Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

Honestly, I'm optimistic about the future and Shakespeare. At first I thought: kids today don't like Shakespeare; it's a waste to teach it to them if they'll never understand it. But after teaching it, I'm actually really pleased with the result. Most of my students hated Shakespeare, this is true. But! Some of them really enjoyed it. A lot of my Freshmen were touting on and on about how much they loved Romeo and Juliet and that they'd keep reading it until they died. One of my 9/10 kids (Sophomore) said that his favorite book was Hamlet. At first I thought he was kissing up, but he was never one to shirk criticism whenever he felt I needed it. When he's quoting Shakespeare on other projects, I know he loved it. His final project could have been about anything in the entire class from the past year, but all three parts of his project were Hamlet.

All I'm saying here is that the vast majority dislike Shakespeare. That's okay. That's how it was when I was a kid, when my dad was a kid, etc. I honestly didn't like him until I got into college. We can brand it any way we want (like YOLO Juliet), but there have been and always will be kids who love the classics and who are enamored with Shakespeare. His plays are going to stay in the English canon for centuries to come.

YOLO Shakespeare

If YOLO Shakespeare is a telling of his works with a more casual wording it could function as a bridge to learning and actually enjoying Shakespeare. I could understand what was being said but a lot of friends didn't understand what was being said at various points.

That sounds like blasphemy.

Still, if it bridges the gap and gets more people into Shakespeare, I can't complain too much.

Idk, the idea of dumbing down Shakespeare doesn't sit well with me.

Kate Beckinsale in tight leather body suits isn't really my thing.

This Self/Less movie I see advertise looks good. I'm not a movie-goer though. =/

Idk, the idea of dumbing down Shakespeare doesn't sit well with me.

Any time you force people to read something. The results tend to skew towards negative.

Idk, the idea of dumbing down Shakespeare doesn't sit well with me.

Yeah it's already pretty dumb to begin with.

Maybe Shakespeare should be optional reading.

Well, aside from being ripped off all the time by contemporary entertainment, people make references to him and his works more often than people realize.

State your case.