Daily Archive

If you and your friends could choose one new class to add to the curriculum, what would it be? Think of what would most help you in your daily life or what would prepare you for life after graduation. What kind of assignments would be required, and how would the class benefit students?

OBVIOUS!

I would add a Shakespeare class. All Shakespeare, all the time.

It might not offer applicable lessons that directly relate to life after graduation, but Shakespeare’s use of language and understanding of the human experience can only enhance a well-rounded education.

Indirectly, Shakespeare’s plays (and sonnets) can affect how a person thinks; for example, I know I would never kill myself if my boyfriend does, because I saw that happen in Romeo and Juliet, and I thought it was a dumb decision. I read how Richard III’s avarice led to his downfall, and how an unhealthy obsession with my mother’s love life could cause me to have visions and alienate–and eventually kill–everybody who loves me, just like Hamlet did. Troilus and Cressida showed me what kind of mother NOT to be, and Twelfth Night gave me awesome ideas for how to pull pranks on a pompous servant.

And that is just scratching the surface! Think how much more I could teach/learn if I read Shakespeare for a whole year! The school would not be big enough for my knowledge!