[California] Teacher [where else?]: I Don’t Teach Shakespeare Because He’s White

Is there any wonder that kids "graduate" from high school without knowing their a** from their elbows...or anything else.

Teacher: I Don’t Teach Shakespeare Because He’s White

The Washington Post has published a guest article by a California teacher arguing that American high school students shouldn’t read Shakespeare because he’s a dead, white man.

Dana Dusbiber, who teaches English in Sacramento, says she avoids Hamlet and all the rest because her minority students shouldn’t be expected to study a “a long-dead, British guy” (Dusbiber herself is white). And while Shakespeare is widely regarded as the premier writer of the English language, able to timelessly portray themes central to the human experience, Dusbiber says he only is regarded that way because “some white people” ordained it and he can easily be replaced.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/06/14/teacher-i-dont-teach-shakespeare-because-hes-white/#ixzz3dHJXw2wQ

How and why do you replace Shakespeare? Because so many of his plots are followed so closely in movies and TV, it is even taught in film studies classes.

I don't happen to agree with this teacher...I think Shakespeare was a genius when it came to describing the human condition. Why didn't you link to the WaPo article itself instead of a second-hand account? She made her case...there are other authors, playwrights, etc. who don't get the "Shakespeare treatment" and who might be more relevant to modern times...and I see her point, even though I don't think ditching Shakespeare is the answer. She should select other authors she thinks are relevant and link their work to his work...killing two birds with one stone...reinforcing the dramatic themes that made him so famous.