Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Teaching Shakespeare's Othello

Confession: I am so tired of Othello that I could just... end this unit two weeks early. It has gone on way too long for me, and here's why: I have given them way too many assignments on the same act, and they are generally plugging away at them. But it's so hard to watch. And watch I must: I have trained the students to work in their groups, given them the tools to do the work (I hope), threatened them if they get off task, and it would seem that they don't need me anymore.

So now they're all preparing their renditions of separate acts of Othello, and I'm just... hanging out. I have confessed here before that wait time is the hardest thing for me in teaching. As I wait for my students to produce their acts of Shakespeare, as I wait to see whether their understanding is acceptable or irredeemable, I feel as though I must remind myself to hold steady: let them struggle and laugh and write and play and work hard together. Being available is doing something.

However, even if their productions don't suck big time, it's back to the drawing board with this crazy-awful unit.

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