That Magical Moment in Teaching
Wednesday May 27, 2009
I came across an interesting article on Vermont Public Radio which captures the most satisfying moment for all for Shakespeare teachers. The moment when otherwise disengaged students suddenly understand Shakespeare’s language.
Dowling writes that:
I saw their bodies begin to relax as the sound and cadence of Shakespeare’s poetry became more familiar to them … [afterwards] there was no need to turn on the lights to see that the class had been transformed. They had understood Shakespeare. They had connected. They had remembered. They were once again part of the wondrous continuum that is learning.
I’m sure that all Shakespeare teachers have experienced moments like this – the moment when students realize that the perception of difficulty is greater than the reality and begin to enjoy it!
I think that if you go and see Shakespeare and get used to reading it aloud, the rhythm and poetry does all the work for you! In fact, reading the text aloud is part of my advice article for Shakespeare teachers where I’m also asking educators to share their top teaching tips.
Comments
Here are two a recent articles at The New Republic Online by John McWhorter that offer a rebuttal to Dowling’s view that her students are understanding Shakespeare on their first initiation to it. Dowling says that the students became interested and at ease but offers no measurable evidence that they got more than the gist of the story. Although McWhorter does not refer directly to Dowling, he offers much for teachers to think about before they confidently claim their students can now grasp Shakespeare. Here is the link and the followup story:
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/mcwhorter/archive/2009/05/19/will-shakespeare-s-come-and-gone-does-the-bard-s-poetry-reach-us-like-august-wilson-s-come-on-really.aspx
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/mcwhorter/archive/2009/05/24/should-we-have-to-read-the-bard-before-hearing-him-more-on-shakespeare.aspx
Kent Richmond