Seniors at our school have the opportunity to study in Israel for part of the school year. One of our students has decided to blog about her experiences and share with faculty, students, and parents at home. You can follow our students’ experiences at Jamie’s blog: Weber Israel Experience ’07.
I can’t resist the opportunity to plug another blog by my students.
[tags]blogging, education, Israel[/tags]
My students finished watching Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet today.
My personal decision regarding what to do about the infamous nude scene? I show it. Way back when I was in seventh grade, I had this great language arts teacher named Mr. Schmeisser. We read Romeo and Juliet and watched Zeffirelli’s film. I will never forget one of my peers noting that Romeo was a “hunk” (how dated does that sound now? I believe in today’s parlance, he’d be a “hottie”). In retrospect, despite my admiration and respect for Mr. Schmeisser, I have to say I don’t agree with his decision to teach us Romeo and Juliet in seventh grade. At the risk of drawing the ire of my middle school teacher friends, I have to say I don’t think middle schoolers are ready for it. My students who read it invariably say they didn’t understand it when they read it in middle school, and I don’t remember understanding it much either.
OK, before I went on that tangent, I was discussing the nude scene. Before the scene, Mr. Schmeisser gave us a talk. He said that we would be seeing a nude scene. Likely, it wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before, and he trusted us to be mature; however, if his trust was proven to be misplaced and we giggled, we would not watch the rest of the film, and we would be doing grammar exercises instead. None of us even breathed during the infamous scene.
In all the years I have taught Romeo and Juliet, I have done just what Mr. Schmeisser did. Before we viewed the scene, I always talked frankly with my students about what they would see, why I thought they could handle it, and what I expected. Only once have I had to stop the film. And I stuck to my guns despite the fact that an assistant principal tried to intervene on the students’ behalf and asked that I show the rest of the film. Nothing doing. A deal’s a deal.
I knew we would be watching the scene today. I had heard through the grapevine that this group had watched this scene in middle school and not handled it well. This suspicion was confirmed when during our preliminary discussion, a student noted that her class watched it in middle school, and it was “a disaster.” I told the students they had seen nudity before; furthermore, they had seen nudity in a theater, most likely, and not giggled at all. I shared the interesting fact that though Olivia Hussey was fifteen when she made this film, Zeffirelli had obtained special permission to film her nude, and as a consequence, Hussey was unable to attend the movie’s premiere due to her age — even though the nudity was her own. The A-rating given to the film at the time meant that only people aged 18 and older could see the film.
As I predicted, my students were just fine during the scene.
I have heard stories of teachers lamely trying to hold objects in front of the screen or skipping the scene altogether. I think the need for this kind of behavior could be avoided if you just talk with students and treat them as if you can trust them to be mature. Most of the time, in my experience, they want to keep your trust, and they want to demonstrate their maturity.
[tags]Romeo and Juliet, Olivia Hussey, Franco Zeffirelli, education, teaching[/tags]
I have to say that I am very proud of my students’ posts about Huck Finn on their blog. I am enjoying reading what they have to say, watching as they discover this great book for the first time, and participating in their active discussion. If I could ask them to change anything, it might be proofreading their posts and comments more carefully, but this is the first time many of them have used blogging software. I think it’s easy to spell-check entries, but I don’t think they think about with comments so much. That aside, they are writing about some interesting topics, and I haven’t helped them choose what to write at all — they are simply reacting to and interacting with what they read.
They are excited when they receive comments from “strangers,” or as they put it “random people.” If you are so inclined, check out their writing and tell them what you think.
[tags]Huck Finn, Mark Twain, blogging, Huckleberry Finn, education[/tags]
All 10th graders at my school write a literary analysis research paper. When I went to high school, we were required to write one paper in 11th grade on any research topic (believe it or not, my teacher actually let me get away with writing about Led Zeppelin) and one paper in 12th grade on a literary topic (I wrote about symbolism in Robert Frost’s poetry). This is my sixth year teaching students how to write this paper, and I think it was my best. Students worked very hard on their papers this year. They made excellent use of the library.
I know I’m a bit old-school when it comes to this particular project, but students have told me they appreciated it later (if not at the time). First of all, I use note cards. Now I will state categorically that I never used note cards on my papers in college. They seemed to be too much trouble. But two years ago, I wrote a paper like those that would be expected of my students so they could have a model of the process. I used note cards, and I loved them! I could move ideas around so much more easily, and the paper was much easier to organize. Some might argue that this step is superfluous and silly in our modern age of computers, but I found it much more useful in terms of seeing what I was doing than putting notes in a notebook or word processor would have been.
The first thing students must do is choose a topic. I have found it is best (and will avoid much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth) just to give students a list of topics and require them to pick from the list. Otherwise they try to pick topics for which they will find no information. Students should know that a thesis is a statement they are attempting to prove. Therefore, the thesis I used in my 12th grade paper — “Robert Frost uses symbolism in his poetry” — should have received a great big “well, duh” from my teacher (he was really phoning it in right then, as he was close to retirement), but it didn’t. If I had been my teacher, I’d have taken me aside (which would surely have been awkward) and told myself that Frost had to be using symbolism for a reason, and it would be my job to prove that he used it for that reason. What was Frost using symbolism to convey? I make students write and rewrite their thesis until it’s perfect.
I teach students how to take notes on note cards. They must write some sort of title on the top of the card that indicates what the card is about. Before they write notes, they should create a source card. Their first source card is labeled “A” in the corner. The source card should be formatted according to MLA standards (or whatever documentation style your school uses). I tell students to write the library location and call number, so they are not searching fruitlessly for the book if they need it again. When they begin to take notes from the source, they label their cards A1, A2, A3, and so on in the upper right-hand corner so they have a key to which information came from the source. This is important later. If the source is a book, they must put the page numbers on the card. After they have been taking notes for a week or so, they have a general idea of where their paper is going. I ask them to create a work plan (rough outline) with an outline of what they will discuss and an estimation of how long it will be and how many note cards they will need to get there. Students have found this to be helpful, but they should be coached not to see it as set in stone.
Students will need about 50-80 note cards for a five-page paper. This fact will freak them out, but just make sure you give them library time commensurate with their ability to work independently on a project like this, and they will thank you later — if they take fewer notes, they will have to go back and add information. It took me years to figure this out, and I didn’t require enough note cards. This year for the first time I didn’t have a lot of students complaining about not having enough information or having to go back and look up more information.
After the students finish taking notes, they should compose an outline. This is a pain because MS Word does not format outlines properly. You remember: I., A., 1., a., i., etc. Students, however tech savvy they may be, cannot figure out how to work with MS Word’s helpful auto-formatting and still make the outline come out correct, so I just created a template for them. You can download it if you want: RTF, MS Word Template (.dot). If you don’t care that MS Word doesn’t format formal outlines correctly, then you can skip this step and call me anal-retentive. It wouldn’t be the first time I heard it.
I teach students directly how to integrate quotations. If you don’t, what you’ll get is a paper with a string of quotes that are not tightly integrated. I have a great handout for this activity (download). I think once the students see the difference between properly integrated quotes and dropped quotes, they can do a better job integrating quote with their own ideas. My students are doing well with this so far (I’m halfway through the papers).
Their first drafts should be polished. Expect documentation errors, but caution them that they really need to turn in what they consider to be a final draft in terms of grammar and mechanics. They shouldn’t need much help with organization if you gave them good feedback on their outlines, but they might still need help integrating quotes. For the final draft, I require the old large envelope with all pieces inside. Students should implement all changes you suggested on their first draft in their final draft.
Some tips:
I was the Research Paper Witch for Purim last year, and I scared everyone:
I had note cards stapled to my cape (you can barely see one in the bottom right of the picture), and I painted “MLA” on my hat in white-out.
Although you may have to get firm with students when you teach them this process, it is a critical skill to learn. All of us have to write research-based papers, no matter what discipline we study in college. I highly recommend Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference for students writing the research paper. My school purchases copies of these books and allows students to keep them, taking these books with them to college. They are excellent. The sixth edition doesn’t seem to be available for pre-order at Amazon yet, but it is coming out this spring. Go ahead and splurge on the plastic comb edition. It seems like such a little thing, but it stays open when you’re writing, and it’s much easier to navigate.
[tags]research paper, teaching, education, writing[/tags]
As I wrote previously, I planned to conduct a Socratic Seminar focused on this question: Who was most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? We held our discussion today. One student arrived early to help me move the desks to the side. We put the chairs in a big circle. The students came in and took their seats. I gave them the Self-Reflection from Greece Central School District to complete at the end, but told them they could jot down some of their thoughts as we held our discussion.
After I opened the discussion with the question, the students took over. Aside from having to stop and make sure that students who had been waiting to speak had a turn, I didn’t say another word until the end of class when I told the students what a wonderful job they’d done. They did become heated at times. There was a solid camp who asserted it was all the fault of Friar Laurence, whereas others said no one person was to blame — so many factors came into play. Still others insisted Romeo and Juliet really had no one to blame for their deaths but themselves. They argued their points well, frequently turning to the text. Several times I heard students make this argument: “We can’t deal with ‘what ifs’; we have to go based on the text, and Shakespeare clearly says in the Prologue that it was fate — they were destined to die, and nothing could have prevented it.” It was so impressive to listen to, and I was very proud of how much they had learned. They were really getting into the text, and it didn’t feel like work or assessment, yet they truly showed me how much they knew through this exercise — much more so than a multiple choice test (do you hear that, NCLB test-happy bureaucrats?). There were times when students were passionate and had trouble taking turns or making sure everyone got a chance to speak, but by the end of the discussion, all of the students had had a chance to speak (with the exception of one student who had been absent and so wasn’t prepared — more on this in a moment — and another who just wouldn’t be drawn into the discussion). I heard from students who do not normally speak during our class discussions, and it was great to see this side of those students come out. I think everyone felt safe to share their opinions, even if everyone didn’t agree.
If you plan to hold a seminar, it might be helpful to know a few things about the students in my class. They are college-prep ninth graders. I have nineteen students in this class, six of whom are girls. The boys in the class are fond of sports and are masters at figuring out how to write about sports for every essay assignment for which they are given any amount of freedom regarding topics. Our class was a double block, but it was cut short due to Long Tefillah (prayers) — Purim is this Saturday, and some Jewish holidays call for extended prayers. We began class something like 10 or 15 minutes later than normal, but we managed to maintain our discussion for a full hour and 10 minutes. After this, I gave students time to fill out their reflections. One student said it was the quickest class period he’d experienced all year, which I took to mean he was so engaged he didn’t think about the clock. It was a great class.
What should you do if students are absent for any part of this assignment, either for preparation or the seminar itself? I gave students two class periods to prepare, and they used it well. We also had a bargain that they would use it well or I’d put them on the spot and make them talk right then. If students were absent for one class, I didn’t change any expectations; they were still expected to speak up at the seminar. If they missed both, I asked that they set up an appointment to meet with me and discuss their ideas one on one so I could hear what they would have said in the seminar. It’s not ideal, as part of the seminar is the exchange. If students just won’t participate, I offer them the same deal; I understand being a shy kid, for when I was really small I would have rather died than speak up in front of my peers. Students should be aware of how they will be graded prior to the assignment. This assignment is great for teaching students to dig deeply into a text for evidence to back up their assertions, and it is also great for critical thinking skills and speaking/listening skills. It’s also very easy to evaluate. The students do all of the work!
[tags]Socratic Seminar, Romeo and Juliet, discussion, assessment, education[/tags]
Who killed Romeo and Juliet?
The answer isn’t as simple as one might think, and determining who is most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet makes a great writing exercise for students. I can no longer remember where I found this idea, as is so often the case with us educators, I suppose, so if you find it, please let me know so I may give proper credit.
In order to prepare for this assignment, students can write summaries of each act as they read and keep the summaries in their notebook. Depending upon the students’ level, the teacher may decide it is OK to skip this step. Next, the teacher should lead a discussion of each character’s flaws or traits. The way I usually do this is to create a web with the character’s name at the center.
The character map above is just a small example. For the final step, students examine their plot summaries coupled with character maps to determine which character was at fault for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. They write a persuasive essay incorporating examples of actions on the part of that character that led to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. For example, one student of mine two years ago argued that Friar Laurence was most to blame for the deaths. She determined that Friar Laurence did not do enough to make sure the lovers were both in on the plan he made. Many students argue that Romeo, Tybalt, and Capulet are most responsible. Interestingly, students invariably see Juliet as innocent, even though she stabs herself in the end.
This assignment can easily be adapted to fit the standard five-paragraph essay format:
As my students have already written two essays for this unit, I have decided to adapt this assignment into a Socratic Seminar. In order to do this, my students will discuss the characters’ traits tomorrow. We will begin planning for the seminar by marking passages that offer evidence of a certain character’s blame with post-it notes. On Wednesday, students will hold the seminar. This would be a great time to do a podcast, but as I explained yesterday, I’m not quite ready for that at this point. If we need to roll into Thursday to finish the discussion, that’s fine. Greece Central School District has some great resources for Socratic Seminars.
Update: Borrowing liberally from Greece Central School District’s information I created a document to explain to my students what a Socratic Seminar is all about (Socratic Seminar handout) and an accompanying rubric (Romeo and Juliet Seminar rubric). My students asked me if they could have two class periods (today and tomorrow) to prepare for the discussion. They were busily marking their books with post-its and asking me about their ideas. One student excited showed me a list of twenty events in the play that contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Following the discussion, I will ask them to complete the Self-Evaluation (Word doc) created by Greece Central Schools.
They are so much more engaged in the text through an activity like this than they would be if I just gave them a test.
[tags]Romeo and Juliet, teaching, education, Socratic Seminar[/tags]
I am excited about using blogs and wikis in the classroom, and my students have used both to create content, discuss books, discuss writing and grammar, and to share their ideas. You can see their work at Room 303 Blog and Mrs. Huff’s English Classroom Wiki. I have to admit I’m daunted by podcasting for some reason. Many educators are beginning to use podcasting to great effect. Mike Hetherington and Bud Hunt have used podcasts to great effect, and I know both Will Richardson and David Warlick champion their use. I know there are many others, and if you know of someone or are someone using podcasting, please show me so I can check it out.
On Wednesday my freshman are going to participate in Socratic Seminar on the topic “Who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths?” I had a brainwave that it would make an excellent podcast, but frankly, I’m not sure we have the proper tools to make one. I’m checking into that. At any rate, don’t look for a podcast soon. A certain level of comfort is required, and I’m not quite there yet. I also want my students to be prepared for and comfortable with doing one. I don’t think springing the idea that their discussion will be recorded the day before they have it would be a good idea.
I guess you could say I’m in the exploratory stage; I’m not ruling out podcasts in the future, but I’m not ready for one yet. However, you can learn about how one school is using podcasting to share what they’re learning about Jamestown in this 400th year of its founding.
You know, I don’t even own an MP3 player? I look longingly at them behind the glass in my local department store, but I have not yet been able to sock away the funds necessary to purchase one.
[tags]podcasting, education[/tags]
In my experience, people have a strong reaction to Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: they either love it, or they hate it. A teacher friend of mine once told me, “I refuse to show my classes the Leo DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet because… because… because it’s such a crock of shit.” Yet another colleague called it “lush and visually stunning.”
My students often refer to this version as the “new” one. It seems strange to refer to Baz Luhrmann’s production as the “new” version, when it is now ten years old; however, I think it does retain some freshness. It doesn’t appear dated, at least not yet, but I do feel that it’s potential to become dated is greater than that of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 production (which seems dated only in some of the hairstyles).
One of the chief complaints of many people who don’t like the film is the modernization, which some believe borders on sacrilege. My department head mentioned she thinks it is weird to hear Shakespearean dialogue amidst the gunplay. Others dislike the so-called MTV quality of the film. Noted film critic Roger Ebert declared, “I have never seen anything remotely approaching the mess that the new punk version of Romeo & Juliet makes of Shakespeare’s tragedy” (via Rotten Tomatoes).
I have often hedged before telling someone I liked it, simply because those who react negatively to the film do so in such a, well, violent manner. No, no one’s ever hit me — but their crazy-eyed, passionate hatred has scared me! If I may be so bold, I have noticed that many people who dislike the film have such a strong, visceral reaction that they are unable to see that the film does have some merits. For example, given that Zeffirelli’s film is so true to the spirit of Shakespeare’s play, it might surprise you to learn that Luhrmann’s version actually contains more of the text of the play. Shocking! In fact, Zeffirelli’s version cuts one of the most famous lines: “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” (Act II, Scene 2). If my memory serves, the most important line that Luhrmann cuts is Juliet’s famous “O happy dagger / This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die” (Act V, Scene 3).
I have to admit that I do not care for Luhrmann’s Balcony Scene. I don’t think there was any reason to put Romeo and Juliet in a pool, aside from amping up the sexuality. I wish also that the characters Sampson and Gregory had not been made Montagues rather than Capulets, and that Abra (Abraham or Abram) had not been made a Capulet rather than a Montague. My objection to this stems only from the fact that when I use the movie in class, this change can cause confusion.
Swapping guns for swords does not trouble me; I feel that Luhrmann handled that in a clever way, and in fact, the exchange really emphasized the violence in Romeo and Juliet’s world. Think about it: in the 1400’s it was not uncommon for the average male to carry a weapon or two. I think it makes sense that the omnipresence of weapons makes it more likely that weapons will be used. However, this was not something that particularly struck me as frightening until I saw all those guns. Why be more afraid of a gun than a sword? I’m not sure, but I know I felt as though life in Verona Beach, Florida was more precarious than life in Verona, Italy, even if this was not remotely a reality.
The massive throw-down at the gas station? It hooked me. A black Mercutio dressed in drag for the Capulets’ feast? I loved it. Miriam Margolyes’ Hispanic nurse screaming “Hoo-lee-etta!” Classic. The twist at the end, when Juliet awakes just before Romeo takes the poison? Clever and heart-wrenching. I should add that I have never had a class that didn’t laugh at Claire Daines’ echoing cry after Romeo dies. It does sound a bit, well, fake. What masterful use of the “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde after she dies!
In the balance, I like both films equally, and I use both in my class, though I only show the entirety of Zeffirelli’s version. After all, we only have so much time in class and a lot o curriculum to teach. However, I invite interested parties to come to my room at lunch to view Luhrmann’s version. Two years ago, I had a couple of girls who came to lunch and watched it over and over and over. I have not noticed that the students favor one version of the film over the other. For the most part, my students have enjoyed both. If you are interested, you can download and view a Power Point presentation in which I utilize images from Luhrmann’s film (designed to introduce Shakespeare’s play to students).
[tags]Baz Luhrmann, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet[/tags]
After a few hiccups, my American literature students have started blogging about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The first post was about superstition in the novel. If you have a minute, go ahead and check out what my students are doing over at their blog. They will be posting four days a week, excluding weekends.
[tags]Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, blogging[/tags]
In my last post about teaching Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, I mentioned a writing assignment I like for my students to do: an analysis of Juliet’s relationship with her nurse. In my first post in this series, I discussed an activity in which students compare and contrast two filmed versions of the Balcony Scene (Act II, Scene 2). Until I taught today, I didn’t know I was going to write about today’s lesson, as I didn’t consider it to be particularly noteworthy, but a student’s comment at the end of class changed my mind.
When we begin Act III of Romeo and Juliet (really any Shakespearean tragedy — or at least all the ones I can think of right off the top of my head), I tell students that this is the act in which “all hell breaks loose.” I know I have more license to say things like that than some teachers, but students usually appreciate the humor. Sure enough, in the first scene, Tybalt and Mercutio are both slain. We actually read this scene on Friday. One of the students asked a question about Mercutio’s death. I can’t remember exactly how the question was phrased, but it had something to do with why Tybalt did it, especially since Mercutio was related to Prince Escalus. Didn’t he worry about being executed? I thought it was a very good question, and I mentioned that though Shakespeare’s stage directions leave this scene open to interpretation, both movie versions I had seen approached the scene in a similar way: Mercutio’s death was an accident. In Franco Zeffirelli’s version, Tybalt and Mercutio are clearly not seriously trying to hurt each other. At one point, they even exchange an exasperated look as Romeo continues to try to part them. Michael York’s face displays shock when he pulls his sword away and sees blood. In Baz Luhrmann’s film, Tybalt is defending himself from an aggressive Mercutio, but John Leguizamo, too, looks somewhat surprised (or at least dazed) after he stabs Mercutio with a large piece of glass. I told students that it is possible to get around the “wasn’t Tybalt thinking” problem by directing the scene so that it is clearly an accident, but the truth is, one could also argue that Tybalt is hot-headed by nature and didn’t think about the consequences or who Mercutio’s connections were. The beauty is that either interpretation makes perfect sense. It all boils down to how much of a jerk the director wants Tybalt to be.
We learn that Romeo is exiled at the end of Scene 1. When Scene 2 opens, Juliet has not yet heard the news of Tybalt’s death or Romeo’s banishment. We stopped and talked about how the nurse confuses Juliet; she isn’t clear about who died or what happened at first, and Juliet mistakenly thinks Romeo is dead. One of the students asked why the nurse wasn’t more clear. I said she was very upset and wasn’t thinking straight, but it also makes for some great dramatic tension, as we (the audience) already know what happened. Juliet recites a fantastic list of paradoxes/oxymorons:
O serpent heart hid with a flowering face!
Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical!
Dove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb!
Despisèd substance of divinest show,
Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st.
A damnèd saint, an honorable villain!
O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In moral paradise of such sweet flesh?
Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound? Oh, that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace!
When I teach Romeo and Juliet, I ask students to look for examples of foreshadowing, oxymorons and paradoxes, puns, allusions, metaphors, and personification, but when we run into any of those literary devices in use, I always stop, and ask students “What is that?” They’re especially good at picking out foreshadowing.
In Scene 3, Romeo learns about the Prince’s judgment. Friar Laurence tries to convince Romeo that it isn’t so bad — it’s possible that with time, a solution can be found, and Romeo and Juliet can be reunited. I mentioned that I thought Romeo was being whiny, which gave the students an opportunity to tell me I was too harsh.
In the next scene, Juliet’s father decides to marry her off to Paris. When we read the earlier scene in which Capulet declared, “Woo her gentle Paris, get her heart / My will to her consent is but a part,” we stopped and talked about it, and I told students to remember he said that. Sure enough, one of the students said, “I thought he said she was too young earlier.” I said, “He did, didn’t he? And he also said she had a say in the matter.” I pointed out that Capulet is sure that Juliet will be happy about the news; it never occurs to him that she will not want to marry Paris.
Capulet has a great scene in which he explodes at Juliet’s seeming ungratefulness. Both of Juliet’s parents say some fairly awful things in their anger, and Juliet turns to the nurse for advice. The nurse tells her that it would be smart to marry Paris. Romeo can’t very well come to Verona to challenge the marriage, and after all, Paris is wealthy nobility. Juliet determines never to confide in the nurse again. This decision is critical. I asked students to think about what this means for our young lovers. One student mentioned she could still talk to Friar Laurence. I said, yes, she could, and she is just about to — she told the nurse she was going to confession.
One of the things I sometimes do when I’m talking during discussion is draw a student in, even if he or she isn’t really participating at the moment. An example might be, “I think Romeo’s being a real whiner here, right Bob?” or “I don’t know about you, but I’m scared for Juliet. Aren’t you scared Sally?” I don’t know why, but the students think it’s funny. It’s not the same as that teacher tactic of calling out when someone is not paying attention. It’s kind of a playful way of paying attention to a student.
At the end of class today, I summed up Act III: “So was I right? All hell broke loose! Mercutio and Tybalt are dead. Romeo has to leave town. Juliet has to get married, but she’s already married.”
The room was nearly empty. Just two students were still packing up their notebooks and backpacks. One of them smiled down at his desk and said, “Ms. Huff, you’re crazy cool.” I said, “You are too.” And he said, “Thanks.” I didn’t really realize I was doing much here — just reading and discussing together. But then again, no one ever accused me of being “crazy cool” after assigning a compare/contrast essay about the Balcony Scene.
[tags]Romeo and Juliet, teaching, education, Shakespeare[/tags]