Shakespeare in Class

Shakespeare challenges the student in ways that other books do not. Reading a Shakespearean play is like being transported back to first grade when one is sitting on the floor and reading Dr. Suess. And the feeling can be a frustrating one.

“We feel that it provides some context to all of the modern literature we read; in a sense, Shakespeare is the origin of modern literature and all of the other literary devices that we study in every other book that we read,” SHS English teacher Lori Horan said.

“I suppose that most teachers are very traditional in what they teach, and English teachers probably more so than any other. We don’t just teach it because we’ve been doing it forever, but that is one of the reasons that it continues to be such a prominent part of our education.” Horan continued. “Anything that has stuck around that long while take a while to phase out.”

In this way, reading Shakespeare is the type of challenge that teachers enjoy teaching and students dislike learning, as an English teacher holding one’s hand through the passages of the book can be as tedious.

“Well, making sure the students understand the language and lingo of the play are the hardest part. Sometimes, it can seem as though reading Shakespeare is like reading a completely different language, and that is why us teachers take so much care with these works.” Horan continued.

“Of course it is harder. It is hard enough in a normal book to understand all of what the teacher wants you to understand, but when you can barely read the language at the same time, it becomes difficult.” SHS sophomore Sam Moroney said. “

“I suppose that school should be a challenge, but what is the point of doing something challenging without any application to what the great majority of these kids are going to be doing in ten, twenty years,” Sam’s mother Kim said. “Sometimes I feel like the student’s time could be used in a more efficient manner.”