Shakespeare’s texts all have one thing in common: their ability to captivate an audience. It is this fact which first earned them their popularity in society and consequently, in schools. Although they are all timeless tales, are they really still relevant to our school children?
Despite some arguments against their relevance, Shakespeare’s texts do provide opportunities for our youths to learn. They raise a student’s awareness of some of society’s most awful occurrences, including teen suicide and youth violence, alongside more enlightening themes, such as persistence and the evolution of the English language.
In our society, suicide remains a silent killer. We avoid the topic, but still, up to 5 Australian school children will attempt it each day. That’s 5 of our children attempting to end their lives, every day. This is a horrifying truth, which we must …show more content…
Romeo and Juliet, wherein two ‘star-crossed’ lovers commit suicide in a tragic display of love, provides the opportunity for our teachers to do this, in the supportive environment of a classroom. Likewise, youth violence remains a burning issue in modern society; our children participating in violent fights, which often lead to injury and even death. Despite the dangers, studies reveal that up to one third of our children have been involved in violent fights.
Romeo and Juliet mirrors this stark reality, through the intense, often bloody rivalry between youths of the Montague and Capulet families. Aside from allowing students to empathise with the characters, this enables students to understand the repercussions of violence in society.
Crucially, many of Shakespeare’s texts encourage persistence. In today’s competitive and often unforgiving world, persistence is a vital character strength for our youth to develop. In fact, Winston Churchill once claimed that, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of
Despite some arguments against their relevance, Shakespeare’s texts do provide opportunities for our youths to learn. They raise a student’s awareness of some of society’s most awful occurrences, including teen suicide and youth violence, alongside more enlightening themes, such as persistence and the evolution of the English language.
In our society, suicide remains a silent killer. We avoid the topic, but still, up to 5 Australian school children will attempt it each day. That’s 5 of our children attempting to end their lives, every day. This is a horrifying truth, which we must …show more content…
Romeo and Juliet, wherein two ‘star-crossed’ lovers commit suicide in a tragic display of love, provides the opportunity for our teachers to do this, in the supportive environment of a classroom. Likewise, youth violence remains a burning issue in modern society; our children participating in violent fights, which often lead to injury and even death. Despite the dangers, studies reveal that up to one third of our children have been involved in violent fights.
Romeo and Juliet mirrors this stark reality, through the intense, often bloody rivalry between youths of the Montague and Capulet families. Aside from allowing students to empathise with the characters, this enables students to understand the repercussions of violence in society.
Crucially, many of Shakespeare’s texts encourage persistence. In today’s competitive and often unforgiving world, persistence is a vital character strength for our youth to develop. In fact, Winston Churchill once claimed that, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of