aye, there's the snub: bard barred from a high school
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Aye, there's the snub: Bard barredfrom a high school classroom
Cast members perform a scene from the play "The Duchess of Malfi" at Shakespeare's Globe, a theater in
London, England, Jan. 14, 2014. The theater is a reproduction of a Jacobean playhouse and it seats 340
people with two tiers of gallery seating and an historically accurate pit seating area. Photo: AP/Sang Tan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Most high school English teachers adore William
Shakespeare, nicknamed the Bard, but not Dana Dusbiber.
In an essay published this month on a Washington Post education blog, the
California teacher explained she does not want to teach Shakespeare’s works
despite his esteemed place in American education. His perspective does not
speak well to her ethnically diverse students.
Dusbiber’s opinion caught fire online and on the airwaves as traditionalists
decried her view as academic heresy.
“High school teachers are supposed to love Shakespeare, and I don’t, so I said
I didn’t,” said Dusbiber, who teachers at Luther Burbank High School. “I think
the reliance on Shakespeare is something I find odd.”
By Sacramento Bee, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.25.15
Word Count 742
Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students
After 25 years teaching in Sacramento, she said she has replaced
Shakespeare's plays in her classroom with works by nonwhite authors.
Dusbiber, who is white, said many of her students come from different ethnic
and socioeconomic backgrounds than her own.
In the 2013-14 academic year, 96 percent of Burbank students were nonwhites.
Also, 81 percent qualified for free or reduced-price lunches based on household
income, according to state data.
Dusbiber adjusted her teaching style to show nonwhite students successful
authors with skin colors similar to theirs. Instead of Shakespeare, Dusbiber
assigns texts by authors such as Isabel Allende, who was born in Peru, Sharon
Draper, an African-American children's writer, and Mexican-American Francisco
Jimenez.
In her essay, Dusbiber spoke out against teaching Shakespeare because of his
outdated view of the world and his perspective as a white man.
Dusbiber wrote that it is bad to cling “to ONE (white) MAN’S view of life as he
lived it so long ago." By doing so, "we (perhaps unwittingly) promote the notion
that other cultural perspectives are less important,” she stated.
Another Modernizes Shakespeare
A few miles away at Sacramento New Technology High School, Christine Baker,
who teaches 11th- and 12th-grade English, modernizes Shakespeare's works
and creates interactive lessons for her students. Four out of 5 students at the
school are nonwhites.
Baker admitted the old style of writing can be tedious when read as a book
instead of a play. But she doesn’t believe it should be removed from the high
school curriculum.
“I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s view about
teaching Shakespeare.
Baker studied ways to modernize Shakespeare at the University of California,
Davis, in 2013. She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous
play “Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.
“They get the feeling of fighting families, of young love,” she said. “They might
make fun of it at first, but then I’ll remind them that they’re doing the same things
in the hallways and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah.’”
Burbank Principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify that her views
were personal, not representative of the school as a whole.
If Dusbiber taught 12th grade or International Baccalaureate (IB) English
classes at Burbank, she would be required to assign Shakespeare’s works.
California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students who are in the
special program for the international degree, Appel said.
“I think she stated her opinion, and I think it doesn’t reflect the thinking of the
whole school or our teachers, or the curriculum we teach within the school,” he
said.
Bard's Words "To Be Spoken Or Heard"
Dusbiber is not the first educator to suggest moving away from Shakespeare in
the classroom. Mark Powell, the assistant director at Salisbury Playhouse in
England, wrote a similar opinion piece in The Guardian, a British newspaper.
Shakespeare’s "words were chosen to be spoken or heard, not to be read and
deadened behind a desk," Powell wrote. "They wither when performance is
removed.”
Sacramento City Unified School District trustees last week voted to require
students in district high schools to complete an ethnic studies course before
graduation. The new requirement starts in 2020.
Dusbiber’s view attracted negative reactions from many people across the
country. Most of the opposition came from conservative thinkers, though the left-
wing magazine New Republic also did not agree with her argument, but for
different reasons.
Appel said Dusbiber’s main goal was making sure teenagers received a full
worldview during their time in high school.
“Her real concern is that students have an opportunity to be exposed to a broad
array of texts and assignments,” Appel said. “The ultimate goal is to help
students (think) about important questions and ideas.”
Quiz
1 What is the CENTRAL idea of the section “Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students”?
(A) A large percentage of Luther Burbank High School’s students are
nonwhite.
(B) Dusbiber tries to show her students that nonwhite authors, such as
Isabel Allende and Francisco Jimenez, can also be good writers.
(C) Dana Dusbiber teaches her ethnically diverse students the work of
successful nonwhite authors to give them a more holistic view of
literature.
(D) According to Dana Dusbiber, Shakespearean views are irrelevant in
the modern context as American high schools have students from
different socio-economic backgrounds.
2 Which sentence or paragraph from the section “Another Modernizes Shakespeare”
does NOT support its central idea?
(A) “I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s
view about teaching Shakespeare.
(B) She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous play
“Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.
(C) Burbank principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify that
her views were personal, not representative of the school as a
whole.
(D) California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students
who are in the special program for the international degree, Appel
said.
3 Read the second paragraph from the article.
In an essay published this month on a Washington Post
education blog, the California teacher explained she does not
want to teach Shakespeare’s works despite his esteemed
place in American education. His perspective does not speak
well to her ethnically diverse students.
What is the meaning of the phrase "esteemed place" as used above?
(A) humble position
(B) responsible position
(C) respectable position
(D) reliable position
4 Below are some phrases taken from the section “Bard's Words To Be Spoken Or
Heard."
1. similar opinion2. conservative thinkers3. full worldview4. broad array
Which of the above phrases is MOST relevant to Dusbiber’s critics?
(A) 2
(B) 4
(C) 1 and 3
(D) 1 and 4
Answer Key
1 What is the CENTRAL idea of the section “Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students”?
(A) A large percentage of Luther Burbank High School’s students are
nonwhite.
(B) Dusbiber tries to show her students that nonwhite authors, such as
Isabel Allende and Francisco Jimenez, can also be good writers.
(C) Dana Dusbiber teaches her ethnically diverse students the
work of successful nonwhite authors to give them a more
holistic view of literature.
(D) According to Dana Dusbiber, Shakespearean views are irrelevant in
the modern context as American high schools have students from
different socio-economic backgrounds.
2 Which sentence or paragraph from the section “Another Modernizes Shakespeare”
does NOT support its central idea?
(A) “I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s
view about teaching Shakespeare.
(B) She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous play
“Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.
(C) Burbank principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify
that her views were personal, not representative of the school
as a whole.
(D) California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students
who are in the special program for the international degree, Appel
said.
3 Read the second paragraph from the article.
In an essay published this month on a Washington Post
education blog, the California teacher explained she does not
want to teach Shakespeare’s works despite his esteemed
place in American education. His perspective does not speak
well to her ethnically diverse students.
What is the meaning of the phrase "esteemed place" as used above?
(A) humble position
(B) responsible position
(C) respectable position
(D) reliable position
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