Curious Student Finds Shakespeare 'Kind of Interesting.'

The Bard has recently and thoroughly captured the imagination of one my students as evidenced by his utterance of a few days ago. Actually, most, if not all of the class, has been enthralled in the past month by the silliness of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the chillingness of Hamlet.

They've laughed loudly when Nick Bottom's noggin turned into one of a donkey, and they've absolutely cringed at Hamlet's twisted predicament. These "devastatingly profound characters"—as author David Snowdin describes Shakespeare's main strength—will hopefully inform and entertain them for decades to come.

It's one of the true joys of teaching to be in a position to share great literature and great minds with students. We spend many of our days pondering and grappling with the themes of Shakespeare and de Saint-Exupery and the laws and theories of Newton, Einstein, Feynman, and Hawking.

We've also examined the lives and accomplishments of the polymaths Da Vinci and Franklin. Not surprisingly, the natural curiosity of the students gets ignited by these encounters. Hopefully, they will hold on to and further develop their sense of wonder of the world, and continue to ask questions and find things "kind of interesting."