Blog #202: Neurodiversity and Shakespeare in the Classroom
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Mar 15, 2022
- 2 min read
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
At least once in the journey of neurodiverse education, we are all bound to run into William Shakespeare at least once in our lives. For some, people enjoy Shakespeare, for others, they detest him. As someone who had crossed paths with Shakespeare several times in his educational journey, I faced the challenges that he presented in front of me and it didn’t matter if I was in Special Education or not.
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If you recall in my previous blog, I talked about when I was in general education classes that I would be subjected to sensitive and often times, difficult material and Shakespeare is no exception, especially at the High School level.
Traditionally, depending on what school system you go to, you are bound to run into four of Shakespeare’s works once you arrive at the High School Level:
Grade 9/Freshmen Year: Romeo and Juliet
Grade 10/Sophomore Year: Julius Caesar
Grade 11/Junior Year: MacBeth
Grade 12/Senior Year: Hamlet
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Now, it seems that our schools will often be very selective when it comes to which of Shakespeare’s plays are studied, but either way, Special Education Students will have difficulty studying them if they are streamlined into regular classes.
I should know, because I studied two Shakespeare plays in High School: Julius Caesar during my Sophomore year and Hamlet during my Senior Year.
In a way, teachers can see why Shakespeare is so difficult for special education students. After experiencing Shakespeare firsthand in High School, I’ve come to the conclusion that Shakespeare’s works are like learning another language. Sure, it’s English, but it’s English that is difficult to understand.
Plus, there is the matter of performing the scenes in front of the class which is very bothersome to neurodiverse students who don’t want to even be in front of an audience to begin with.
Many neurodiverse students are forced to perform in front of their peers which is very difficult to them. If performing scenes in front of an audience is part of their assessment, perhaps maybe have the student perform the easiest part of the play and have the language be simplified or translated to the student’s needs.
Perhaps a better way to help students prepare is for them to watch a clip from one of the many Shakespeare film adaptations and have them absorb what they see. Many neurodiverse students will often learn better from watching film adaptations than reading them because they can get a visual representation of what they are studying.
In fact, there is a very fascinating documentary that is all about Shakespeare in the Classroom that was made to promote the 1999 film, “Shakespeare in Love.”
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This week, I’m going to be discussing each of the four works by Shakespeare that are traditionally studied in the classroom and the film adaptations that teachers can show neurodiverse students to help them better understand the material. So stay tuned for what is to come!!
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Catch you all later!!
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