Shakespeare, censored in Florida schools for the sexual content of ‘Hamlet’ or ‘Romeo and Juliet’

2023-08-10 10:33:35

The wave of censorship that led to the dismissal of a Florida teacher for teaching Michelangelo’s ‘David’ at school has reached a classic of English literature like William Shakespeare. Teachers preparing classes for the new school year are extracting ‘Hamlet’ or ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to avoid content considered inappropriate in the classroom, according to local media reports.

He ‘Tampa Bay Times‘ was the first to raise alarms by reporting that Hillsborough County students will only read passages in the classroom that do not have any sexual or racial reference, in compliance with the new Parental Rights in Education Act approved and promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis, more popularly known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.

According to this policy, if a school district finds material deemed to be “sexually conductive,” it “shall discontinue use of the material for any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or inappropriate.”

Numerous specialists warned that the law could force the mutilation of Shakespeare’s works. Leon County decided not to restrict the English playwright, but Hillsborough County did not.

After weeks of varied interpretations of this new rule, which went into effect on July 1, the state of Florida clarified that it does not believe that the works of William Shakespeare should be withdrawn, according to the newspaper.Tallahassee Democrat’. “The Florida Department of Education in no way believes that Shakespeare should be removed from Florida classrooms,” said department spokeswoman Cassie Palelisto the ‘Tampa Bay Times’ via email.

“In fact,” added Palelis, “eight works by Shakespeare are included in the sample text list within the (state) standards for English language arts, including ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet.'” Also education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr.. has recommended ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as one of his books of the month for August. But confusion still reigns.

Joseph Cool, a reading teacher at Gaither High School, told the Tampa Bay Times that “there’s some obscenity in Shakespeare” because “that’s what sold tickets in his time,” but “I think the rest of the country, no, The world is laughing at us.”

Cool claimed to have enjoyed teaching ‘Macbeth’ to his tenth graders last year. “The choices we make, the power struggles, the delusions of grandeur. It’s so rich in content and things that you can have discussions about, academic and academic discussions.” Asked if students would get that rich experience through excerpts from the work, he replied, “Absolutely not.”