My mom does that, too

I'm teaching my A-level class Shakespeare at the moment. Or, Shakespeare On Speed, you might call it. With just 25 school days left and so much more I want to teach them (and that the Ministry says I have to teach them) we have to move quite quickly through 400 years of literature with the theme of love.

So the past week, we've been reading sonnets and some scenes from Romeo and Juliet. On Monday, I showed the the first 20 minutes of Zeffirelli's highly praised film. I thought it was a drag. And I couldn't take the men seriously in their bright coloured tights. Hey, Mercutio's blue tights are on sale on H&M this week, aren't they?

Then yesterday, I showed them Baz Luhrman's film and I could easily remember the butterflies in my stomach as the camera zoomed in on Leonardo as Romeo when I first saw the film at 15. And still, I wanted to end the film at their wedding bacuse the rest of the play is so, so horrid.

Afterwards, I felt a bit guilty. What kind of a teacher am I? I should love old, classic movies and despise the new modern one that only tries to make Shakespeare more edible for people who aren't poetry-volent. I should opt for the most difficult, not for the most modern. I should appreciate Zeffirelli like all the grown-ups down in the staff room. (says the fourteen-year-old)

Hmm, sometimes I get caught in this limbo between being an adult and being young. Of course you could just say that I'm a young adult. And that it's good that I can relate to what my students like and dislike. But that doesn't always make me feel a whole lot better. I still makes me feel like a fraud. A fraud adult who's really just an adolescent girl.

Luckily, before I wind myself too much up, I remember Wednesday and how it felt to really know something the other teachers were interested in learning. and then I realise (and now we're getting corny, here, I know) that I have to enjoy this period like no other. Because now I know what it's like to be an adult and I can enjoy all the pleasures of being one (like planning a romantic holiday in New York or discussing what food to cook for my parents without feeling too silly) but I still am young and enjoy that, too (like bying Chucks, loving indie rock and watching Tarantino films and laugh instead of being disgusted. Wait. My mom does that, too. And she's not that young.).