Today, we began teaching the freshmen Romeo and Juliet. I was really excited before today because I love Shakespeare. The reason I decided to be a teacher was to have the opportunity to teach wonderful pieces of literature like Romeo and Juliet and to be able to share the complexities of human nature with them. In my opinion, that's why we still teach Shakespearean plays in high school and college. Shakespeare was able to capture human emotion, experience and nature in a way that (in my opinion) few authors have been able to do since.
I was thrilled for today. Geared with some helpful resources and my copy of No Fear Shakespeare (which is awesome for high school kids to use because it has the play on one side and a "modern day" translation on the other), I headed to the classroom to tackle the first Act of the play. It was an incredible feeling to hear the students read the lines of Shakespeare and even better for them to enjoy it. I genuinely believe they had fun while learning about Shakespeare (which is good because it is NOT easy).
This is also the reason I chose to teach high school. These students are old enough for me to joke around with and I'm able to talk about most everything in the play with them, including the crude but funny parts. They get it. In 400 years, the minds of teenagers haven't changed a bit. It's fun for the students to see that and for us to joke around about what is going on.
Needless to say, I'm excited to continue the play and share the complexities of Shakespeare with my students. Once again, today, I am reminded of why I love teaching. :)
-Tracey
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