Literacy through HipHop
pcmr
5,591 Posts
I heard about this from my man DJ Static (wefunk radio CKUT)and I thought it was interesting for the djanna and other teachers hereIts a inner-city literacy program for kids 9-12 that uses hiphop to promote literacy. MCing and reading a hiphop history textbook are used to get the kids interested in creative writing and readingI strongly believe in arts and youth education as communal devlopment toolsand i am excited about this i will probably volunteer here in montreal but i saw there is one in sao paolo and i cant wait to continue working there (next year related)for you us people there is one in colorado check their website for the montrealers there is a promo show at blizzart on thrusdayLTHH = That real schitt (bambataa style 
Comments
"Dont Forget to listen to tracks 1 through 7 on Makavelli for tommorows quiz."
"Good Job, Ralik. See how Jeezy's third verse references previous poets like Ms. Melodie"
this image is hilarious almost a disconnected graemlin in the making
Tryin my best must to act like a clown
Oooh, baby yo' skin is brown
Can we hang out and play the town?
Yo bust it, play the town
I took the booty to the flick on Rolla(?)
It was wack, a bullshit drama
Usher where's the balcony?
Damn my dick is hard baby
Hickies icky make me sick
Next thing you know she was suckin my
ding-ding-ding-ding-ding don't be so quick
Take it slow, get every lick
YEAHHH BABY! Way to go!
Shot it in her mouth, she wanted mo'
Breath is Scope'n, stop your hopin
She's all mine I got her chokin
Where's my gun, you think I'm jokin?
Motherfucker, all you got is a token
Jill, your moms get skied alone
Pops is drunk so he is gone
Brother's jerkin his dick in the bed
Sister got FORTY LICKS suckin the head
So I swung the ho, I did a stunt
I'm good to go, baby don't you front
Sat her on my lap, put my finger in her cunt
Sat her on my lap, sat her on my lap
Sat her on my lap and put my finger in her cunt
When I finished I smoked a blunt {*laughing*}
Ahhhh, D-Square
"Fot the last time I dont have your SpankMaster vinyl!"
Cool. I think hip hop has an anti-learning image. Kids need to know that rappers are poets with great command of the language. (unlike me.) A few years ago Nikki Giovanni came to Portland and talked to high school kids. She starts her talks by showing the kids her Thug Life tattoo.
I work with 2 non hip hop litarecy programs. I am a volunteer coordinator for the SMART program. Oregon strutters contact me if you want to volunteer.
I also volunteer with a Multnomah County Library program where I take cool books to 4th graders and hype them up. I get to take real good books like Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, Tale Of Despereaux, and bios on Muhammad Ali, Wilma Rudolph, Plus lots of mummies, volcanoes, insects, dog books.
I can't wait to see it.
for kids 9-12[/b]
Could you clarify this?
Do you really mean the communities these kids are coming from support an anti-learning idea or HipHop artists(who are from these communities) are anti-learning within the artform?
Does/did Jazz/Rock/Electronica/Pop have an anti-learning image?
Doesnt teenage literacy in America predate Kool Herc?
I learned quite a bit from Hip Hop without my school teachers guidance.
ok class lets spell "oy!oy!oy!"
" "blazing downtempo" what a clever phor'" Geoffry
ps:nice work dan
Damn, I didn't save before submitting. Lets try again.
I will try to clarify.
Yes, some poor children come from households where education is not held in high regard. Parents may feel threatened by their children's learning. They may feel they did fine without doing well at school so why should their kid. What is scarier to me is parents who come dressed in gang colors to enroll their kid, who they have dressed in gang colors, in kindergarten.
What I have not witnessed, but have heard about, happens in the middle and high school ages when children start to search for identity. This, as I understand it, is a real problem amongst Black teens. Teens feel pressure to act more "Black". This pressure includes not doing well in class.
Current mainstream gangster hip hop is the main soundtrack for what I am talking about.
I don't know about jazz electronica or pop, but rock music has also had an anti-learning image. Rock was the soundtrack for a rebellious youth movement that rejected school. I think Pink Floyd had a song that addressed just that.
Teenage literacy predates Kool Herc. I would not include old school or conscious or backpacker hip hop in this conversation. The kids I am thinking of wouldn't know what we are talking about.
Still I think it is important to reach as many students as possible in as many ways as possible. This sounds like a good program that may reach some students who might be falling through the cracks. Or, it might, as your posts have implied, just be stupid. Whichever, the important thing is to try.
Cool.
But dont you think a "rebel" artform being dissected by the establishment its kinda directed towards is a losing cause. Yes the poetry of it can be applied to reading comprehension, but the vibe that generates the art doesnt really align itself w/ the Bored of Ed. Watch Roger Do His Thing - Main Source(non-applicable to this gen) is an example of "learning" Hip Hop.
I'm just babbling, but something just dont smell right to me.Save the Children.......................but not w/ Jeezy.
I think this provides a unique perspective for the students. For one, it would make them confront what they want to get out of school.
How is it unique when they are living it?
Living what?
But dont you think a "rebel" artform being dissected by the establishment its kinda directed towards is a losing cause. Yes the poetry of it can be applied to reading comprehension, but the vibe that generates the art doesnt really align itself w/ the Bored of Ed.
I totaly get your point.
1) A rememberance; when I was in the 7th and 8th grade '68-'71 we disected some contemporary lyrics. I remember Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Laura Nyro and Beatles. At that age it worked. I didn't think my teachers were cool, but thought the songs were and did the projects.
2) When you do stuff like this your hope is not to reach all the kids, it is to reach at least one kid. There is no proven way to teach this stuff, there are only ways that work for some kids.
There are about 60% of the kids who will comprehend and master their English lessons no matter what the approach. The other 40% you have to find a way that works. If this works for some of those then you've got a win. Nothing will work for all of them.
3) For example as I mentioned I am involved in 2 different programs. Both aim to encourage reading. Neither is about teaching. One works by connecting kids one on one with caring adults. The other works by getting "high intrest" books into the hands of kids. Both programs work extremely well.
4) Today is a day of service, or a day to dedicate yourself to service. Find something that makes sense for you and do it.
My first hip-hop class.
Hey,
As much as I'm up for building literacy, I'm not sure I like what this method of promoting literacy implies: Poor inner-city kids can't learn in the traditional way. These types of interventions reak of paternalism and condescension in my view. Why can't we use minority history and literature to reach inner-city youth? Can't we teach history and literature as reading aids as opposed to rap? This smells like Lloyd Humphrey's talk of Inadequate Learning Syndrome he used to describe underachievement among Blacks. The problem is teaching material in a way that is not compelling and/or the use of teachers that are not committed to said kids education. Inner-city districts typically employ the least experienced and lowest quality teachers (research has shown this). Most of the problems are structural (e.g., educational funding) and background-related (e.g., parental education, home structure, etc.). I think such literacy programs fail to address these bigger and farther-reaching problems. Let's not put a band-aid on a tumor and call it a cure.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Can you cite some specific examples of "current mainstream gangster hip hop" that are explicitly against education or literacy?
No.
Reason one, I'd have to listen to it. Reason two, I never said that.
What I was thinking. Just like you wouldn't pull in at-risk white students with metal, or whatever music they like the most. I've used songs before during a unit on the Transcendentalists, people like Dylan and George Harrison, but these were used more to enrich than to build skills with. Motivation is one of the largest problems with at-risk students, so no matter what highly interesting content you use, you still have to teach your ass off, not to mention how many gaps you'd have to fill. Rap music (any music) in a classroom can only go so far with relation to skill-building--that should be obvious.
Wouldn't it be presumptive to play metal to White kids or rap to Black kids? It just seems stereotypical and condescending in either instance. So, teaching basic skills is more difficult without popular music? I guess there's a quick fix for everything. Music has always had a place in classrooms, don't get me wrong, but why hip-hop given its current state? Putting hip-hop and literacy together seems sort of oxymoronic, doesn't it? Maybe I'm just too old to understand.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
I hear you. I think you are making a mistake when you think this replaces the traditional way. This program and the programs I am involved in do not replace the traditional way. (Reading first does that.) These are all programs that are meant to engage kids in reading (and writing). That's a good thing. Further, as I said before, almost 40 years ago I was a kid in class rooms that used contemporary music. That was in a privileged suburban school, so maybe the traditional way is just getting to the inner city.
While we are working to end the big problems of underqualified teachers, funding and parental education, someone needs to work with the kids who have to struggle in the current structure.
The program may employ minority history and literature. I would hope that it does. Any way I want to give it the benifit of the doubt.
On the other hand I heard these clowns trying to teach Shakespear by writing, and even worse, performing raps based on his work.
No, man, I completely agree with you. Not only stereotypical and condescending, but eliminating a lot of natural curiosity when it comes to learning.
I use my love of hip-hop to connect to students and build relationships, this helps foster a mutual respect and understanding.