From the Classroom to Germany

Hi there fellow Shakespearean Enthusiasts!

So, I am no longer in Dr. Burton's class, but he asked me if I would write a quick post about a really cool opportunity that has come my way as a result of the paper I wrote for his class last semester.

Video Version of a Rhetorical Approach to teaching Shakespeare

The Birth of a Paper

My idea for my paper about teaching Shakespeare from a rhetorical approach started because of the individual play I chose to read, Julius Caesar.

How I met the Learning Outcomes

Here are the learning outcomes as met by me :)

Rhetorical Research

As I have been continuing to research for my paper, I have decided the best audience for my paper would probably be teachers in the secondary school setting. I want to show my English Teaching professors my ideas and ask them what they think about trying to apply this in real schools with real students.

As I have continued my research, I have tried to expand both the social networking and the traditional research components. I have found that not many teachers in the secondary school setting are familiar or comfortable with teach rhetoric in their classroom. However, from the research I have gathered I have found that this is because they do not know that they are already teaching principles that come from rhetoric, they just did not know that it was called rhetoric. I think that teachers could help their students even more in writing and language development by making sure to overtly teach rhetoric and try to implement rhetorical exercises and principles.

A Rhetorical Approach to Teaching Shakespeare Draft 1

So I posted this a few days ago, but apparently it didn't actually post. Opps! Here's take number two. Here's what I've got so far. Let me know if you think it has promise. I need to link it to the text a little better, but it is a start. 

Overcoming the Common Complaints of Teaching Shakespeare to Secondary Students

Hey, so for those of you looking at a pedagogical approach to Shakespeare, Professor Burton suggested I post this. It is a paper I wrote for a teaching class and its focus is overcoming the common complaints of teaching Shakespeare in a secondary classroom using alternative teaching methods. There is an annotated bibliography at the end, so maybe that can help you find some good sources.

Julius Caesar as a Vehicle for Teaching Rhetoric

So I have decided that my tweethis shall be: In the play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare focuses greatly on the power and importance of rhetoric and thus this play is a tremendous asset to secondary school teachers who teach this tradition to their students and should be used as a vehicle for teaching both Shakespeare and the importance of rhetoric.

Taking a Pedagogical Look at Shakespeare

1. The play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, should be taught at a secondary level with an emphasis on rhetorical tradition.
   
    I read one article which talks about the rhetorical properties of the two funeral speeches. I have also taken 2 different rhetoric history classes and I think there is a lot of useful information to be had by students in the consideration of rhetorical analyses. This play by William Shakespeare in particular is full of allusions to the rhetorical tradition. Things like virtue, logos, pathos and ethos, types of speeches, etc., are all things that fall beneath the category of rhetoric. By helping high school students to understand these concepts, it will make it easier for them to spot some of these same things at work in other literature and speeches that they will read throughout their education.