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| Tony Blair: Iraq War was right even if there were no WMDs Tony Blair would have invaded Iraq even if he had known that it had no weapons of mass destruction, he has admitted. telegraph.co.uk |
Yemen Rebels Accuse Saudi Forces of Killing 54 People Yemeni Shi'ite rebels are accusing Saudi forces of killing 54 people in air strikes on a town in northern Yemen. www1.voanews.com |
Reports: Taliban Suicide Bombing Hit CIA Nerve Center Former intelligence officers say base was responsible for gathering intelligence along Afghanistan-Pakistan border www1.voanews.com |
Bahais go on trial in Iran The trial of seven members of the Bahai faith begins in Iran. news.bbc.co.uk |
The Shakespeare fightback | Anthony Seldon Children don't get the Bard? What rubbish. His works have the power to transform young livesThis week, the Royal Shakespeare Company takes Hamlet on a two-week tour, with some of its leading actors going into London primary schools. After years of Shakespeare being Âwatered down in our schools, and Âeducationalists patronising schoolchildren by saying they are incapable of understanding or studying the Bard, the tables are turning.Shakespeare has been in retreat in schools. The dropping in October 2008 of tests for all pupils at 14 was greeted with relief by the teaching profession, but has not helped the cause of Shakespeare, whose plays were a compulsory element. The number of students aged 11 to 14 who saw a live performance of a Shakespeare play fell by 50% in the last two years, according to a Warwick University report.The new specifications for English and English literature GCSEs, which come on stream in 2010, downplay the importance of exploring Shakespeare through theatre performance in favour of Shakespeare in film. The new International GCSE exam makes the study of Shakespeare optional. Stories circulate of state schools phoning up their local independent schools and asking if they'd like to buy sets of Shakespeare plays because they "aren't needed any more"."It's unspeakable, on a par with the dumping of the King James Bible by the Church of England," protested Al Alvarez a decade ago, when the government earlier considered downplaying Shakespeare in schools. "Shakespeare is what our literature is about, the finest flowering of the language."Now, the RSC fightback means the Prince of Denmark will be strutting his stuff round the North Circular Road, in a special 70-minute version for children to swallow in one gulp. "The play is in essence a ghost story played out against the backdrop of a dysfunctional family," says the director. "What's there not to get for students of their age?" All the schools in the tour have been busy studying the play. But, in the best traditions of whodunits, Hamlet's fate will not be revealed to the children until they see it unfold on the stage."But the plots are much too complicated," intone the naysayers: children cannot comprehend their full meaning. What rubbish. Shakespeare's plots resonate deeply within the human psyche and have the power to move and transform even young children. There are seven archetypal plots found in literature across the world throughout history, as Christopher Booker has reminded us. Shakespeare bestrides them all. Macbeth or Richard III gives us "killing the monster". Viola in Twelfth Night lives the journey from "rags to riches". Henry V getting France and the girl, typifies "the quest". "Voyage and return" describes The Tempest.Comedy and tragedy are gloriously covered by Shakespeare, with tales of mistaken identity and cross-gender dressing in the former, and paternal rage, family jealousy and naked ambition in the latter, with the same enduring power to inspire mirth or fear in children as in adults. Finally, The Winter's Tale is all about "rebirth and redemption".Children are capable of far more than is dreamt of in the philosophy of bureaucrats and educators who still try to dictate to schools what they should teach.Shakespeare is as vibrant today as he was 400 years ago. Exposure to him is not only the entitlement but also a requirement for all students if they are to be properly stretched, moved and enchanted during their time at school. That entitlement has been watered down to unacceptable levels.Education policyDrama and danceTheatreAnthony Seldonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |