... to think that Shakespeare should be taught in schools?

[LorelaiVictoriaGilmore]

Just that really. I had a massive argument with my sister this afternoon about a number of things to do with the education system in the UK but this is one of the key points we disagreed on. I think it is good that Shakespeare is taught in schools because there lots of kids who do get something out of it and there are kids who may go on to university to study drama or English literature and it would be a shame if they got to 18 and had never been taught Shakespeare. My sister thinks it shouldn't be taught in schools because lots of kids will never 'get' it and never use it. She thinks that those kids who do want to go to uni to read English literature or drama will discover it on their own. I can sort of see what she's saying, especially given the number of kids who leave school without good literacy skills... but I still think I'm right! AIBU?

There are loads of things that are done in school that some kids will ‘never get’. Like the 1500m or the potters wheel. We have to expose them to lots of things to see what does interest them so they can take it further

I'm torn on this.

I think Shakespeare is important in that he added so much to our use of language, even up to the present day.

But - almost exclusive Shakespeare - like I had, is liable to put off forever kids who are lukewarm on English as a subject. And I say that as someone who went on to study English at uni.

There's far too little modern texts IMO. I did an essay at school in Irvine Welsh and it, er, went down badly. But it got the best grade in the school, for all time. But there's a view that traditional = better and I don't think that's a great way to engage teenagers, nor is it remotely true.

Your sister is an idiot if she thinks many kids just trip over a copy of Hamlet in the street then fall in love with reading

I think there's a balance between "every single damn year" and "not at all".

I think it's wasted in some schools - year 7 teaching of Shakespeare was abysmal in my school, and there are so many different classic authors who might benefit from the examination.

Oh good god no.

Isn’t it still taught? I did Shakespeare at high school.

Reading Shakespeare might be hard but watching it isn’t.

We’ve taken our primary aged children to several Shakespeare productions and they understood and enjoyed them.

Yanbu . I loved doing Shakespeare at school(especially the coach trip to an outdoor screening of Macbeth and the drama production of Mudsummer Nights Dream). Would probably never have read or understood it if not at school and makes me feel more cultured. His plays are a very important part of our history.

My nephew is in year one and was learning about Shakespear last term. He was really in to it and told me all about Macbeth!

I think it’s a big part of our history so should be taught in school, but I don’t think most teachers are able to make it relevant or interesting enough to capture the imaginations of the kids who aren’t naturally drawn to stuff like that

I agree its important to do Shakespeare. Always do it here in lreland and while students give out its like a bond between people that studied the same one. And you hear random..non English students ..quoting it at funny times like in the pub which is great. When my ds did Macbeth he was a young lad into xbox and Man Utd but said to me one evening" Macbeth is brilliant, you know" Made my day . Where else would he have experienced Shakespeare except under force in a classroom? I am all for it.

I'm with you. And I have seen a lot of kids have a brilliant time with Shakespeare, though the teachers had to be at the very top of their game to make it work.
Performing Shakespeare or seeing it performed teaches things about the rhythms and possibilities of language that people should know in my view.

To find that English slips with lovely ease
Into iambic pentametric rhyme
Is known at home and also overseas
And is indeed so worth the scholar's time.

The gorgeous jewelled phrases of our Bard
A gift to all the world do represent
And though his simple couplets now are hard
It is for this our brains and minds are meant.

This years English Lit GCSE had Macbeth in, so as far as I know it is still taught.

No....its awful compared to other classics..

I thought it was still taught. God now I feel old! Personally I loved Shakespear but Chaucer was absolutely diabolical

I think It's important to expose people to language development, in the same way as history is important, but agree not all of it is accessible.
Maybe someone needs to make a modern day Shakespeare on the estate programme to engage the teens of today.

Shakespeare was the sole reason I gave up A-level English. I loved English language and literature up until that point, but it was so tedious and incomprehensible. We did King Lear and MacBeth and I still couldn't tell you what they were about.

I'm not sure, but isn't it a myth Shakespeare added so much to the language?

I do think Shakespeare ought to be on the curriculum, but not for that. I do think some of the plays are really good, and worth studying in themselves. But also, it makes financial sense - there are masses of recordings and stage versions and a whole industry to support children's learning, so you'd be mad to try to do entirely without it. And, some of the plays have been invested with so much meaning, they say much more than they did when they were originally written. Like Romeo and Juliet. Love it or hate it, it's a play that's been used to say so many things. There are so many new versions inspired by it. Or Othello. That play says so much about race, and if you study it, you can understand why it was really shocking when it was performed in apartheid SA, and a black man kissed a white woman.

Maybe someone needs to make a modern day Shakespeare on the estate programme to engage the teens of today.

No, because the plots aren't what's important. Shakespeare nicked most of them from someone else anyway. It's the language and the characters and the moral dilemmas.

Shakespeare was popular entertainment in his day, for people who had much lower levels of literacy than today's yoof. We shouldn't perpetuate the idea that it's somehow beyond the capability of an average teenager.

I did Shakespeare at school and found it totally boring and tedious, and I am truly a huge reader. I enjoy all sorts of literature but found I could not enjoy that.

Still very much taught at DD's primary. They are doing a Shakespeare event soon for the parents.

This year's Eng Lit paper had Macbeth in it.

It is still taught....it's on the current GCSE syllabus!

Not all English Lit GCSEs have a compulsory Shakespeare element (I home educate so am currently window shopping GCSE syllabi) I was shocked. I have been taking my youngest to open air showings since he was about 4 as his brother was keen. I think the trouble is schools don't always pick the most engaging plays. You need to hook kids with one of the more action focused ones before they can appreciate the subtler ones. I did a 6 week set of lessons on Macbeth with a group of 10-12 year olds a while ago and even the ones who had never had my interest before were hooked. The other day, a couple of months after the lessons, one of the younger siblings of those children who had been hanging out in the edges of the room during the lessons was explaining to me how the plot of Macbeth could be reworked to include robots.

I loved studying Shakespeare. I cant imagine an English curriculum without it- for me it was a gateway to learning about many, many more things.

I hope they still have Oscar Wilde on the curriculum. The Importance of Being Earnest still has me in stitches every time I read or see it.

I think Shakespeare needs to be seen rather than just read. We did Julius Caesar at GCSE and just reading it was so boring. But seeing it on stage by a local theatre company was bloody fantastic. I was gripped.

I also think the teacher makes a big difference. My original English teacher was amazing during of mice and men... so much love for the story... gutted he left, he was renowned for being amazing at teaching Shakespeare and I was gutted to miss out.

Macbeth for gcse switched me off Shakespeare for life. Thinks it more a an a level or degree type thing. The stories (for macbeth anyway) is good its just incomprehensible in the modern day and it's the language i think rather than the content thathat puts people off.

CBeebies have done some Shakespeare productions (Tempest and Midsummers Night's Dream) so clearly they think even young kids could "get it" to some extent.

As for schools, I think its good for it to be included but not necessarily annually or as a major part of the syllabus.

Agree with pp that Shakespeare should be seen as well as read. His plays were written to be watched. It really helps with comprehension to see it performed and hear the iambic pentameter.

Our son read the children's Shakespeare books they are 12 plays and he love them.
I think the original format it's very tiring to read but I do believe that it's important to teach it.