__________________________________________<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy for the students to avoid these questions, as they readily identify behaviours and instances that \u201cprove Hamlet is crazy.\u201d And so I push. What of our tendency to categorize his behaviour at all? What is it about this world, about you even, that makes you so frustrated, angered by Hamlet\u2019s behaviour, his action or his lack of action? How many, do you think, in Shakespeare\u2019s audience have ever had their father killed by their uncle who then marries their mother with the burden of truth and justice for an entire kingdom suddenly falling upon their innocent, naive shoulders? Not many of us in Shakespeare\u2019s audience know anything of ourselves in the same situation. Why then, are we so quick to judge? What is it about our own reality that prevents us from even trying to empathize with Hamlet\u2019s?<\/p>\n
As is usually the case in these discussions, these questions have a humbling effect, turning the lens onto my hypocritical self.\u00a0 And so I arrive at this reflection on co-creation.<\/p>\n
One of the big topics around our school in this early part of the year was homework: what it is, when to give it, what its value is. It\u2019s a healthy discussion, like so many that we should be having , that looks into a set of behaviours\/expectations\/routines\u00a0 at least partially bred by conventional \u201cwisdom\u201d that may very well sit in opposition to an emerging and more relevant pedagogy.\u00a0 For all the innovation I witness, it\u2019s amazing to me how quickly a so called 21st<\/sup> century approach to learning can crumble in the face of student resistance or apathy: The students aren\u2019t reading the novel so let\u2019s hit them with a content quiz; groups aren\u2019t working productively, let\u2019s place them back in rows; they\u2019re not being productive in class, let\u2019s assign homework.\u00a0 It\u2019s like we\u2019re not quite in, not fully committed. Ok, we understand that we need to re-imagine approaches to learning, but let\u2019s only re-imagine until the students\u2019 don\u2019t seem to be learning (at least in a way that convention has taught us to recognize) at which time we\u2019ll revert to the approach that we\u2019ve already decided doesn\u2019t account for the needs of the learner <\/em>(we\u2019ve moved from the tragedies to the comedies as this a total absurdity!). I think, in so many cases, we\u2019re excited to re-imagine teaching but not learning itself. When the outcomes aren\u2019t well measured by traditional means, which can simply mean the training of our eyes, we begin to question ourselves and, sometimes, revert.<\/p>\n A couple of years ago, our entire faculty spent a few days together with the amazing Sandra Herbst<\/a>, reassessing assessment. \u00a0I believe this time with this truly inspiring and empowering educator was transformative for our culture, and the lasting concept that still resonates with regularity was \u201cco-construction\u201d (or \u2018constructivism\u2019).\u00a0 I think I\u2019m slower than most in that I\u2019ve regarded this concept purely through the lens of assessment and assessment tools. In an English Class, as we embark on a journey \u2013 through a text or a genre \u2013 we might stop to reflect upon our early experiences and develop, together, the essential questions we\u2019ll be responsible for answering, in some form, at journey\u2019s end. At journey\u2019s end, we\u2019ll consider an appropriate expression of our learning and brainstorm the criteria of an assessment tool that will frame the feedback and, yes, the grade (ouch) they will ultimately receive. But now, I\u2019m beginning to see. Co-construction needs to be much more than a framework \u2013 a construction of the basic tools we rely upon in a specific approach to learning and assessment. Co-construction must also be a frame of mind \u2013 working together continually to construct perspective, to construct a way of seeing. From a teacher\u2019s perspective, it is a determination to truly understand the extent of students\u2019 experience and life. \u00a0By co-constructing perspective, we\u2019re better positioned to co-construct learning.<\/p>\n And suddenly we have meaning. Homework isn\u2019t just homework for the sake of homework. More importantly, the students have no opportunity to perceive it this way. \u00a0\u201cHomework\u201d falls within a larger context of learning and only to the extent that it is manageable within a larger context of life. A truly empathetic teacher will work with the students to co-construct this perspective. And, from a broader perspective, imagine the possibilities for learning if we\u2019ve all taken the time to understand all aspects of learning within the larger context of life… each life.<\/p>\n On this day, it\u2019s easy. I\u2019m hanging with 12th<\/sup> Graders, talking Hamlet. It\u2019s new, out of my routine and invigorating. I don\u2019t really have an agenda; I\u2019m in no way driven by a larger calendar. It\u2019s easy to take a step back. The challenge is it to consistently discover this moment within my routine. To remember its power and importance \u2013 in many ways it\u2019s so much more important than most anything within my routine. Also, it\u2019s really fun!<\/p>\n By the end of class, we don\u2019t agree. No one, it seems, agrees. And so Shakespeare has left us to ponder the extent of our dissension and the vastness of our individual experiences. Most important is that we feel the excitement and find a way to leave class more grateful than frustrated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently, I had the privilege of visiting the Grade 12 higher-level English classes to guide a dramatic reading and discussion of Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet. It\u2019s been years \u2013 15 was my rough estimation to the students \u2013 since I\u2019ve interacted with this play with any amount of intimacy. What a treat, and, as is the enduring … Continue reading “Co-Constructing a Way of Seeing: a Shakespeare Inspired Epiphany”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/grahamvogt\/files\/2017\/01\/Shakespeare.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0Things are not always what they seem! Shakespeare often liked to place his true wisdom in the margins, in some character we\u2019re not accustomed to hearing \u2013 a jester or a drunk for instance. And, if we don\u2019t look, we won\u2019t find it.<\/p>\n