no matter the difficulty of the material, imo it could still be said that they are improving their comprehension
Nope, that’s not how education works. Due to the Principle of Effect, lessons which are too confusing can do more harm than good. If, as some other commenters have suggested, students are arriving to 12th grade English class reading at an elementary school level, handing them a copy of Hamlet isn’t going to accomplish anything, it’ll just frustrate them, convince them that they really can’t do this and they’ll just give up. Even honors students who are reading at advanced levels might start second guessing themselves.
Shakespeare’s work was all written ~400 years ago, reading a Shakespeare play is an exercise in translation as much as comprehension. Take a copy of Hamlet to a 16 year old, open it to a random page, point to a line and ask a teenager to read it. They’ll probably stumble through it. Ask them what it means and they won’t have taken it on board.
It may have more of a value in teaching the history of the English language than a reading comprehension exercise.
In 11th and 12th grade English class we mostly focused on themes and such; it was treated more as an art appreciation course than communication practice. And art appreciation should be elective rather than required. If we’re really honest with ourselves, the reason we teach Shakespeare in high schools is because English teachers like it, and English teachers majored in English in college because they like it, and there’s exactly one job an English degree qualifies you to do: Teach high school English class.
Hell, replace Shakespeare lessons with descriptive or persuasive writing classes.
The scenario I got in high school was “Here, one or more high school students, is a copy of Hamlet as Shakespeare wrote it preserved down to the punctuation and page layout. Read it just like you read To Kill A Mockingbird.” I assert that this is a poorly designed exercise in reading comprehension for modern 21st century English. This exercise will not substantially improve anyone’s ability to understand, say, the Pilot’s Operating Handbook for a Cessna 172.
I would say exactly the same thing of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, if it was presented to teenagers in its original Middle English. It isn’t though; textbooks are printed with the Canterbury Tales translated into modern-ish English. At the very least
And broghte hire hoom with hym in his contree
becomes
And brought her home with him into his country
We don’t do that with Shakespeare though; it has to be enjoyed in the original nonsense. Which I take as evidence it’s an aesthetic choice rather than a practical one.
I would assert that - if you’re trying to increase proficiency in reading normal 21st century English as a general life skill - you wouldn’t design the lesson like my English teacher did. If that was your goal you’d probably use a modern translation, maybe you’d study Ten Things I Hate About You rather than The Taming Of The Shrew.
Which is why I’ll also assert that Literature classes as taught in later high school and into college aren’t really designed to be communication proficiency classes but art appreciation classes. Which should be electives like band, orchestra, painting or photography, not required classes like math and science.
The English literature classes I took from my teenage years on all assumed you were proficient at reading.
Nope, that’s not how education works. Due to the Principle of Effect, lessons which are too confusing can do more harm than good. If, as some other commenters have suggested, students are arriving to 12th grade English class reading at an elementary school level, handing them a copy of Hamlet isn’t going to accomplish anything, it’ll just frustrate them, convince them that they really can’t do this and they’ll just give up. Even honors students who are reading at advanced levels might start second guessing themselves. […]
I wasn’t arguing that Shakespeare would make the students more interested in literature. I was only arguing that the act of reading, no matter what is being read (within reason), improves one’s reading comprehension.
Nope, that’s not how education works. Due to the Principle of Effect, lessons which are too confusing can do more harm than good. If, as some other commenters have suggested, students are arriving to 12th grade English class reading at an elementary school level, handing them a copy of Hamlet isn’t going to accomplish anything, it’ll just frustrate them, convince them that they really can’t do this and they’ll just give up. Even honors students who are reading at advanced levels might start second guessing themselves.
Shakespeare’s work was all written ~400 years ago, reading a Shakespeare play is an exercise in translation as much as comprehension. Take a copy of Hamlet to a 16 year old, open it to a random page, point to a line and ask a teenager to read it. They’ll probably stumble through it. Ask them what it means and they won’t have taken it on board.
It may have more of a value in teaching the history of the English language than a reading comprehension exercise.
In 11th and 12th grade English class we mostly focused on themes and such; it was treated more as an art appreciation course than communication practice. And art appreciation should be elective rather than required. If we’re really honest with ourselves, the reason we teach Shakespeare in high schools is because English teachers like it, and English teachers majored in English in college because they like it, and there’s exactly one job an English degree qualifies you to do: Teach high school English class.
Hell, replace Shakespeare lessons with descriptive or persuasive writing classes.
Hm, this feels like conjecture. Do you have proof of that?
I am a little confused now — is this you agreeing that reading Shakespeare improves reading comprehension?
I can tell you are confused.
The scenario I got in high school was “Here, one or more high school students, is a copy of Hamlet as Shakespeare wrote it preserved down to the punctuation and page layout. Read it just like you read To Kill A Mockingbird.” I assert that this is a poorly designed exercise in reading comprehension for modern 21st century English. This exercise will not substantially improve anyone’s ability to understand, say, the Pilot’s Operating Handbook for a Cessna 172.
I would say exactly the same thing of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, if it was presented to teenagers in its original Middle English. It isn’t though; textbooks are printed with the Canterbury Tales translated into modern-ish English. At the very least
becomes
We don’t do that with Shakespeare though; it has to be enjoyed in the original nonsense. Which I take as evidence it’s an aesthetic choice rather than a practical one.
I would assert that - if you’re trying to increase proficiency in reading normal 21st century English as a general life skill - you wouldn’t design the lesson like my English teacher did. If that was your goal you’d probably use a modern translation, maybe you’d study Ten Things I Hate About You rather than The Taming Of The Shrew.
Which is why I’ll also assert that Literature classes as taught in later high school and into college aren’t really designed to be communication proficiency classes but art appreciation classes. Which should be electives like band, orchestra, painting or photography, not required classes like math and science.
The English literature classes I took from my teenage years on all assumed you were proficient at reading.
I wasn’t arguing that Shakespeare would make the students more interested in literature. I was only arguing that the act of reading, no matter what is being read (within reason), improves one’s reading comprehension.