AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO TEACHING SHAKESPEARE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Abstract
In this dissertation, “An Inclusive Approach to Teaching Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century,” I use the lens of critical pedagogy and critical race theory to examine the ways teachers teach Shakespeare in American high schools. With data gathered from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention as well as field research and classroom observation of a high school English teacher in Texas, I build a picture of how Shakespeare is taught in American high schools.
Data from the NCTE conference indicate that there is a vigorous environment of professional development at the national level aimed at providing cutting-edge teaching methods to teachers of high school Shakespeare. Yet, the paradox is that the exclusivity of the conference means that the teachers and students who may need these new teaching methods the most are the ones most left out of the equation whereas teachers and students from already good schools increase their socio-economic capital accumulation in the area of Shakespeare pedagogy. I argue that this is another evidence of the imbalance in educational opportunities between students from mostly poor and minority rural and inner-city schools.
I also argue that the experience of students in the high school classroom has not changed as much as is needed because most teachers go into the high school classroom without having had any training in the teaching of Shakespeare. This general lack of training in the teaching of Shakespeare means that most teachers are unable to offer students updated inclusive Shakespeare Pedagogy and often resort to repeating the teaching methods they remember from their high school days. I argue that this belies the supposed importance of Shakespeare as espoused by the Common Core. With teachers left to their own devices coupled with meager resources, the teaching of Shakespeare in American high schools is not inclusive.
Citation
Kholinar, Andani (2020). AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO TEACHING SHAKESPEARE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /192559.