Brooklyn Frontiers High School – Brooklyn, NY
What is unique about where you live and teach?
I live in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, a very diverse neighborhood. When I first moved here 12 years ago, it was one of the most diverse in the five boroughs, and while gentrification has had an impact, there are still many languages spoken, ethnicities represented, and cultural traditions mingling together. As far as my school goes, we’re a public school that works with students who have been held back twice K-8, making them statistically the least likely to graduate in NYC.
Can you list at least one thing you are looking forward to in working with teachers from all over America?
I’m looking forward to hearing about their challenges and successes from across the country. I expect there will be as many commonalities as differences! I’m also excited about working with and getting to know fellow Shakespeare enthusiasts. The other Shakespeare teacher at my school left two years ago, and it’s been a bit lonely!
What’s your favorite thing about teaching Shakespeare?
Every time I start getting ready to teach Shakespeare, I go through the same cycle of self-doubt (is this really a good idea for my students?), self-affirmation (I’ll make it work), and anxiety (this won’t work). And then I launch into one of the plays, and the process always unfolds differently, with students making new connections and latching onto different aspects of the play.
Why is it important for students today to study Shakespeare?
His language and ideas have permeated almost every aspect of Western arts and literature, and by teaching Shakespeare, students can start making deeper connections to what followed from it. In addition, by looking at the Elizabethan language, they can develop a tangible sense of how our language is alive and ever changing.
In one sentence, tell us what you want to get out of this year’s institute.
I want this experience to fill up the reservoir of academic enthusiasm that gets drained over the long year.
In one sentence, tell us what excites you the most about spending two weeks with us in Brooklyn.
I’m most excited about showing strangers around the city I’ve come to love–and to being able to share with my family what I’m learning at the end of each day.
Tell us one or two things you are bringing with you to Brooklyn (physical, practical, knowledgeable, etc.)
Most of my students don’t get to access the perks that the powerful and privileged do in NYC. I bring experience and knowledge about how to help them do that.
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