Several years ago when Superintendent Eric Ely first addressed the staff of the Schenectady City School District, he advanced his educational agenda. He made a point of questioning the value of teaching Shakespeare to Schenectady’s students, using the play “Macbeth” as an example. It’s too bad Mr. Ely saw nothing more than a difficult and irrelevant text in the tragedy. The tragic form is important because it teaches us about ourselves and our limitations. Mr. Ely’s arrogant assertions that he is innocent of malfeasance and that his accusers are liars show that, though his actions (or inactions) have contributed to the school district’s descent into tragic circumstances, he does not have the capacity for reflection required of a tragic protagonist. According to Aristotle, the tragic figure must take responsibility for his failure. Because Mr. Ely refuses to look inward and accept blame, his voice lacks true tragic resonance; his claims of victimization come off as mere whining. His personal situation hasn’t the depth of tragedy; it is only a sad cautionary tale. As the Scottish lord Angus says of the disgraced Macbeth, “Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief.” Read your Shakespeare, Mr. Ely, and gain some perspective.
GREGORY J. WOLOS Alplaus The writer is a retired English teacher for the Schenectady school district.
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