Joy in Shakespeare understanding, applying, and enjoying the works of Shakespeare

1. Joy in Shakespeareunderstanding, applying, and enjoying the works of Shakespeare Michael Round Theory of Constraints for Education 8th International Conference August 11 – August 14, 2005

3. Ode on a Grecian Urn … John Keats THOU still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme: What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy? Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone: Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare; Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss, Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve; She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair! Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unwearièd, For ever piping songs for ever new; More happy love! more happy, happy love! For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd, For ever panting, and for ever young; All breathing human passion far above, That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd, A burning forehead, and a parching tongue. Who are these coming to the sacrifice? To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? What little town by river or sea-shore, Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel, Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn? And, little town, thy streets for evermore Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell Why thou art desolate, can e'er return. O Attic shape! fair attitude! with brede Of marble men and maidens overwrought, With forest branches and the trodden weed; Thou, silent form! dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral! When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st, 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

4. A Shakespeare System THOUGHTS … Shall we read together … Let’s role-play, with characters … Let’s have a discussion … Mike … what do you think?

5. A System Problem No matter how much and how hard I try … I do not understand Shakespeare. “Understand” does not even encompass my meaning, because I really “do not get it”. How can I get it? How can I gain a foothold in the play, allowing me to continue further?

6. The “Action Item” Goal What constitutes “any means necessary”? Just that! An internet summary, a movie, a conversation, a great quote, etc. This may be a “necessary condition” to get me “into Shakespeare”, but is this “sufficient”? How can we leverage this foothold, and not lose ground? I logically understand my foothold by way of the logic branch. Iterate with clarity and causality reservations checked … Employing the action item, I gain and maintain a good foothold in a work of Shakespeare.

7. Thinking Process Language

8. Shakespeare Language

9. Narrative Language

11. Structure Achieved With a simple structure in place, can I integrate another aspect of the story … again, drawn from ANYWHERE? What does “integrate” mean? By way of the thinking process reservations and logic as the non-contradictory identification of reality, can I complete additional “logic chains” of “TP / Shakespeare / Narrative”?

26. Famous Quotes “Brevity is the soul of wit”? “To be or not to be?” We’ve heard these all our lives … now we have a structural understanding of the work by which to really understand these quotes! But, what constitutes “Real understanding”? The quote itself? The context from which the quote arises? The meaning of the actor in the context?

28. OUR Famous Quotes “Brevity is the soul of wit”? “To be or not to be?” Great quotes … yes. However, now that we have a great understanding of this piece of literature, why leave the great quotes to Shakespeare, when we can create our own? What would constitute a great quote? Validity in the Shakespearean environment? Of course … this gives rise to the quote itself. Valid in another environment? Certainly … this is the meaning of generalization. What about application to other environments? Is it valid in other applications? Is it not valid in other areas?

30. Other Endings? Must we accept “tragedy” as inevitable in Hamlet? That was Shakespeare’s story, but does it have to be ours? What might Hamlet have done to “rewrite history”? What injection might have Hamlet employed to arrive at a favorable reality?

32. A Process of Ongoing Improvement When am I “done” learning Hamlet / Shakespeare? It, of course, depends … however, with structure in place, many additional questions come to mind!

34. The Future … Shakespeare “Textbooks” Preliminary discussions have been held with the “Heart of America Shakespeare Festival” organization www.kcshakes.org about co-authoring / overseeing the writing of the 37 books to the left … They have the “Shakespearean” expertise … by way of the Thinking Processes of TOC, we have the structure to make “Shakespeare Enjoyable for All!”

35. Feel free to comment on the layout of the book, the structure, the categories, the initiatives, etc. As I said, this truly is a “process of ongoing improvement”, and an exciting process indeed!

36. Education as a System

37. The Left / Right “Dilemma” How Right-Brain vs. Left-Brain Thinking Impacts Learning Curriculum--In order to be more "whole-brained" in their orientation, schools need to give equal weight to the arts, creativity, and the skills of imagination and synthesis. Instruction--To foster a more whole-brained scholastic experience, teachers should use instruction techniques that connect with both sides of the brain. They can increase their classroom's right-brain learning activities by incorporating more patterning, metaphors, analogies, role playing, visuals, and movement into their reading, calculation, and analytical activities. Assessment--For a more accurate whole-brained evaluation of student learning, educators must develop new forms of assessment that honor right-brained talents and skills. Reading Bernice McCarthy, The 4-MAT System: Teaching to Learning Styles with Right/Left Mode Techniques. This theory of the structure and functions of the mind suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different "modes" of thinking. It also suggests that each of us prefers one mode over the other. Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.

40. An Exciting Possibility … Moving from a very complex system … I as the teacher need to create lesson plans for each aspect of this “complex system” to ensure “no child is left behind”.

41. An Exciting Possibility … To a very simple system … Simple thinking processes enable me as a teacher to achieve each aspect of this “complex system” to ensure “no child is left behind”.

42. An Exciting Possibility … To a joyously simple system! Knowledge, analysis, synthesis, etc., are achieved naturally. The whole student is achieved, where maybe I’m a mathematician, and maybe an actor, or maybe both! Simple thinking processes enable me as a teacher to teach well with happiness, and the student to learn with vigor and joy.

43. The State of Literature … “When did it all start, you ask, this job of ours, how did it come about, where, when? Well, I'd say it really got started around about a thing called the Civil War. Even though our rule book claims it was founded earlier. The fact is we didn't get along well until photography came into its own. Then - motion pictures in the early Twentieth Century. Radio. Television. Things began to have mass. "And because they had mass, they became simpler," said Beatty. "Once, books appealed to a few people, here, there, everywhere. They could afford to be different. The world was roomy. But then the world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths. Double, triple, quadruple population. Films and radios, magazines, books leveled down to a sort of paste pudding norm, do you follow me?" Beatty peered at the smoke pattern he had put out on the air. "Picture it. Nineteenth century man with his horses, dogs, carts, slow motion. Then, in the Twentieth Century, speed up your camera. Books cut shorter. Condensations. Digests. Tabloids. Everything boils down to the gag, the snap ending."

44. The State of Literature … "Classics cut to fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two-minute book column, winding up at last as a ten- or twelve-line dictionary resume. I exaggerate, of course. The dictionaries were for reference. But many were those whose sole knowledge of Hamlet (you know the title certainly, Montag; it is probably only a faint rumor of a title to you, Mrs. Montag) whose sole knowledge, as I say, of Hamlet was a one-page digest in a book that claimed: now at last you can read all the classics; keep up with your neighbors. Do you see? Out of the nursery into the college and back to the nursery; there's your intellectual pattern for the past five centuries or more." Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury PUBLISHED IN 1953 … DO WE SEE OMINOUS PARALLELS? BUT NOT INEVITABLE!