My 13 year old son came home and told me that Shakespeare is BORING

[nearlymybeetrootday]

Because the school had sat the class in front of a film of the Merchant of Venice without any discussion or explanations.

I emailed the head of English who said 'there is only so much we can expect a supply teacher to do'

That will be err ...nothing then? Apart form bore the pants off my son and his mates for two lessons.

I am livid - surely the supply teacher could've done something - even if it was nothing to do with Shakespeare? ds1 learnt nothing - had no idea of the story -

and this is a child who sees Shakespeare regularly.

I work my socks off promoting Shakespeare in schools and my ds school fucks it up/

RANT OVER

Then get him this . Guaranteed to raise his interest level.

The supply teacher might not even have been an English teacher though

I've been put in this position in the past and have decided that a video is a better option than trying to have a meaningful discussion - knowing that the class would probably already know more than me

Understand your frustration though

A video is never a better option - sorry but it is lazy. The school should sort this out. I am not blaming the supply teacher

yes the school are wrong IMO
I did R&J at school and loved it although we had an excellent teacher at the time - although can't imagine that there are many 13 year olds who admit to liking Shakespeare these days

well I have met loads while working on this

that's awful .. get your school to do an outreach programme with The Globe .. they do them at primary level I bet they do them at secondary level too

remind him of the blood and guts and lust and raging emotions .. he'll soon enjoy it again

well I just asked my 13 year old
"X, what do you think of Shakespeare?"
"boring"
think it's a love or hate thing

Twigg we are not in London.

I do work with schools on this - so I get so pissed off when they just become lazy.

What do you think to my draft letter???

Dear Mr XXXXX

Perhaps in future there needs to be a lesson plan available for a supply teacher.

DS1 had no understanding of the story of Merchant Of Venice when I asked him about it. My mother and I gave him a potted version last night. Any ideas he may have had about character would have come form her not from watching the first half of the same film (DS1 has told me this twice) but from a brief discussion with my mother and me.

If this is going to happen again, I would ask that DS1 is not subjected to it.

DS1 spent Year 7 with very little guidance or prep in English and the same seems to be happening in year 8.

I really am very unhappy with the situation.

Kind Regards

Even a supply teacher shouldn't be just showing a video TBH. Yes, she/he might be non-subject specialist, although IME schools generally do try and get supply in who are - unless it was a cover teacher (i.e. a teacher from same school, covering lesson in own time).

When I took time off I would set a proper lesson, with clear aims and objectives and a 3 part structure (starter, main and plenary) as required. Supp,ly lessons can and are inspected at OFSTED, so you have to get into the habit of it.

OK, no problem with video ats part fof it - but not in isolation. Could have bee made into a more effective lesson definitely. Starter - discuss briefly an aspect of the play/author you want them to pick up on. Main - have questions on board for pupils to keep in the head and make notes about whilst watching. Stop video at key points if necessary to follow up/. Plenary - pupils get into small groups and compare findings/answers to questions. Teacher listems and at end provides key points as summary.

Even supply/cover can do this with clear guidelines left by the proper teacer.

thanks Hula I will use some of what you say in my letter

Frau - it does not need to be that way!

You are paying for that beety?

No exucse "it's only a supply teacher" - wouldn't stand with OFSTED or LES inspectors for sure.

In case of complete emergency and the normal teacher and/or Head of Department being unable to send work in (I used to e-mail or fax lessons in if off ill) then there should be a stash of one off/stand alone lessons, suitable for different year groups/abilities, that can be pulled out and used for cover/supply lessons.

A friend of mine at school once answered the teacher's question: 'why is Bottom funny' with: 'because of his name'....which I think is about right

I used to much prefer videos of plays to reading the thing out on class - found it more entertaining. Remember enjoying Macbeth that way. Merchant of Venice is a bit less gripping though.

yes I am paying and not impressed!

Hula I will use your arguements!

Aloha - That is one of the reasons bottom is funny!

stinking email sent

The Macbeth I saw was quite a gripping old BBC version, but that was in the dark ages, when dinosaurs roamed the earth....
Not good if it was boring.

well they only saw the first half - twice.

how about reading edward bonds lear-i thought shakespeares king lear was dead boring till i read that.also going to see a shakespeare play might help,espesially something exciting such as midsummers night dream.

kitty - we do go to productions. it is the teaching that is hte problem.

We were sat in front of Franco Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet when I was in the third year.

One girl was so moved by it she came out crying.

We all laughed at her.

That's very bad, beety. Just to back up what Hula says, my dh worked as a supply teacher for about a year. Work was usually left for him, but in one school the English/Drama teacher had gone off sick (stress!) the week before Ofsted descended. Dh had no lesson plans, but just a vague outline of what was meant to be covered. Even though he has not done English beyond O'level, he spent time in the evenings preparing classes on Chaucer(!) and Dickens and God knows what else. Ofsted even passed his lesson on Chaucer as satisfactory, which is pretty good considering he's not a qualified teacher and was teaching a subject in which he's not an expert in a fairly middling to crap school! Anyway, just to say that normally lesson plans would be left, and that any supply teacher worth his/her salt could come up with something a bit better than watching half a play on video... No wonder you are cross!

Ellbell - that is amazing of your dh - I hope his work was recognised.

I discover the teacher was a 'cover' not a 'supply', however as far as I am concerned, whatever sort of teacher they are they need to teach the class NOT babysit. ONE lesson maybe but not a whole weeks worth (so far)

In the last lesson these 12/13 year olds sat with the text and had to write about charaters - ffs!!!

Sounds to me as if the Head of Dept is at fault here. It is usually their job to set cover work, and while it can't always be as interesting/stimulating etc as when the class teacher is there, it ought at least to be relevant and of some interest to the pupils. Setting Y8 pupils to watch a video of a Shakespeare text they don't really know is awful, really - guaranteed to confuse them and put them off. I wouldn't even set the Baz Luhrmann R&J as a cover lesson for a class that didn't know the text, and that is an exciting, accessible version of a story the pupils know a bit about.

Well done for the stinking email. I hope you get a satisfactory reply - and see some action!