I never post, but this thread is really bothering me. Quattrocento, I agree that simply watching a DVD is insufficient. However, it is a valuable tool in encouraging pupils to consider elements of stagecraft. I teach two bottom set Y8 groups. We have been reading substantial portions of Macbeth and closely analysing language and the development of characters over the course of the play. Today we watched the banquet scene from the DVD of the RSC production. We used it as a prompt to consider how the director had used elements of stagecraft to create tension and suspense. Pupils then worked in groups to decide how they would direct their own version of that scene and how they would use stagecraft to create similar effects. They were able to think about Macbeth the way it was intended - as a performance.
I teach six hours of English over the course of a fortnight to each of my KS3 and KS4 groups. In order to cover the key skills identified by the National Curriculum, we are instructed to spend approximately half of each half term on a particular text or topic. That works out to roughly 9-12 hours available to study a Shakespeare text. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. I'm simply saying that it's the reality. In order to read the entire text and include 'translations' and discussions, we would not be able to do any of the other activities I typically include, such as soundscapes, close language analysis, or the aforementioned study of stagecraft. Furthermore, should I be visited by OFSTED during one of these lessons, I would almost certainly be given an 'inadequate' judgement, as it is unlikely that all pupils would be engaged and I would not be able to demonstrate significant progress in learning over the course of the lesson. Again, I'm not saying this is right, but it's reality.
The UK education system at the moment does not value learning for learning's sake, and that is how many view spending several lessons reading a single text. For me, it's important that my pupils enjoy English lessons, particularly at KS3. If they have a good taste of Shakespeare in Years 7, 8 and 9, then perhaps they will feel less intimidated and more enthusiastic about studying the texts at GCSE and A-level, when they can really sink their teeth into it. If not, then hopefully they haven't been put off English entirely because the varied curriculum has opened their eyes to another aspect of English that they're keen to pursue. That's what happened to me. I didn't enjoy Shakespeare much in school, but I loved writing and modern and contemporary literature. A couple of degrees later and I'm trying to help my pupils see that English is a vast subject, at least one part of which will almost certainly capture their imagination.
LeQueen, sometimes it is too much to expect a pupil to do something if they find it hard. I have a pupil who said that the sheer mention of Shakespeare caused a red mist to descend. He could not control his anger because he felt completely alienated by the texts. He had to write a controlled assessment about Romeo and Juliet, so we had to find another way to engage with the text. Forcing him to simply sit down and read was not productive for him, nor for anyone else who had to sit in a lesson with him.
On a final, practical note (and I am sorry this is so long), my school is no longer able to set reading as homework. We do not have enough money to issue each pupil with a copy of the text and we are not able to rely on pupils to return them. I asked that each of my top set Y10 pupils purchase their own very inexpensive copy of a set text and had one parent tell me that they should be provided by the school. If they weren't then her daughter would not be completing any homework that required the text, and I was out of order for setting it.