Monday, November 17, 2008
The Hobart Shakespeareans
"Rafe Esquith is one of that rare breed of teachers whose influence extends well beyond the classroom. His remarkable career stands as a testament to what passion, imagination, and energy can achieve. "
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4 comments:
Jessie Sobey
ED 432
24 November 08
Reflection on The Hobart Shakespeareans
I really enjoyed watching this documentary; I even found it more engaging and inspirational than A Touch of Greatness. Rafe Esquith truly is one of those rare teachers who extends his craft, time, and energy above and beyond what is required of him. Out of a passion instilled in him by his father, Rafe passes on his love of Shakespeare to his 5th grade students. Claiming that he teaches Shakespeare because he loves it, he also knows that his students will learn discipline, teamwork, respect, and an immense amount of vocabulary. Because he has gained worldwide recognition for his unorthodox teaching methods and focus on Shakespeare, he is able to have celebrities like Michael York and Ian McClellan (both renowned Shakespeare actors in the theatre and in the movies) come to the classroom and be guest speakers. The kids are excited and touched when Michael and Ian share their experiences, knowledge, and advice about performing. As Ian reads from Hamlet, there is a sense of great awe, gratitude, and admiration.
Not at all to my surprise, other teachers at Hobart Elementary resent Rafe for his style and success. While the rest of us can look on with deep respect, those colleagues assume an envious and bitter role. I imagine it is because they feel like they are in a competition (with Rafe, other students, the community, the administration, etc.) that they cannot possibly win. Quite simply, Rafe makes them look bad. His kids adore him. They are in tears on the last day of school, knowing they are being forced to move on and into another teacher’s classroom. After all, how could anyone else measure up? While other teachers do not bother with really helping particular students understand the material, Rafe will go over something “500 times” until a student’s question is answered and understood. He doesn’t want his students to regurgitate information and think he’s cool; he genuinely wants to affect their lives and character. Education isn’t just about standards, memorization, skills, tasks, and grades. Especially for the students he teaches (who generally are poor, non-affluent, and must grow up in a dangerous neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles), Rafe wants them to be nice people who work hard and are able to surpass the violence and peer pressure that awaits them as early as middle school.
He brings his students to the UCLA campus and tells them what college is about---the freedom of ideas, the respect towards others, and the vast amount of work and dedication it requires. He asks them about their future goals, and in turn gives them hope that they can go to college and be successful. They just have to want it badly enough and work hard.
Every year, because of the funding he has received from various former students and patrons, Rafe is able to take his students on two major field trips. When they go to Washington D.C. to learn about our nation’s history, Rafe explains that it is all well and good to imagine history through a book, but to experience it in person and navigate, for example, memorials, allows students to live that history. It makes it tactile, visual, and emotional. As well, the students stay in extremely nice hotels and eat great food because he wants them to know what “the good life” is. Children are always told that one day they can be successful and wealthy if they accomplish certain things, but how do they know what they are striving toward? Rafe wants them to feel, taste, and believe that that life exists and is attainable.
I am impressed by the way Rafe includes all students' interests and abilities. The actors owned their lines and actions; the musicians provided great accompaniment. Who isn't blown away by how well thee students knew and understood their lines. Rafe makes Shakespeare accessible to students of all interests and learning styles.
For three years as a middle schooler, I remember playing my violin in a sorry little baroque ensemble as part of my school's productions of Shakespeare's plays. Players in the group were recruited from the music classes; set builders and painters were found in the art and shop classes. So, students who participated in the effort did so voluntarily. I laugh when remembering how seriously I took my job. The experience created bonds for me that I still enjoy today.
Full productions of Shakespeare's works were serious undertakings for my middle school. I remember adults running around like crazy overseeing rehearsing, building, and the music. One teacher spearheaded the productions, the school's drama teacher, and scads of adults who volunteered their time to help her make the productions work. While Rafe's undoubtedly built up his program himself, I imagine he has a lot of behind-the-scenes help. It's clear that he's made strong connections and has a sizable budget. Those two factors are crucial when one human is trying to pull off a big event.
I do not see many of these sorts of multi-discipline projects taking place at Lathrop. With the exception of the open-mic poetry session hosted by Mrs. O'D's creative writing class last week, it seems as though any gathering of students is for an entirely nonacademic assembly. I attribute this to the fact that money does not readily exist for such productions. Also, teachers who seem to be drawing from an extra deep well of inspiration and energy already have a major pet project with which they occupy their students. I would love to be part of team of teachers who worked together to make a full-scale event happen.
I respect Rafe's effort to show all his students how good life can be. I am impressed that Rafe can successfully arrange long-distance trips for his classes. Many school trips I've been on seem to have only been made possible because the group I was traveling with sold candy bars for a year beforehand and slashed expenses by eating boxed lunches and staying in cheap motels. Instead of making the excursion the goal, Rafe creates outings that inspire his students to expect and earn the best for themselves. The opportunities he presents to his students are remarkable.
I think that Sir Christopher Meyer’s quote is accurate. Rafe Esquith does have passion for what he teaches, is very imaginative in the way he teaches, and expends a tremendous amount of energy building each student into a strong individual who wants to learn and can find their own path, not just what society gives them. I really like the fact that Mr. Esquith says that the true measure of a teacher is seeing how the students are doing five or ten years down the road. When I thought about being a good teacher I knew that I wanted my students to learn and enjoy my class, but I hadn’t thought of it in the same way as Mr. Esquith. He does spend enormous amounts of energy trying to instill the love for learning in his students that will carry them past poor teachers. I also like the fact that, although he holds his students to high standards and expects the majority to do well, he is also a realist. He acknowledges that there are days when it doesn’t seem worth it (kind of like how I feel right now at the end of the semester) and that not all students will buy into what he is trying to sell them. That part was really comforting to me. I was beginning to think, I don’t know if I have that much energy.
I also liked the way field-trips that Mr. Esquith took his students on. I agree that it is a good idea to show the students how good life can be. Many of the students might not have actually been to an environment like UCLA where everything is quite and people are respectful. That's something that we college students take for granted, but I bet it looked really appealing to those students.
Rafe Esquith is a great teacher. The documentary blew me away on so many levels, and they all stem back to what this one man is willing to do for his students. I had expected something with a few plays in it, but this was so much more than that. I couldn't believe that he used to work four jobs to take his students on trips, or that a former student made a nonprofit just for his class. That fact there, it says everything that should be said about Mr. Esquith and his teaching style.
He does have an unorthodox teaching style. He reads, and has his students read, books for middle and high schoolers, and they get them. He swears, says racy things, and encourages them to 'kill' their televisions, but this is all much milder than what his students live with every day. He focuses on the fact that there are no shortcuts in life and he teaches his students to be nice and work hard, which are bits of advice that will stand them in good stead forever.
I enjoyed his philosophy of showing the students what they are working for, and teaching them steps in changing their lives, themselves. That is not something that I ever considered teaching a ten year old, but you can tell by the college banners and plaques on his wall, by the nonprofit and his popularity, that these are all tactics that work, have worked, and will work. He is a great teacher not because of his guest list or the trips his students take, but because it occurred to him to try.
After viewing this documentary I am in awe of Mr. Esquith. I saw several things that floored me, including a guitar per student and a class that could name all of Shakespeare's plays, and all things considered I have to think that these students are lucky. They will see, and know, and feel that they can reach the good life with hard work. It won't be just an ideal, but they will have experienced some of it, and they will have worked for it. I really enjoyed this documentary.
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