Aye, there's the snub: Bard barredfrom a high school classroom

Cast members perform a scene from the play "The Duchess of Malfi" at Shakespeare's Globe, a theater in

London, England, Jan. 14, 2014. The theater is a reproduction of a Jacobean playhouse and it seats 340

people with two tiers of gallery seating and an historically accurate pit seating area. Photo: AP/Sang Tan

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Most high school English teachers adore William

Shakespeare, nicknamed the Bard, but not Dana Dusbiber.

In an essay published this month on a Washington Post education blog, the

California teacher explained she does not want to teach Shakespeare’s works

despite his esteemed place in American education. His perspective does not

speak well to her ethnically diverse students.

Dusbiber’s opinion caught fire online and on the airwaves as traditionalists

decried her view as academic heresy.

“High school teachers are supposed to love Shakespeare, and I don’t, so I said

I didn’t,” said Dusbiber, who teachers at Luther Burbank High School. “I think

the reliance on Shakespeare is something I find odd.”

By Sacramento Bee, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.25.15

Word Count 742

Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students

After 25 years teaching in Sacramento, she said she has replaced

Shakespeare's plays in her classroom with works by nonwhite authors.

Dusbiber, who is white, said many of her students come from different ethnic

and socioeconomic backgrounds than her own.

In the 2013-14 academic year, 96 percent of Burbank students were nonwhites.

Also, 81 percent qualified for free or reduced-price lunches based on household

income, according to state data.

Dusbiber adjusted her teaching style to show nonwhite students successful

authors with skin colors similar to theirs. Instead of Shakespeare, Dusbiber

assigns texts by authors such as Isabel Allende, who was born in Peru, Sharon

Draper, an African-American children's writer, and Mexican-American Francisco

Jimenez.

In her essay, Dusbiber spoke out against teaching Shakespeare because of his

outdated view of the world and his perspective as a white man.

Dusbiber wrote that it is bad to cling “to ONE (white) MAN’S view of life as he

lived it so long ago." By doing so, "we (perhaps unwittingly) promote the notion

that other cultural perspectives are less important,” she stated.

Another Modernizes Shakespeare

A few miles away at Sacramento New Technology High School, Christine Baker,

who teaches 11th- and 12th-grade English, modernizes Shakespeare's works

and creates interactive lessons for her students. Four out of 5 students at the

school are nonwhites.

Baker admitted the old style of writing can be tedious when read as a book

instead of a play. But she doesn’t believe it should be removed from the high

school curriculum.

“I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s view about

teaching Shakespeare.

Baker studied ways to modernize Shakespeare at the University of California,

Davis, in 2013. She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous

play “Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.

“They get the feeling of fighting families, of young love,” she said. “They might

make fun of it at first, but then I’ll remind them that they’re doing the same things

in the hallways and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah.’”

Burbank Principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify that her views

were personal, not representative of the school as a whole.

If Dusbiber taught 12th grade or International Baccalaureate (IB) English

classes at Burbank, she would be required to assign Shakespeare’s works.

California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students who are in the

special program for the international degree, Appel said.

“I think she stated her opinion, and I think it doesn’t reflect the thinking of the

whole school or our teachers, or the curriculum we teach within the school,” he

said.

Bard's Words "To Be Spoken Or Heard"

Dusbiber is not the first educator to suggest moving away from Shakespeare in

the classroom. Mark Powell, the assistant director at Salisbury Playhouse in

England, wrote a similar opinion piece in The Guardian, a British newspaper.

Shakespeare’s "words were chosen to be spoken or heard, not to be read and

deadened behind a desk," Powell wrote. "They wither when performance is

removed.”

Sacramento City Unified School District trustees last week voted to require

students in district high schools to complete an ethnic studies course before

graduation. The new requirement starts in 2020.

Dusbiber’s view attracted negative reactions from many people across the

country. Most of the opposition came from conservative thinkers, though the left-

wing magazine New Republic also did not agree with her argument, but for

different reasons.

Appel said Dusbiber’s main goal was making sure teenagers received a full

worldview during their time in high school.

“Her real concern is that students have an opportunity to be exposed to a broad

array of texts and assignments,” Appel said. “The ultimate goal is to help

students (think) about important questions and ideas.”

Quiz

1 What is the CENTRAL idea of the section “Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students”?

(A) A large percentage of Luther Burbank High School’s students are

nonwhite.

(B) Dusbiber tries to show her students that nonwhite authors, such as

Isabel Allende and Francisco Jimenez, can also be good writers.

(C) Dana Dusbiber teaches her ethnically diverse students the work of

successful nonwhite authors to give them a more holistic view of

literature.

(D) According to Dana Dusbiber, Shakespearean views are irrelevant in

the modern context as American high schools have students from

different socio-economic backgrounds.

2 Which sentence or paragraph from the section “Another Modernizes Shakespeare”

does NOT support its central idea?

(A) “I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s

view about teaching Shakespeare.

(B) She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous play

“Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.

(C) Burbank principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify that

her views were personal, not representative of the school as a

whole.

(D) California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students

who are in the special program for the international degree, Appel

said.

3 Read the second paragraph from the article.

In an essay published this month on a Washington Post

education blog, the California teacher explained she does not

want to teach Shakespeare’s works despite his esteemed

place in American education. His perspective does not speak

well to her ethnically diverse students.

What is the meaning of the phrase "esteemed place" as used above?

(A) humble position

(B) responsible position

(C) respectable position

(D) reliable position

4 Below are some phrases taken from the section “Bard's Words To Be Spoken Or

Heard."

1. similar opinion2. conservative thinkers3. full worldview4. broad array

Which of the above phrases is MOST relevant to Dusbiber’s critics?

(A) 2

(B) 4

(C) 1 and 3

(D) 1 and 4

Answer Key

1 What is the CENTRAL idea of the section “Teaches Authors Who Reflect Students”?

(A) A large percentage of Luther Burbank High School’s students are

nonwhite.

(B) Dusbiber tries to show her students that nonwhite authors, such as

Isabel Allende and Francisco Jimenez, can also be good writers.

(C) Dana Dusbiber teaches her ethnically diverse students the

work of successful nonwhite authors to give them a more

holistic view of literature.

(D) According to Dana Dusbiber, Shakespearean views are irrelevant in

the modern context as American high schools have students from

different socio-economic backgrounds.

2 Which sentence or paragraph from the section “Another Modernizes Shakespeare”

does NOT support its central idea?

(A) “I think that’s completely preposterous,” Baker said of Dusbiber’s

view about teaching Shakespeare.

(B) She asked her students to act out the prologue to his famous play

“Romeo and Juliet” before digging into the text on their own.

(C) Burbank principal Ted Appel said he asked Dusbiber to clarify

that her views were personal, not representative of the school

as a whole.

(D) California requires Shakespeare for 12th graders and for students

who are in the special program for the international degree, Appel

said.

3 Read the second paragraph from the article.

In an essay published this month on a Washington Post

education blog, the California teacher explained she does not

want to teach Shakespeare’s works despite his esteemed

place in American education. His perspective does not speak

well to her ethnically diverse students.

What is the meaning of the phrase "esteemed place" as used above?

(A) humble position

(B) responsible position

(C) respectable position

(D) reliable position

4 Below are some phrases taken from the section “Bard's Words To Be Spoken Or

Heard."

1. similar opinion2. conservative thinkers3. full worldview4. broad array

Which of the above phrases is MOST relevant to Dusbiber’s critics?

(A) 2

(B) 4

(C) 1 and 3

(D) 1 and 4