[Music]
okay I'm thinking of a particular
country in this particular country
corruption is evident at the highest
level the environment is left
unprotected Peace Accords crumble a
proud and mighty military is put into
harm's way
refugees are refused the gulf between
the rich and the poor widens walls are
built libraries vanish their books
replaced with the writings of organized
religion a government susceptible to
foreign influence is unfaithful to its
constitution and its people are divided
and demoralized and then the fifth
century barbarians invade and down Falls
the Roman Empire the end Hey
it does not have to end this way for us
but where do we find ourselves now I
propose to you a radical non-political
remedy from a radical playwright who is
long dead we should formally adopt the
playing of William Shakespeare's plays
into our federal and state education
curriculum starting in kindergarten with
five-year-olds and guess what we already
have a legitimate way in to pilot this
proposal do you know the one writer who
still named by name in our Common Core
it's not Sylvia Plath William
Shakespeare now notice I say playing
with Shakespeare's play is not not
reading Shakespeare's plays Shakespeare
did not write to be read Shakespeare was
a playwright writing plays to be played
and playhouses by players before play
goers and most of his audience members
couldn't read anyway and even if they
could the English language was volcanic
with change I think if that if I didn't
run Tennessee Shakespeare Company in
Memphis I would aspire to be a
kindergarten teacher have you seen what
happens in kindergarten class
oh they play and have you seen what a
five-year-old can learn anything nothing
is impossible
all challenge is accepted I was
introduced to Shakespeare when I was in
ninth grade it was a horrific experience
ninth grade ninth grade anyone ninth
grade is that right what was the play
Romeo and Juliet brilliant who thought
this one up for 13 and 14 year old
children now here's a play in which five
children end up murdered and after the
first 14 lines you know how it's going
to end
man sign me up for more of that I want
to know more about that playwright
Tennessee Shakespeare companies
education director Stephanie Cheyne
introduced me to the notion that maybe
what Shakespeare was doing with Romeo
and Juliet was he was giving us
strategic points in the play that you
and I and our children could reflect on
how we might respond differently to
these given circumstances than his
well a Tennessee Shakespeare this
inspired us to create something called
the Romeo and Juliet project and this is
a four-part residency education
residency that goes into tens of high
schools in Memphis every single year
it's got three goals raised language
arts grades increase student compassion
and reduce the instances of violence
among children and guess what not for
nothing but after nine years it works
but here's something we discovered in
ninth grade classes too many of our
students couldn't can't read the text
and too many of those students are years
behind their literacy level well okay
but you know what our students still
could experience the text as
Shakespeare's play goers did they still
have their senses have eyes and ears
they can speak they can roll around on
the ground crawl speak act dance fight
with pool noodles so we introduced
Shakespeare's oral tradition into the
classrooms we kicked the chairs and
tables out of the middle of the room and
we feed verbally feed the text into the
students from behind and they repeat the
text and they play the play with each
other I get moved a lot when I think
about the young people playing with
Shakespeare's text what if what if
instead of Romeo and Juliet we
introduced our children to Shakespeare
through his science fiction through his
comedies through his action-packed
histories what if instead of his
tragedies we worked up to them over the
course of a 13 year academic period what
if instead of memorizing Shakespeare
children played with Shakespeare your if
is your only peacemaker touchstone says
and as you like it our children today my
children I have twin boys and fourth
in public school your children our
children today are taught through so
many standardized forms and websites and
videos and state mandated testing
periods that there is precious little
time left for creativity for the Arts
for exploration without the fear and
shame of failure for Humanity that's
what I want I want I'm bearing the lead
I want our United States of America to
make the teaching of humanity as
important as reading typing and
arithmetic when children play with
Shakespeare
here are three discoveries they will
make that will stay with them and our
country for a lifetime
compassion diversity and peace
compassion when children take on
Shakespeare's characters they learn what
it's like to walk around in another
person's shoes do you know and then they
get awaken to their own innate
compassion you know when that happens it
makes it really hard for a child to do
harm to himself and to others two months
ago we were doing Romeo and Juliet in an
area high school and young girl was on
was speaking Juliet's text and in her
anonymous survey that she sent to us she
said the character I most identify with
it is Juliet we ask why well because I
often want to kill myself - well we
didn't know who it was but we told the
classroom teacher she identified the
student she went to the principal and
they got the student professional help
the students is alive I don't ever want
someone to tell me that Shakespeare
doesn't make our lives better or can
save lives
someone's compassion is awakened Oh
diversity holy cow
Shakespeare should have been dead far
before he ever died he should never have
gotten off half of his place what he put
on the stage was illegal everyone should
have looked like me white and Mayo but
instead he put all of you onto stage
regardless of your race your religion
your politics your gender who you loved
two years ago we were doing Romeo and
Juliet and our actor playing Juliet
Chiana who is african-american had
finished the play and the young student
came up to her she was also
african-american and she said to Kiana
I never thought Juliet could look like
me well after I got over the profundity
of that statement
I was angry about it and I asked myself
well why not we're at fault
we're behind the United States of
America yes we're born in violence but
we should be leading the world in
embracing diversity not behind
well Shakespeare catches us up peace
through choreographed stage combat
children learn that violence holds
harmful consequences you know we teach
Shakespeare in many lockups
in Memphis and one thing we've learned
from those people who are there these
are these are juvenile defenders Violent
Crimes they're not 18 years old yet it's
not just true regionally it's through
national and true nationally the reason
why they're there
for so many of them is shame they've
experienced public shame and they acted
from it Oh
Shakespeare loves shame he loves it but
only in relationship to honor honor and
shame he puts into antithesis all the
time
imagine a generation of children being
raised that could identify their own
sense and value system around the honor
and the consequences and complexities of
their own shame well you don't have to
imagine very long you know we get a less
violent United States of America I do
believe that humanity should once again
play a central role in every child's
formal education to me that means the
arts need to be taught everyday not once
a week more specifically it means
Shakespeare and more radically it means
Shakespeare starting in kindergarten or
let fall Rome
now come on Hamlet get off the bench
thank you
[Applause]