Some recent questions arose concerning our 4th grade play. Typically, we have done Macbeth (a substantial, but revised, version for kids). Sometimes parents have some concerns with the choice of Macbeth. There are two root concerns, but they end in one questions: “Is Macbeth really appropriate for 4th graders?” To parse it, the concerns are: “Can 4th graders really handle Shakespeare’s content academically?” The second, and usually loudest, concern is: “Is this play—full or murder, intrigue, and sin—appropriate for 4th graders?” In this brief space I will attempt to answer both of these concerns.
Before I begin, however, I should mention a few things. First, it was my wife, Emily, who first did Macbeth with 4th graders. At the time I was concerned about whether our kids were ready to handle the material academically. I still remember the first time we did the play. It was a blast. As some might have heard, two of the students that participated in that play (there were only ten students) have now been on nationally syndicated television programs. (This, of course, was not part of our strategic plan, but it delights me none the less.) Also, I am the father of one young lady who played the most troubling role in the play—the murderous, ambitious, and eventually insane, Lady Macbeth. So, I have faced the play as a father, a husband, and as headmaster.
Let me deal with the easiest objection (the academic objection first): “Can 4th grade kids really read and interact with Shakespeare?” At many schools, sadly, the answer is no. The children would not be able to read the material, comprehend it, enjoy it, or love it—as many of our students have come to love it. We are blessed, however, by the work that our Kindergarten through 3rd grade teachers have done with our children. They can enter in the work and understand. I have seen this again and again year after year. One of the great inducements of our 4th grade literature list is that it begins to read books that are things that adults might choose to read and for 4th graders reading the books that their parents love is cool. This book—and Beowulf—which their read aloud in 4th grade—are stretches. They invest substantial time in Macbeth. They read Beowulf together out loud. So, can our kids handle this book academically—yes, they can!
When one considers the content of Macbeth, particularly the violence, I think that asking whether this content is appropriate is a responsible and important question that parents should ask. First, note that we read a children version of Macbeth—there is still violence, King Duncan is still murdered—but some of the language is updated to make it more appropriate and understandable. (This is helpful for our parents who come to watch Macbeth as well for our children who do the acting.) Even with the scrubbed up version that we use, it is still important to know that learning this material will be helpful to our children rather than damaging. As a father whose daughter played Lady Macbeth, let me tell you the three biggest reasons why doing Macbeth in 4th grade was a blessing to my daughter. My assertion is that: Reading Macbeth helps our students become better Christians, and more mature people.
First, the material is very useful to help students understand how sin destroys relationships and lives. The glory of Shakespeare is that he views the world biblically. He does not candy coat sin or make it seem more palatable than it is. Sin destroys lives. It wrecks the moral order. It leads to ruin and destruction. These are the points that we are bringing out to the students as they read about the murder of King Duncan and the subsequent unraveling of Lady Macbeth’s sanity and Macbeth’s rule. Sin has a price and that price is terrible. Fourth graders do not often get the chance to murder kings. They are, however, not too young to begin to murder people with their actions and their words. Studying Macbeth was an excellent time for my daughter (under the thoughtful guidance of Mrs. Arrick) to understand this terrible price. (This has not resulted in her living sinlessly, of course, it has made for some good conversations where I can talk with her about the damage that sin causes.) Reading Macbeth helps 4th graders to be better Christians.
Reading Macbeth also helped my daughter to become more mature (in a really good way). She did not have nightmares. She did, however, begin to see through other forms of entertainment. We were once watching a movie as a family and someone was injured. She said to her sisters, “The blood is fake. It’s not real.” This sort of stuff has been a great blessing to my family and, rather than scarring her, the study of things like Macbeth, Beowulf, and the Bible has helped my daughters mature.
I have written a number of times about this sort of thing to the school community. My words, however, are much less effective than hearing from a parent who has walked down the road at Veritas. Here I attach a recounting of a phone conversation that I had with Violet Chen about some of her post Veritas experience. What she recognized as her son went into a very challenging environment is that what we were doing with him at Veritas prepared him to be able to stand faithfully. Her son, Jeremy, was our Convocation speaker this year:
The email popped up rather innocuously one morning last week. A mother of one of our alumni had called and wanted me to call her back. I was curious. Families—like this one—usually have a full schedule and do not often call up the headmaster of the school from which their child graduated just to chat. I called wondering what was up.
After we exchanged greetings, "Hello," she said, "I just wanted to call to thank you for all you did for my son." She continued to explain the reason for the call. Her son has gone on to an incredibly challenging and intense academic environment. Some of the Christian mothers at that university have joined together to pray for their children that their faith would be strong during this challenging time. One of the young men, sadly, had fallen away from the faith. His rejection of Christ resulted from reading some powerful unbelieving philosophy (Frederick Nietzsche, to be exact) with his college professor who despises the faith. In this environment, the young man's faith wilted. The mothers, of course, have continued to pray for this young man who has lost his way. "That's terrible," I said, still wondering about this story's connection to the phone call.
The mother continued. Her son, the Veritas alumnus, had the same classes with similar unbelieving professors and similar books to read. His faith was not destroyed. Instead, he is involved with campus ministries and is contemplating a life of Christian service. Now the mother arrived at her point for the call:
I did not understand everything that you were doing with my son when you were doing it. In grammar school you were reading Beowulf and other difficult material. Sometimes my husband and I wondered why you were doing it. When my son reached secondary school, there were books that you read with him that were both challenging and, we knew, full of philosophy that challenged Christianity. Now, I understand what you were doing. He studied these ideas and philosophies in a believing environment with your faculty at Veritas. Now these ideas do not frighten him. He is able to learn in this challenging environment without it destroying his faith. Thank you.
I was so thankful for her call. I assured her, however, that a lot more went into her son's faith and courage than what we did with him at Veritas. He has a supportive family praying for him. He has involved himself in worship and fellowship opportunities. At the root of all of it is the grace of God. Still, I said, "Concerning Veritas' part, however, you are exactly right. That is exactly what we were doing. We wanted to help your son stand strong in dark places and not be afraid of the darkness around him."
I was so thankful for her call. It blessed me. Know that this is exactly what Veritas will give to your son or daughter. We want them to be academically competent to have access to all that their God-given gifts and abilities will allow, and we want them, as they stand in these places, to be able to stand strong for Christ with faith that endures.
