I am currently teaching Grade 12 University English at summer school in York Region. I actually enjoy summer school; it’s one group of kids for one month doing one course. It’s condensed, it’s intensive, it has none of the distractions of Day School, and on a selfish note, the pay ain’t too shabby. This month,… Read More What are we trying to learn here?
With a final click on the University of Birmingham’s Canvas portal, I submitted (and verified that it was submitted) my paper for the Shakespeare and Pedagogy module, thereby officially completing the first year of my MA. *insert huge sigh of relief here.” It has been quite a journey. I think back to that afternoon in… Read More Here Endeth Year One
On the first day of the IDEA Paris Conference last summer, as I sat in the Theatre de l’Odéon waiting for the morning’s keynote, a young Irish doctoral candidate who was sitting next to me asked me if I’d be willing to complete a short survey for her thesis. I agreed, and she began asking… Read More The Best of Both Worlds
When I was in Stratford-upon-Avon for the Pedagogy Module in my MA in Shakespeare and Education, one of the first exercises we had was to establish a philosophical premise for an active approach to teaching Shakespeare. One of the quotes that was used in the exercise was from Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey.… Read More “Translating” Shakespeare
Well, I had my first major mess-up as a Grad student. The final essay for the Research Skills and Methods module was due on April 30th at Noon GMT, which is 7am EST, where I live. My General MO is to submit the essay the night before, just so I have some time to make… Read More No Witty Fool
Prior to beginning my official studies, I thought it would be wise to brush up on my Shakespeare. As a teacher, I have become incredibly well-acquainted with a portion of Shakespeare’s works — Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night — and only because I taught them at… Read More Approaching Shakespeare: A Review
Today is OFFICIALLY the first day of my Masters’ Studies. It’s sort of a subjective day – It’s not like I am attending classes or tutorials, and I can, more or less, study at my own pace. And I have been starting – albeit slowly – on my own, so while today is the symbolic… Read More Day 1: And so it begins
Back in 2006, I had the opportunity to complete my Honours Specialist qualifications in Drama at the Stratford Summer Intensive offered by OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education – University of Toronto). For those of you not familiar with the qualification process in Ontario, the Honours Specialist designation is meant to indicate that a… Read More Teaching Shakespeare
For the last week or so, the flow of email from the Shakespeare Institute has increased. This has allayed my irrational fears that I had not, in fact, signed up for a post-graduate degree, but had in fact been scammed. I knew Juliet wouldn’t let me down. (Juliet is the Administrator for The Shakespeare Institute,… Read More Reality Sets In
I got the Official Unconditional Offer of a spot in the MA Shakespeare in Education at The Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham while I was at the 8th International Drama and Theatre Educator’s Association (IDEA) Congress in Paris in mid-July (more on IDEA Paris 2013 later). I obviously accepted as soon as I… Read More Gearing up
Better a Witty Fool than a Foolish Wit 