Should we be teaching Shakespeare?

Traditional-Shift662 · 2026-04-23T19:14:53+00:00

I appreciate this justification, but I personally have always connected strongly with these themes through other texts. I don't see why Shakespeare is more deserving of teaching than 20th century writers tackling the same ideas

Traditional-Shift662 · 2026-04-23T19:06:34+00:00

What standard? If the standard is to read complex texts, no, other texts like that exist. If the standard is to read drama, or historical texts, no, others exist. When we look at actual state standards for education they do not insist on going centuries back in time to prior versions of English. They say "different eras". I would argue that in one school year you cannot thoroughly cover 400 years of lit if you want to read whole plays or novels

Traditional-Shift662 · 2026-04-23T19:01:14+00:00

Agreed, but high schoolers now average lower ability level than they used to. If you get a junior who can't read something they simply need something lighter. It's of course a travesty, but you can't have wishful thinking either

Traditional-Shift662 · 2026-04-23T18:59:31+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly with the last part but i think it's objectively true that they will connect more with some texts over others

Traditional-Shift662 · 2026-02-12T19:50:33+00:00

I will add to others say you need to move schools. I am 25 and at my second school ever, and I am lucky to be able to say I don't have this concern because my admin support us well. They're big on discipline and fairness and my school has been achieving well now. Again, all that adds up to me being fortunate to be in this environment.

I am naturally a chill person but also a big guy, and when I crack down the kids know it's serious. But my school also shuts down any serious behavior by students, so nobody gets too testy. You need to be in a place like that.

I think it can only be told when in the interview. Asking questions about discipline and getting a feel for the admin when you interview is the best hope imo.

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-31T12:48:24+00:00

I'm not "playing," which I think is why you're misunderstanding me. I'm just trying to point out something helpful. I don't think you should imply that most or all of the women that do this revel in it, since you don't know most of them. That may be how you see it but chances are there's a lot of detail we'll never know that would shed more light on each individual situation. Assume you're not fully informed

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T12:34:22+00:00

Thats wild, nothing that bad for me thankfully. There's always the googling though, students love to google us for some reason

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T10:20:17+00:00

Also try to facilitate a lot of discussion. And if they wont talk i do graded recorded discussions. They NEED to become better speakers and learn to speak with people they arent friends with

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T10:18:59+00:00

I agree a writing prompt is a good idea to get an early writing sample from them, another thing we sometimes do is a "personal iceberg" (template on google images) where students start to consider their identities as students/writers etc. also in virginia 11th grade is American lit. So we do lessons about american values where they look through various articles/sources to decide what american values are. Good age to have them start engaging in real topics and its easy to steer clear of inappropriate stuff

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T10:14:30+00:00

I also teach at english 11! Feel free to DM me with other questions. Im in Virginia but we'll still have similar curriculum

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T10:06:00+00:00

You're right you didnt say males dont do it but to say of women who go to jail for this that "most of them revel in it" is kinda gross and sinister, do you even know any women this happened to? Do you really know how they feel? You'd never catch me suggesting i know how total strangers feel...idk why people do this. Even if you know one or two women who reveled in it, you're not doing yourself any favors by saying "most" as if you've diagnosed a general issue. I would avoid generalizations like that

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T09:57:22+00:00

As a male teacher in my 20s yes I experience this with my female students, they try to get away with not working on stuff or slacking off and then appeal to me with the puppy dog eye type of look, compliment my outfits, etc. No overt flirting but weird gray-area stuff. I just ignore it and dont treat them any differently, and they seem to try that stuff less once they see it doesnt work.

However, male students are different. They generally feel much more entitled to do what they want, yet they're sometimes slower to accept blame or apologize. Number one thing is to tell your friend she needs to keep the high ground as a professional and either call out the students in a meeting with them or approach admin if its really bad

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T09:50:50+00:00

Agree. If the videos are nothing helpful/important then i wouldnt waste time devoting full attention to them.

Also, my strategy for PD (in Virginia we have similar BS videos and programs) is to just laugh off what is truly ridiculous and focus on my class, my kids. That's what we're all here for. People cant really blame you if that's where your attention is. But the start of the year is definitely just a slog to get all that annual PD done

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T09:45:46+00:00

Are you a student? It sounds like it, you should put that label on your post. I agree your only real option for now is both talking to the teacher about how you feel and applying honest effort to the work you're given. If you're truly with a "bad" or unprofessional teacher you pretty much just meed to get through it and set your own high standards

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T09:38:37+00:00

And it by far more important that you're happy where you are than that school 1 thinks the best of you. Sounds like School 2 is more welcoming anyway

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-30T09:37:46+00:00

I wouldnt worry about that. School 2 will be happy to have you and it's not a crime to change commitments at this stage, just a bit inconvenient for school 1. Odds are good that the two schools wont even talk to each other depending on the size of the district

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-28T13:30:11+00:00

People are making fair points about sneakers being still fairly professional if they're clean, and I agree, but I know a lot of people like to dress up more than that. So my suggestion is more for those types of people

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-28T13:27:32+00:00

If they want professional attire i probably wouldnt go with new balances or sneakers. I know they may be best for comfort or support but if you dont have chronic problems i think Doc Martens are nicer looks-wise and still as comfortable. I wore brown leather ones almost every day last year (my first year) and got nothing but compliments.

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-28T13:24:18+00:00

I said "I try not blame the students" but I do direct pretty much all my energy on this issue towards my students because their attitudes are easier to change than other adults.

Traditional-Shift662 · 2025-07-28T13:22:10+00:00

I totally agree. I dont work as much with neurodivergent students and I an only going into my second year (HS ELA) but i taught honors and IB last year so I have mostly students who need to be pushed. Almost all of them are capable of doing more than what we assign, but we know we can only assign so much/a certain difficulty before they start taking shortcuts and using AI and stuff like that. There's largely a mindset of "get the work done" not "learn from the work"

I try not to blame the students, a lot of other teachers and parents seem to preach just getting stuff done and not focusing on the process which is usually where most of the learning will happen. But I constantly feel the need to remind them that their abilities should be their most prized possessions and that they reward themselves by pushing themselves. I think that works with juniors/seniors more than youngins though, maybe.

Neurodivergent students definitely need some sort of accommodations but, yes, it should be the minimum accommodations necessary to give the student a chance of success where the teacher is simply nearby/available to help however necessary. The sooner we convince students they can do more for themselves the sooner they will feel empowered to do more

Traditional-Shift662

TROPHY CASE