this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2025
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chapotraphouse
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Sometimes struggling with shit you hate is an important step to learning something that matters. I hated the Shakespeare plays I was forced to read and write about for the first couple of years they made us do it at school. But in the third year of this it all suddenly clicked. Had AI existed back then, I might have never come to appreciate Shakespeare.
Also, I didn’t know what the fuck I was interested in or good at as a teenager. Primary and secondary education needs to be broad and well-rounded.
I want to push back on this a little. All the time I spent in English literature class and French language lessons were wasted. I knew that wasn't related to what I wanted to do for a long time, and it still isn't. I forgot everything from those classes.
I literally took extra history classes that I didn't need to because I was interested in that subject. But I couldn't go all the way with them because I could only sit official exams on my official subjects.
Had I not been forced to waste time on English and French (especially french), I would have had a much better high-school experience. I might have taken up music as well.
The whole experience with subject choice really depends on the student.
Sorry, but this is a pretty surface-level take. The Shakespearean plays and the French language are vessels for other skills. Literary criticism, argumentation, media literacy, acculturation to a shared literary canon, and even just how to talk about books are all additional aims to using Shakespeare in an English class, beyond "learn this book you hate". A good English class can focus on these skills with any content, but Shakespeare is used for his contributions to the English language and literature in addition to his privileged place in culture (a valid avenue for argument).
The targeted plays might not be every student's cup of tea, but some students will love Shakespeare and hate your favorite book. As long as the classroom is used as a social learning space, there will need to be shared central content used as a medium for the skills--which are more important and enduring than the exact content of the plays. It's the same for the French grammar you don't remember but which gave you the rudimentary skills to study another language more effectively.
definitely something every human being should have to consent to, thats all im saying