Shakespeare in the High School classroom.

I met with one of my ex students from Prep A last week. I taught them many moons ago they will always be Prep A to me. We reminisced about our two years together and she told me how on the first day of her Shakespeare class at university she had been the only student to have read any of his work.

I remembered how I stood nervously before my year 9 students. They had been my Prep year students the year before, and they were given a pre intermediate book to work from for the year. A book which taught them rooms of the house, furniture and other such mundane things.

The school I was working at streamed classes according to their TEOG grades. The students students took the TEOG exam at the end of year 8 and it was an indication of their knowledge and ability. It was also a selective exam which the top percentile of students got into the best High Schools in Turkey- both private and govt schools.

My class was the 'A' class. Meaning my students were the best of the best that had applied to the school. Some came from very expensive private schools. Some were from government schools from Istanbul and other cities. Not all of them knew English, and yet the Prep year had gone really well. The students were at an advanced level. And they did not deserve to do the simple book that awaited them in year 9.

My vice principal said to me- These kids are special. You have my permission to do something else with them. Challenge them. Their parents support us on this decision. I want you to create a program for these kids. Shakespeare was my choice.

I decided we would read Richard 3rd. The class groaned as I handed out their papers. I told them- Do your reading. I promise you we will have fun in class. They did the background research and presented information to each other in groups. We learnt about the history, politics, fuedal practices, the class hierarchy, what the people wore, ate, drank, what work the people did. Then we started on the story.

I first asked the students to form their own opinions. They read, took notes and came in ready to discuss. It was boring at first. And yet as they read along they started to get fascinated with the story. and the complex personality and relationships of King Richard. They learnt to read between the lines, they learnt to look for the purpose of his actions and words. They learnt that people can deceive their very hearts.

Reading Shakespeare not only taught my students important skills but taught them to read for meaning, to comprehend, to understand different perpectives and to question our norms. It showed them that not much has changed about human nature, and that we never really truly know ourselves or even the people around us. Every line that we read was so full of importance- and could have been discussed for hours on end. His insight on the core values of humanity was enlightening. They felt empathy, they felt sympathy, they knew why he had acted in the ways he had- and they forgave him for his ill doings. They saw in him a human being not a character in a play. They saw him in his true form, neither black nor white, and they realised that we are all capable of good and evil. No one is truly one or the other.

We made our own connections with the play- using drama, written responses and discussions. We debated the events and actions. We spoke about human nature. The protrayal of characters with flaws which we could see in ourselves, this was enlightening. Themes of love, honour, ambition, intrigue and bravery. The students opened up a pandora's box and they enjoyed themselves. Each of the students felt connected in a different way. They started really looking forward to the literature class. We would hold discussions in the halls, in the cafeteria and around the school. They would excitedly tell me what they had read and what they had discovered about it, or what they felt as they read it.

I have always felt the need to challenge my students and to ask them to question their beliefs and to also be able to analyse and think critically. Self reflection and attention to detail. Learning actively rather than be?ng passive recipients. I asked them to ask questions- to challenge authority, to see the bigger picture and to think outside the box. Studying Shakespeare enables the students to go beyond comprehending.

It doesn't matter what they will major in- Studying Shakespeare is one of the most valuable lessons a student can learn in school. It crosses all boundaries, traditions and cultures. We can feel a connection with his characters and we can see ourselves in the tales he told. Whenever I see a member of Prep A they always start the conversation with- Do you remember when we studied about Richard the 3rd? Each student has a different memory of the class and what we did that year. But it's unique to them. Teaching Shakespeare was a resounding success, and I look forward to many more years of sharing him with my sometimes unwilling, sometimes uninterested Generation X students.