I am an English teacher. I love teaching Shakespeare! It is so much fun, and it can be incorporated into so many things. You see references to his works throughout your educational career. I hear the same thing from my students, and it really is disheartening. I think that you need to have an open mind about it. It really is beautiful to read. There are several versions of it that I have incorporated for my students. For example, the movie Warm Bodies is Romeo and Juliet. There is also a more modern version in print. Being an AP student, you should mention this to teachers, and then cross reference the similarities and differences. I am sure your teachers would be thrilled to see you so involved and fascinated with it. I also think that other students probably feed off of you, and if you showed an interest, then maybe you could start a great discussion over it. |
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Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | CorinthCowgirl - 2013-12-19 9:44 AM I am an English teacher. I love teaching Shakespeare! It is so much fun, and it can be incorporated into so many things. You see references to his works throughout your educational career. I hear the same thing from my students, and it really is disheartening. I think that you need to have an open mind about it. It really is beautiful to read. There are several versions of it that I have incorporated for my students. For example, the movie Warm Bodies is Romeo and Juliet. There is also a more modern version in print. Being an AP student, you should mention this to teachers, and then cross reference the similarities and differences. I am sure your teachers would be thrilled to see you so involved and fascinated with it. I also think that other students probably feed off of you, and if you showed an interest, then maybe you could start a great discussion over it.
10 Things I Hate About You is adapted from The Taming of the Shrew. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Shakespeare is a window into humanity. Love, hate, humor, and what has always stood out to me, wry humor in the depths of despair. Political maneuvering, loyalty, betrayal, mass miscommunication, how assumptions can kill people, and how entertainment can be used against an entire populace. Buy Anonymous, the movie. It will illustrate what the plays written were used for, and what was going on in England when they were released. Very cool conspiracy theory, and I think probably very accurate.
I think that without introduction to language, and how language affects our emotion, which can be used for good or ill, our society is screwed. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | When I was teaching I would get asked questions like this all the time. I taught science so it wasn't about shakespeare, but it was constantly, why do we need to learn this? whats the point of this?
I would be disappointed if they quit teaching shakespeare in schools. It's just one of those things in order to be a well rounded educated human being. |
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 Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | classicpotatochip - 2013-12-19 7:46 AM Shakespeare is a window into humanity. Love, hate, humor, and what has always stood out to me, wry humor in the depths of despair. Political maneuvering, loyalty, betrayal, mass miscommunication, how assumptions can kill people, and how entertainment can be used against an entire populace. Buy Anonymous, the movie. It will illustrate what the plays written were used for, and what was going on in England when they were released. Very cool conspiracy theory, and I think probably very accurate. I think that without introduction to language, and how language affects our emotion, which can be used for good or ill, our society is screwed.
Well said. People seem to forget nowdays that you always need to be trying to expand your mind. |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | I think Shakespeare is worth learning however I think they need to include more basic writing skill, grammar and comp in these classes. I took the basic English 1,2,3,4 in high school and I loved it, but it still left my basic writing skills lacking. I never felt we practiced enough to master them. Whenever I need to write a paper now I still end up feeling lost
Edited by equussynergy 2013-12-19 9:33 AM
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 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | JazzyGirl - 2013-12-18 9:34 PM Why do we still teach history?
We don't. |
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BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | We've all met the man/woman who, right from the start, was almost paranoid and suspicious of everyone and everything.
Shakespeare summed it up another way: "A guilty mind is always haunted by suspicion".
We can all learn from Shakespeare's cleverness and economy of words. He was brilliant....a genius with endless wit, imagination, and humor.
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 Wishing I were a Wildcat
Location: 'Hawk Country | When I get questions like this and students say they will never use it in life, I tell them that every classroom is a different exercise for their brain. Every subject is teaching them to think and build their brain power. All the other subject areas make you better in the area you are interested in.
I can honestly say I have not used Calc since I left that class. How crazy is it to have a problem take up 2 pages of paper, but you dang sure learn how to pay attention to detail and concentrate. |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | equussynergy - 2013-12-19 9:29 AM
I think Shakespeare is worth learning however I think they need to include more basic writing skill, grammar and comp in these classes. I took the basic English 1,2,3,4 in high school and I loved it, but it still left my basic writing skills lacking. I never felt we practiced enough to master them. Whenever I need to write a paper now I still end up feeling lost
You're supposed to learn the basics in grades 1-8. And then learn to understand and appreciate literature and compose your own stories 9-12 and on into college. |
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| SC Wrangler - 2013-12-19 8:53 AM
While we are at it, why don't we quit teaching math. After all we all have calculators available.
Unfortunately we basically have….
Our education system needs a major over haul. I hope the next administration we get in the white house wants to change more than our lunch menus.
-sincerely one teacher whose had enough of this common core bull! |
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 Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | jaydenw - 2013-12-18 9:18 PM I know this is waayy off topic, but I'm genuinely curious. Why do they still feel it is necessary for us to read Shakespeare in high school? IMO, I find Shakespeare very hard to understand and get the meaning out of (Coming from an AP student on the honor roll). Why is it still relevant? I know that the main ideas about what he writes about can still be seen today for the most part, but why can't we use another form of literature, at least in a language that is closer to what we are used to reading. I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts are? Please share!
How can you complain about Shakespeare after you started the year with Beowulf and moved right into The Canterbury Tales? Shakespeare should be easy. After all, he wrote in Modern English. (Beowulf is Old English) |
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Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | astreakinchic - 2013-12-19 12:10 PM SC Wrangler - 2013-12-19 8:53 AM While we are at it, why don't we quit teaching math. After all we all have calculators available. Unfortunately we basically have…. Our education system needs a major over haul. I hope the next administration we get in the white house wants to change more than our lunch menus. -sincerely one teacher whose had enough of this common core bull!
Oh crap, have you not heard about Common Core?! |
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Why do they teach Shakespeare in High School?