If you can catch it, watch Point of View on PBS tonight. I think it starts at 10 p.m. in Dallas on KERA (13). It’s on right now in Central Texas.
Here are some summaries and quotes from the web page.
“The Hobart Shakespeareans” discovers how one teacher’s uncommon commitment and resourcefulness have opened up worlds of opportunity for his “disadvantaged” students — and perhaps have demonstrated a way forward for America’s beleaguered public education system.
Summary:
Imagine the sight and sound of American nine- and eleven-year-old children performing Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Henry V — and understanding every word they recite. Imagine them performing well enough to elicit praise from such accomplished Shakespearean actors as Ian McKellen and Michael York, and to be invited to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England. Such a spectacle would be highly impressive in the toniest of America’s private schools. But what if the kids were the children of recent Latino and Asian immigrants attending a large Los Angeles inner-city public school in one of America’s toughest neighborhoods?
Teacher Rafe Esquith shares his assessment of elementary education in the US:
Our schools and, sad to say, some families do a very bad job with children in public places. “Kids just being kids” are often noisy and rude, spoiling a movie or museum for other people. We shouldn’t accept this. We need to teach our children the proper behavior in all kinds of situations. If they’re rude, let’s teach them how to be polite. Just taking the kids on trips isn’t enough. We as parents and teachers must do a better job if we want our children to be better human beings.
