A few years ago I taught Shakespeare the way I wanted to. I
was able to bring in a resident artist to facilitate interpretation through
graphic art and tableaus. I had
students work in groups to complete modern day scene interpretations; they were
competing close reads of sonnets before the common core wanted me to. In small groups they were translating
the sonnets in to modern English while identifying examples of figurative language
on the Smart board and presenting their findings to the rest of the class. On
this very blog, I posted the BBC version of play for the students to have
access to at home. The Lincoln Center Artists came and performed a modern
abridge version of the play for the entire 10th grade, it was amazing.
My resolution is to let go of the
worry of the bureaucracy, and teach. I want my old classroom back; I have been
constrained and hindered by fear. No longer. I will have students achieving rigorous
engagement with fiction and non-fiction work and they will collaborate to achieve
higher level Socratic inquisitions of the essential questions.
The real Ms. Quinn is Back. Fasten your Seat Belt!
