Dane Giraud: Only the mediocre could dream of banning the bard

I am a classically trained actor, earning my diploma at Unitec Performing Arts School after an, at times grueling 2-year course, graduating in 1997. Raised in impoverished South Auckland, I was then a disillusioned glam rock guitarist with a shattered heart and a worsening alcohol problem. It was this bleak juncture that led me to the thespian path. By day, I tore tickets at the now-defunct St James Theatre; by night, I devoured three or four VHS tapes, mesmerized by the intense performances of Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Robert De Niro. I dreamed of transforming myself in the way these actors could, arriving on set with the same shocking dedication De Niro showed in “Raging Bull.” Alas, today I have a paunch, but no cameras seem interested.

Kevin: Shakespeare Is Back at School, Maybe

The revised year 7–13 English curriculum, to be released in July, is expected to include compulsory Shakespeare and grammar lessons, as well as a recommended reading list ranging from contemporary New Zealand authors to Chaucer and Beowulf.

[…] Teachers are also concerned about the emphasis on traditional literary texts, such as Shakespeare and other works. They worry many students might find these works inaccessible. As parents and teachers await the draft curriculum, it is worth considering what is changing and why.

Clive Bibby: All the World's a Stage

One thing is common amongst great writers ever since humans first put pen to paper.

The relevance of their observations are timeless and are as valid today as they were when first offered to the people of the age.

The great philosophers, poets, scientists and novelists all had their moment in history where their comments resonated with the oppressed and mighty without fear of contradiction.

Peter Winsley: Resolving arguments about opening meetings with karakia - A modest proposal

Debate continues on whether meetings should open with a karakia, and if so what rules might apply. Some oppose their purported religious content (karakia can be secular). Some argue karakia must always be translated into English. Others value Te Reo Māori for its emotional power, its meanings ineffable in English, or simply because of how it sounds.

Peter Winsley: Education as Master, not Servant of Artificial Intelligence

Knowledge accumulated over Generations

When past social or technological advances are discussed young people sometimes disclaim all knowledge and remark “I wasn’t alive then”, as if nothing can be known without having been lived through. This is not Hayek’s “pretense of knowledge” so much as the misguided view that nothing is real except what you have seen, touched and can vouch for in person. In fact, learning accumulates and is passed on through the generations. For example, a first-year university Mathematics student stands on the shoulders of generations of mathematicians from many cultures. The known evidence suggests that mathematics originated in Mesopotamia in around 3000BC and advanced greatly within the Islamic world of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, “but I cannot say for sure because I wasn’t alive then”.

Point of Order: The art of bragging about govt money being well spent.....

.....while requiring us to turn elsewhere for the dollar details

The benefits that have flowed from pouring public funds into the arts is the subject of one of two new statements posted on the government’s official website in the past 24 hours or so.

This statement has been released by Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni, the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, to draw attention to a just-published report which evaluates the economic impact of the Government’s investment of “almost half a billion dollars” in the arts and culture sector through COVID-19.

Mike Hosking: Creative New Zealand's week gets worse

Creative New Zealand having been stung badly for their behaviour this week.

Having been embarrassed by an embarrassed Prime Minister who went and usurped them for easy political points, they have "spoken out."

This is Shakespeare and the funding they rejected because of the "cannon of imperialism." First point, who speaks like that? The "cannon of imperialism?"

What condescending tosh.

Jacqueline Athanasatos: Hands Off Our Bard!

Is nothing sacrosanct from the insidious creep of The Cancel Culture? Apparently not.

The distressing, un-glad tidings that Creative New Zealand has withdrawn its modest $30,000 per annum funding for the Shakespeare in Schools programme, has come as a body blow to those who value the enduring literary power and drama of the late great William Shakespeare.

This decision was apparently justified by its “advisory panel” opining that “Shakespeare was locked within a canon of imperialism and missed the opportunity to create a living curriculum and show relevance to the contemporary art context of Aotearoa.”

Michael Bassett: Labour's Shakespeare moment

As a former Labour Minister of Arts and Culture I was shocked to hear that the Arts Council had decided to remove the annual subsidy to the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare festival for secondary school students. The sum of money involved ($31,000) isn’t massive. But the decision to cut the subsidy hits at a very significant secondary school cultural festival. The second biggest secondary school in the country, Mt Albert Grammar School, smack in the middle of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s electorate, has performed very well at these Sheilah Winn competitions, with several students, winning scholarships including recently an African international student at the school. The reasons advanced by Creative New Zealand for abolishing the grant related to some weird notion that Shakespeare is part of imperialism; that New Zealand should be “de-colonised”, and presumably that all students should be force-fed kapa haka and Te Ao Maori instead.