No Fear Common Core

I just bought my first copy of a No Fear Shakespeare play.  It makes me a little nauseous.

God bless Common Core, we now have to read Hamlet in grade 12 English as opposed to Macbeth.  Dear old Macbeth has replaced Julius Caesar in grade 10.  Because our textbooks do not align to this new expectation, we have been furnished with paperback copies of No Fear Shakespeare: Hamlet and No Fear Shakespeare: Macbeth.  I bought my own copy so I can highlight and mark it up without marking a library copy.

I sure don't mean to kick a gift horse in the mouth, but it seems to me if the whole goal of Common Core is to increase rigor and raise the level of critical thinking, shouldn't we read the REAL Shakespeare?  

Oh, I know.  These No Fear books have the real Shakespeare.  It's true.  They do.  But they also have a plain English translation side by side.

Some how,

"The question is:  is it better to be alive or dead?  Is it nobler to put up with all the nasty things that luck throws your way or to fight against all those troubles by simply putting an end to them once and for all?"

...does not have the same ring to it that

"To be, or not to be?  That is the question--
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And, by opposing, end them?"

...does.

Is this increasing rigor? 

No.  It isn't.

Which side of the text do you think students will read?

Rigor?  

I will have to find another way to do that.

Meanwhile, I think I'll try for a grant to get some copies of the real deal.

Wednesday Linkage and Loose Thoughts

We've started reading Julius Caesar this week in school which means I've been busy this week.  Blogging has been light as I've been working on that and trying to get caught up with some of the things (the yard) that I couldn't do during my crazy illness (that lasted ONE SOLID MONTH).  I'm still not 100% but I'm back up and kicking.  Won't be long.

Here's a link to my favorite anecdote from teaching Caesar which I posted last year.  Never a dull moment.

Be sure to check out Andy's Place, my featured blog this week; he covers mostly local stuff but he's made me laugh this week and has a nice blog.  He's even doing some Rule 5 blogging, for those of you into that kind of thing.

Also, be sure to check out Peter Ferrara's The President's Permanent TARP Bailout Socialism Bill in The American Spectator.  That'll get your blood going this morning.

Doesn't it seem we use the adjective "naive" with growing frequency when describing Obama?   Scary.  Just sayin'. 

Maybe I'm the one being naive here, but I've got no problem with Arizona's tough immigration stance.  If the feds had done what needed to be done already, Arizona wouldn't have to take such drastic measures to secure their borders.  But face it, it's a national security issue.  Marco Rubio released a statement on the issue yesterday that got some buzz, but it seemed pretty benign to me.  Rubio's position on immigration has been clear all along; his concern seems to be for law enforcement who might be in a difficult position.  But overall, I've got no problem with this law.  I have to show ID every time I write a check or do any number of things.  If someone wants me to prove my citizenship, I've got no problem with it.  I know, the concern is the dreaded "profiling."  Again, if the feds had handled this already...

Finally, I wish I could make rhyme or reason out of the battles Eric Holder chooses to fight.  He'll take a pass on New Black Panther voter intimidation but Arizona passes a law he doesn't like?  Look out.

So I'm off to work; Caesar awaits.  We have three more weeks of school after this week, and I'm looking forward to summer time!  It's coming!

On Celery and Shakespeare

In class this week we were discussing Act 3 of Caesar and the contents of Caesar's will as described by Antony. Antony told the crowd during his funeral speech that Caesar had left each man 75 drachmas. In explanation ("What's a drachma!?") I said that this sum was about the equivalent of three months salary for the average Roman worker.

As I graded papers today, one of which asked the question, "What did Caesar leave in his will to the people?" I was told that "Caesar left three months of celery to each man."

That's a lotta celery.

Peace, ho!

In class today, reading Julius Caesar.

Class begins; lots of chatter as students settle down. Reading parts are then assigned for today's scenes. One girl volunteers for the part of Calpurnia and is still yakking to her friend when her time comes to read. Unfortunately, the line that comes shortly before her is

Casca: Peace, ho! Caesar speaks!

She turns angrily to the poor speaker of that line and says:

"I ain't no damn ho and you better shut up before I hit you!"

I swear.