Lessons from the Field: Dr. Frank Koe on Shakespeare, Being Nice and Learning

This post is part of the The Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Dr. Frank Koe teachers entrepreneurship at The Pennsylvania State University. Below is our interview with him:

What are your favorite classroom methods?

Best classroom methods are those that involve/connect with students. The book, How We Think by John Dewey published in 1910 still applies. Teaching Shakespeare today, for example, is difficult because students do not understand its relevance, not to mention the language. And after all, aren’t plays meant to be seen? Would members of the general public rather read a Broadway play or go see it?

Additionally, if students were taught Shakespeare with all its necessary bawdy, the teacher would be fired! Remember that Shakespeare was in the entertainment business and had to compete with people wanting to see witches disemboweled, bear baiting, etc. It was a crude time.

To look at Shakespeare a bit more. In Hamlet there’s a play within the play called, “Murder of Gonzogo.” The meaning of the words, “country matters,” used in this play as Hamlet freigns insanity while watching it with his girlfriend Ophelia has actually quite another reference. Its true meaning (among many other ‘off color’ references) will not be discussed in a high school classroom, thereby obscuring part of the drama of a scene or story as well as the truth about a literary work.

The point I’m making is that much about education is heavily edited or what’s taught can be considerably irrelevant. No wonder it’s hard to teach some subjects/topics. What’s “good for students” to learn should be carefully reviewed. Remember. The reason students have the summer off today is because the family needed help with farm work many years ago. How relevant is that for 2009 and beyond?

What do you wish you would have known prior to being a teacher?

It would have been good to know that striving to be a “nice” teacher or liked by students is not a method or technique for enhancing learning in the classroom.

What was your teacher training program missing?

I think it would have been great to have had more in-class contact hours with students in the form of Pre Student Teaching. As my academic skills grew, I would like to have practiced what I learned. Like the practice of medicine, teaching is also very practical.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This is a guest post from our journalist Alex J. Mann.  You can subscribe to his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.