Progress Report: Phase 1

I'm required to document my research and writing process for the Shakespeare research paper I'm doing this month. According to the assignment instructions, here are the components I must include. I have written about how I have fulfilled these requirements and included links to previous blog posts. 

Exploration- I have been exploring the idea of teaching Shakespeare while students have access to Sparknotes. Many students, high school and college, struggle to read their assigned texts and will use ways around lack of time. I have been exploring how teachers insure that students read the original text and not only use sparknotes or other 'cheat' sties. In my blog post Exploring, I go into a more in-depth explanation.  

Social Proof (finding)- To begin I e-mailed high school teachers- mostly English and some Drama. I specifically looked for AP English teachers and the head of English departments. To get a collection of e-mails I looked to my old high schools in TX- Saginaw and Boswell High. I also looked in the school district of my first University (University of North Texas)- Denton High. I was also able to contact some teachers of my friends high schools- Hattiesburg High (MS) and Lakeside High (GA). In addition, I reached out to local high school teachers in Orem High and Lehi High. I have gotten a few e-mails back and blogged about it in Responses- Social Proof. 

These responses are not what I anticipated and several teachers ensure reading the original text by incorporating it into their classroom activities. Because my concern and topic is not too much of an issue for them, my next step will be to look into Professors of Shakespeare and English Literature. I feel like the problem will be more apparent as the responsibility is greater in college and students schedules become more demanding.  

Textual Analysis- I enjoy Shakespeare because of all his universal themes that are applicable throughout time. In his play Macbeth there are three weird sisters that predict his future. Macbeth believes they are a credible source because their predictions come true (somewhat through his own devices). So he goes to them a second time to learn the future. However, despite his efforts to avoid his impending doom, death and overthrow, they come to pass. You could say this teaches the audience that there are no shortcuts in life and although you may try to know the future you still have to live through it. This echos the idea that you cannot use Sparknotes as a useful cheat site, you need to go back to the original text. I explore this topic in my blog post Textual Analysis. 

At this point, I am eager to continue exploring my research topic and hopefully a good direction will appear as I continue to explore and work at it.