How has your upbringing/schooling shaped how you “read the world?” What biases and lenses do you bring to the classroom? How might we unlearn / work against these biases?
Throughout high school especially, we read books that are considered “classics.” I recall reading To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and a different Shakespeare play every year from grade nine to grade twelve. While Shakespeare’s plays are not inherently racist, it does reinforce the idea that only one perspective is important in the classroom, that of the white, upper class male. I believe that without many of us knowing, including Shakespeare’s plays in the curriculum is creating students to only look through one lens which is extremely problematic. To be honest, I do not overly understand why his plays are still discussed in every grade in high school: these plays have no relevance to students. Students want to see themselves represented in the texts that are in the classroom and this may help “to engage students who do not normally see themselves in what they are reading” (Kumashiro, 2009, p. 71). Although teachers cannot change the curriculum, we may be able to work against these biases by changing the way we ask questions about the texts. If Shakespeare’s work and other authors like him continues to be included in the curriculum, teachers can ask questions “about the ways they reinforce the privilege of only certain experiences and perspectives” (p. 75). Another way to unlearn these biases is to provide texts from different perspectives. It is important that all students feel like their stories matter and that they are seen in the classroom.
Which “single stories” were present in your own schooling? Whose truth mattered?
As Chimamanda Adichie explains in her TedTalk, the “single story” is extremely harmful and reinforces stereotypes and prejudices. She says that to create a single story, “show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.” In high school, as I discussed earlier, the White, upper class male’s perspective seemed to reinforce the idea that their ways were superior to anyone else’s and that their story is what mattered in the classroom. I recall in my grade twelve English class, there were about ten or so posters of White male authors like Shakespeare, Wolfgang and Edgar Allan Poe to name a few.
Hey Amber 🙂 I really like when you said “To be honest, I do not overly understand why his plays are still discussed in every grade in high school: these plays have no relevance to students” because it says a lot. I do not understand it either. Maybe mix it up a little bit or something to have a bigger eye-opener on something new and fresh instead of older things. To be honest, students don’t really care either, they read it because they have to but if they had something newer and better I’m sure they would be engaged more.
Hi Amber!!
I really liked your post. I like how you define that Shakespeare is seemingly irrelevant in todays society. I would be interested to learn why it is still taught, and what significance it brings. Perhaps it’s simply a tie to the old classics- or perhaps it has overall meanings that are missed when using complex jargon that most students do not understand. I remember when I was reading Hamlet, I was googling every tenth word or so. The “shall”, “thou” and “art” language is confusing. Reflecting on it now, I wonder if these books are taught to show students how language has evolved for the lesser over the years. What started as “where for art thou, Romeo?”, now has turned into “where you at, Romeo?”- just some food for thought.
I think that teachers indeed do play a strong role in getting rid of these single stories, much like you suggest.
Thanks Amber! I enjoyed reading your post.
Great post! I really liked what you said about Shakespeare still being taught in grade school classrooms. This sentence, “Although teachers cannot change the curriculum, we may be able to work against these biases by changing the way we ask questions about the texts.”, in a particular stuck out to me. Society changes and how we educate needs to move along with this change, not staying stuck on the same old lessons that don’t resonate with students today.