The Romeo and Juliet play has caused much controversy throughout South High School and the student’s parents. Some parents believe that the play is a waste of time. The parents believe that the only way to test the student’s knowledge about the play is to have tests and sit down and read it. They think that it has absolutely no value in the classroom. The value that this project has is much greater than just sitting down and reading it. It teaches the students about how important getting thing done on time is. It taught them a great number of communication skills that they can use in their real life. It gave them hands on experience on how to do things. Lastly, it gave them a lifelong memory they will have forever. Reading the book in class and sitting down and discussing the themes has its ups, but The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project has much more classroom value.
The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project teaches the students a great deal about how important timing is. Each week, the students must perform a set of tasks or jobs. Some students had to post one or two blogs on a wiki. Others made a Facebook page for a character in the play that they had to update and keep track of. What ever the requirement was for that student, every single child had to post something every week. These “things” the students posted couldn’t be just anything; they had to have some meaning. So even though the students could try to rush and get what ever they had to post done on time, you could easily tell what students actually remembered their responsibility and which ones didn’t. The ones that rushed and forgot to do their weekly assignment had points deducted. Each week the amount of points students were given on the weekly post went up, so those students that used to forget or rushed about posting whatever they had to get done on time were now getting it done in record timing. The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project taught many students about how important getting things done on time is, but it also built valuable communication skills.
In The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project, the students learned a great number of communication skills. They worked with another school, in another state, and other students in different class periods. The students had to use things such as blogs, wiki, Skype and email. This teaches the students communication skills. For each act of the play, the students would talk to the other school to make sure their actors and actresses were going to be in the same type of clothes as South’s actors and actresses so the movie would flow better together. Also the students had to talk with other students at their own school that had different class periods from them. The students talked with other directors, film directors and script writers, all of which are jobs performed by students. Furthermore, the students had to talk with many different sorts of people to get filming locations. They had to check everyone’s schedule for a filming day that would work well with everyone. All of this taught the students the importance of using technology to get in touch with people. They learned how to use things that they might have not known how to use before, such as Skype or a wiki. The greatest value in all the communication skills learned is that every student can use it in real life, for instance in a job. The play taught a great number of communication skills, but it also required the students to be an active part of the whole play.
The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project required the students to be an active part of the play, giving them hands on experience. In class, the students did more than sit down and read; they were active. If a student is put in a room and told to quietly read and not talk, most likely the student won’t learn anything at all. But for the play, the students were allowed to move around the classroom and talk to their classmates about the project. This permitted them to decide on an outfit for a part of the play or work on the script together. The actors worked on lines with other actors, or maybe a film director and the advertising people brain stormed with friends about main ideas and how to translate them into a visual representation. Outside the classroom, the students filmed, worked on ads for the play or talked to the other high school about how they were doing on the play. Every student had a job, whether an advertiser or actor, each one got hands on experience as an active part of the play. The actor had to memorize lines and perform them, but behind the scenes script writers and producers were hard at work, too. The students were required to be an active part of the play, giving them hands on expertise, but the play also creates life long memories.
The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project created life long memories. When someone looks back on their freshmen year in high school, they probably won’t remember sitting down and taking a test about Romeo and Juliet. They are not going to remember studying for the test or a lot of the main ideas about the play. The students at South High School did something that no other high school has ever done. They’ve created a movie with another high school that they almost one hundred percent did all by themselves. They are going to remember the fun they had at shootings or creating ads for it. They will treasure the friendships that they have made with other students. The students have done something truly amazing, not just the fact of how much of it the students themselves, but of what they have created. The fact is that the movie the students directed, filmed, and performed will stay in their memories forever. The things the students created, the bonds they have made, cannot be earned or achieved by simply reading the play. They have accomplished a lifelong memory. They can tell their kids and their grandkids. When they look back at freshmen year in high school, they won’t remember a test they took, but they will forever recollect The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project they did.
The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project has created something no other high school has even tried to do. The students have gained much more than if they had just sat down and read. What the students have done is priceless, from the friendships, to the skills they have learned and to the memory they will have with them forever. This project, which some parents say has no “value”, has taught the students much more than most other projects. All the class periods, the other high school and the teacher have come together to mold and form an amazing unforgettable experience for everyone. The students will surely benefit from the once in a life time type of project they have participated in. They will remember it forever, and the skills they have learned they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. So even though reading the play is the traditional way to do things, the students learned so much more with The Epic of Romeo and Juliet project.
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