It's great to use hip-hop in the classroom but I am suspicious of any "program" that wishes to "incorporate" "alternate curriculae" in order to "help" "disadvantaged" children.
I went to school in Montgomery County MD in the 60s and 70s. One of the richest school districts in the country. I'll tell you a dirty secret. Even though we were not disadvantaged our school district "incorporated" all kinds of "programs" and "alternate curriculae" in order to "help" the kids who were not being reached by the "traditional" method.
The reason some schools and kids are "disadvantaged" is because some people are suspicious of giving them the advantages that they had.
I have gone to very nice schools, both private and public, in my life. I've been blessed. But nothing about the good education I've received had to do with any kind of program to use rap music to teach kids.
By the time I was in high school I had several teachers who were in tune with hip-hop and were able to use it constructively. There was a club with school support that allowed a bunch of us to write rhymes, sketch, freestyle, battle, or whatever for an hour at lunch. But this was Berkeley High School, one of the only public high schools in the country to have an African American Studies department.
Some of the more significant things to benefit me in my educational experience were: smaller class sizes, challenging curriculae, significant parental support, variety of male role models. When folks stop talking about teaching rap music and slang and start talking about real schitt like that, maybe we'll get somewhere.
It's great to use hip-hop in the classroom but I am suspicious of any "program" that wishes to "incorporate" "alternate curriculae" in order to "help" "disadvantaged" children.
Sounds like ebonics to me.
I feel you but ill try to make my post more concise to better get my (and Dan's)point across
You have youre little cousin not really doing to well in class. You tell his mom you can tutor him a little and start doing the kids homework with him. You see he's not really into doing number 1-15 of his magicreading book...so you take out a cool article on Tony Hawk and ask him to read the first paragraph. He gradually gets through the whole page and you guys then take a break to talk about how tony stated skating when he was a kid and now he has his own ramp at his house "COOL!"
Than when its time to write 10 sentences on your hero. He is inspired to write about said skateboarder and uses stuff he's read.
You tell him that when he writes he can make it fun by writing about stuff he likes and he tells you "can we do homework together again once"
so much for concisiveness but really its like dan said
Kids get motivated by cool teachers and subjects
Think of this "program" (its just volunteer based initiative) as a big brother and the kids as having more fun learning
simple as that...you get the formula that works
There not trying to "help" these kids they are providing a chance for kids and adults to interact in a motivating way that yields nice results.
The sheer benefits already mentionned strongly overcome any "ideological" attributes one might want to attach to such a program and the essence and nature of said program distances itself from these "critiques"
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
It's great to use hip-hop in the classroom but I am suspicious of any "program" that wishes to "incorporate" "alternate curriculae" in order to "help" "disadvantaged" children.
Sounds like ebonics to me.
That's what was cool about our program. It was marketed to all schools so it wasn't geared toward "disadvantaged" children, it was all inclusive. The program cost money, but kids that qualify, which were a big chunk, got a scholarship so it was free.
The most of it was a run of the mill, video editing, bike fixing, type after school program, but then there was taza_one's cool ass class that everyone wanted to get with.
My goal was to keep kids busy in that time between school and when their parents get home, promote creativity, and have fun. It was dope.
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
If as you and Stacks say this is a bad program that prevents kids from reading Shakespear or christopher Paul Curtis, then it is a bad program.
Can you explain why you think this is a bad program based on a fact about the program?
Also can you explain why you think "disadvantaged" youth should not be allowed to participate in the kinds of programs you did where you wrote your own rhymes?
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
If as you and Stacks say this is a bad program that prevents kids from reading Shakespear or christopher Paul Curtis, then it is a bad program.
Can you explain why you think this is a bad program based on a fact about the program?
Also can you explain why you think "disadvantaged" youth should not be allowed to participate in the kinds of programs you did where you wrote your own rhymes?
Well, as someone who is obsessed with both rap music and books, I have to say that I find any attempt to substitute listening to/discussing/composing raps for reading books to be distasteful and dangerous.
They're just not the same thing. I'm not saying that books are an inherently better medium than rap, but they are one with which children should be familiarized at a very early age, and talking about rap is no substitute for that.
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
If as you and Stacks say this is a bad program that prevents kids from reading Shakespear or christopher Paul Curtis, then it is a bad program.
Oy, it is not preventing kids from reading those authors. My post clearly stated that the causes of that are much bigger than this program, let alone hip-hop.
Can you explain why you think this is a bad program based on a fact about the program?
Hip-hop is a great tool for teachers to use. I don't think having a program to decipher rap lyrics is going to solve many problems.
Also can you explain why you think "disadvantaged" youth should not be allowed to participate in the kinds of programs you did where you wrote your own rhymes?
Maybe you missed it in my previous post, but Berkeley High School is a public high school. It has huge enrollment from South Berkeley, West Berkeley, not to mention Richmond, North Oakland, West Oakland, as far off as the 100s in East Oakland and occasionally SF hoods like Hunters Point and Fillmore. It was, when I attended, one of the most racially diverse schools in the entire state. If it is less diverse today it's because many white families have gone private. Of course I think "disadvantaged" youth should be allowed to participate in such a club. In fact, many of the club's participants were "disadvantaged". But please note: it was a non-academic club, there were similar clubs for enthusiasts of anything from politics to Dungeons & Dragons. That said I support extracurricular activity in all forms, but it's just that - extracurricular.
I think you're making some crazy assumptions about the people that are disagreeing with you.
My opinion is that inner city kids are not going to be advantaged by studying Young Dro in English class.
Lesson I support: "Let's look at this Trick Daddy verse and discuss its parallels to the chapter of the book we're reading"
Lesson I do not support: "Let's read some verses by Trick Daddy."
I know, that would be so third grade.
Maybe I should read the thread before posting because an edjumacator that would substitute good reading for rap listening sessions, is a moron. Do they really suggest this?
I think you're making some crazy assumptions about the people that are disagreeing with you.
My opinion is that inner city kids are not going to be advantaged by studying Young Dro in English class.
Just to get the story clear they read articles about rap history (in a tetbook) and are encouraged to creatively write rhymes
Thats it
Ill be doing this in MTL and later on in SaoPaolo
Word. I understand what they are being tasked with, I just don't understand where this would fit into the school day. What is it replacing?
I don't doubt that it will interest kids... in reading about rap history and writing rhymes. That's not a real challenge though IMO; we need to get them interested in reading world history and writing essays. I just don't see this as being all too productive towards that end, because it's too far into the comfort zone. It's certainly no substitute for the issues I mentioned earlier: class size, role models, etc.
I think you're making some crazy assumptions about the people that are disagreeing with you.
My opinion is that inner city kids are not going to be advantaged by studying Young Dro in English class.
Just to get the story clear they read articles about rap history (in a tetbook) and are encouraged to creatively write rhymes
Thats it
Ill be doing this in MTL and later on in SaoPaolo
Word. I understand what they are being tasked with, I just don't understand where this would fit into the school day. What is it replacing?
I don't doubt that it will interest kids... in reading about rap history and writing rhymes. That's not a real challenge though IMO; we need to get them interested in reading world history and writing essays. I just don't see this as being all too productive towards that end, because it's too far into the comfort zone. It's certainly no substitute for the issues I mentioned earlier: class size, role models, etc.
I feel you man Rigourous is the way to go
Its not replacing anything its more of a tutoring tool
after school program replaces cartoons/pimp my ride afternoons
it has the potential to provide role models
You get a young child interested in reading then get him (potential) to read better/bigger stuff
Bottom line these are great hubs for kids and provide a lot of room for potential and intiative The open and volunteer nature of these programs make it so they are open to suggestions and improvements...
Its a platform from which to build and I will be glad to discuss the advents of my time spent there
Its like my peru project we started not 100% sure what we were getting into) raised 8000 and went down...as the project and $$$ grew a lot more variables came into play we were improving our services and providing the kids with newer stuff (music teacher, night groups, medstudents) but as that increased the importance and susatinability of our contribution was increasing also
we are now working on getting into official NGO status in canada to assure the continuation Its still a bunch of friends/students working on weekends to put together something and to be honest its still a bit of a mess
but we are going with what we got and so far the results remain great (while the technique always improves
I think you're making some crazy assumptions about the people that are disagreeing with you.
My opinion is that inner city kids are not going to be advantaged by studying Young Dro in English class.
Just to get the story clear they read articles about rap history (in a tetbook) and are encouraged to creatively write rhymes
Thats it
Ill be doing this in MTL and later on in SaoPaolo
Word. I understand what they are being tasked with, I just don't understand where this would fit into the school day. What is it replacing?
I don't doubt that it will interest kids... in reading about rap history and writing rhymes. That's not a real challenge though IMO; we need to get them interested in reading world history and writing essays. I just don't see this as being all too productive towards that end, because it's too far into the comfort zone. It's certainly no substitute for the issues I mentioned earlier: class size, role models, etc.
I feel you man Rigourous is the way to go
Its not replacing anything its more of a tutoring tool
after school program replaces cartoons/pimp my ride afternoons
it has the potential to provide role models
You get a young child interested in reading then get him (potential) to read better/bigger stuff
Bottom line these are great hubs for kids
I agree with all that.
As an extracurricular/afterschool thing, I can see that being very productive.
As an extracurricular/afterschool thing, I can see that being very productive.
Precisely what its meant to be and it indirectly relieves parents who work late
The stuff you guys have pointed out have actually made me more aware of how i should get ready before participating in this so thanks
MTLers bring it on thrusday night blizzart SkatchBastid DjStatic(nomadi massive)
Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
Hey,
Wow Jonny, we agree on something. Honestly, my point is that the problem of illiteracy for disadvantaged youth is much bigger than the literacy through hip-hop intervention. Funny enough, I'm a product of Montgomery County (MD) schools as well, so I came from an advantaged educational background. Point of reference, I had the compulsory skills to do well in subsequent academic instruction. I just don't see how learning to read via hip-hop will impart complex reading comprehension, synthesis of information, and other skills needed to succeed in higher-level academic courses. It reaks, in my opinion, of those ultra-liberal (wow, I can't believe I typed this), "save the world" interventions that ignores the larger "tumors" inherent in public school education (e.g., poor funding, inexperienced and/or poor teachers, parental under-education, etc.) that precede illiteracy. Like Funkadelic said, "If you don't like the effect, don't produce the cause." The cause here is bigger than all of us here, and needs to be addressed politically and administratively. Sorry for my pessimism, but the intervention has that "fad of the month" feel to me.
with most students this would be effective with, this would more than likely be seen as some corny, trying too hard bullshit. i would also imagine that parents would throw a fit once they heard about this. if a mufuckah dont want to learn, teaching them about 'plex 'phors aint going to want to get them to learn either
I read the end of your new post JP and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
If as you and Stacks say this is a bad program that prevents kids from reading Shakespear or christopher Paul Curtis, then it is a bad program.
Can you explain why you think this is a bad program based on a fact about the program?
Also can you explain why you think "disadvantaged" youth should not be allowed to participate in the kinds of programs you did where you wrote your own rhymes?
Well, as someone who is obsessed with both rap music and books, I have to say that I find any attempt to substitute listening to/discussing/composing raps for reading books to be distasteful and dangerous.[/b]
They're just not the same thing. I'm not saying that books are an inherently better medium than rap, but they are one with which children should be familiarized at a very early age, and talking about rap is no substitute for that.
The reason I keep typing is people keep making stupid assumptions. We've heard that they will be teaching Trick Daddy. That this will be a substitute for reading books. That this will be a substitute for teaching reading. That the teachers are insulting and stupid. Go to the LTHH web site (which sucks) and if you see anything there that you think is bad let us know. But since pmrc posted this, and he seems like a good guy, I assume that it is good, or else he wouldn't be participating.
Go to the LTHH web site (which sucks) and if you see anything there that you think is bad let us know. But since pmrc posted this, and he seems like a good guy, I assume that it is good, or else he wouldn't be participating.
the website sucks
ill check the program myself and let you guys know
Mysteriously i am very well qualified to analyse and advise in these types of projects
Wow Jonny, we agree on something. Honestly, my point is that the problem of illiteracy for disadvantaged youth is much bigger than the literacy through hip-hop intervention. Funny enough, I'm a product of Montgomery County (MD) schools as well, so I came from an advantaged educational background. Point of reference, I had the compulsory skills to do well in subsequent academic instruction. I just don't see how learning to read via hip-hop will impart complex reading comprehension, synthesis of information, and other skills needed to succeed in higher-level academic courses. It reaks, in my opinion, of those ultra-liberal (wow, I can't believe I typed this), "save the world" interventions that ignores the larger "tumors" inherent in public school education (e.g., poor funding, inexperienced and/or poor teachers, parental under-education, etc.) that precede illiteracy. Like Funkadelic said, "If you don't like the effect, don't produce the cause." The cause here is bigger than all of us here, and needs to be addressed politically and administratively. Sorry for my pessimism, but the intervention has that "fad of the month" feel to me.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Walter Johnson '74. First high school to be named after a baseball player.
Wow Jonny, we agree on something. Honestly, my point is that the problem of illiteracy for disadvantaged youth is much bigger than the literacy through hip-hop intervention. Funny enough, I'm a product of Montgomery County (MD) schools as well, so I came from an advantaged educational background. Point of reference, I had the compulsory skills to do well in subsequent academic instruction. I just don't see how learning to read via hip-hop will impart complex reading comprehension, synthesis of information, and other skills needed to succeed in higher-level academic courses. It reaks, in my opinion, of those ultra-liberal (wow, I can't believe I typed this), "save the world" interventions that ignores the larger "tumors" inherent in public school education (e.g., poor funding, inexperienced and/or poor teachers, parental under-education, etc.) that precede illiteracy. Like Funkadelic said, "If you don't like the effect, don't produce the cause." The cause here is bigger than all of us here, and needs to be addressed politically and administratively. Sorry for my pessimism, but the intervention has that "fad of the month" feel to me.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
I have friends who work on the big problems you are talking about. Class size, funding, getting the best teachers to the worse schools, rigours curriculum, parental involvement. My friends go to meetings, create budgets, write bond measures. I can't contribute that way. I need to be direct, in this case to work with the kids. In one sense (hip hop) this is the fad of the month. In another, using popular culture to create interest, this is a tried and true method.
One of the biggest challenge in getting young students to read is motivation. I am guessing the ultimate purpose of LTHH is motivation.
Here is what a day may be like for an kid who is below reading level at the school where I volunteer. School starts with 100% of students in class for 2 hours of a scripted reading program. (Reading first; a federal title 1 NCLB required program). Everything the teacher does is scripted and required by the feds. For the rest of the day the student maybe pulled out for one or all of these; ELL (English Language Learning), speech, ERC (Educational Resources Center), reading naturally, title 1 (which is scripted phonics drilling). They also participate in AR (accelerated reading) which gives them prizes for reading.
K-3rd graders may also be pulled out for Start Making A Reader Today, the volunteer program I run. It matches kids with the same volunteer adult every week to ENJOY books together.
Every other month I bring good books from the county library to 4th graders. If I bring mummy books (or insects or volcanoes or Jackie Robinson) I bring 4 or 5 books on the subject. Some are super easy to read, some are hard. I bring books by Christopher Paul Curtis, Lawrence Yep, Gary Soto, Kate DiCamilo, Anne Martin, Dan Gutman. I bring books about football and skateboarding and drawing and poetry. I take 30 min to talk about 12+- books, I leave two copies of each. When I am done all the kids are jumping out of their seats to get the books.
I never use hip hop in either of these programs. But I have had a Will Smith kids book in my SMART program.
All I am saying is I think there are some kids who are grateful for a change from the grind and appreciate having what they are being taught connected to their lives.
Comments
I have gone to very nice schools, both private and public, in my life. I've been blessed. But nothing about the good education I've received had to do with any kind of program to use rap music to teach kids.
By the time I was in high school I had several teachers who were in tune with hip-hop and were able to use it constructively. There was a club with school support that allowed a bunch of us to write rhymes, sketch, freestyle, battle, or whatever for an hour at lunch. But this was Berkeley High School, one of the only public high schools in the country to have an African American Studies department.
Some of the more significant things to benefit me in my educational experience were: smaller class sizes, challenging curriculae, significant parental support, variety of male role models. When folks stop talking about teaching rap music and slang and start talking about real schitt like that, maybe we'll get somewhere.
I feel you but ill try to make my post more concise to better get my (and Dan's)point across
You have youre little cousin not really doing to well in class. You tell his mom you can tutor him a little and start doing the kids homework with him. You see he's not really into doing number 1-15 of his magicreading book...so you take out a cool article on Tony Hawk and ask him to read the first paragraph. He gradually gets through the whole page and you guys then take a break to talk about how tony stated skating when he was a kid and now he has his own ramp at his house "COOL!"
Than when its time to write 10 sentences on your hero. He is inspired to write about said skateboarder and uses stuff he's read.
You tell him that when he writes he can make it fun by writing about stuff he likes and he tells you "can we do homework together again once"
so much for concisiveness but really its like dan said
Kids get motivated by cool teachers and subjects
Think of this "program" (its just volunteer based initiative) as a big brother and the kids as having more fun learning
simple as that...you get the formula that works
There not trying to "help" these kids they are providing a chance for kids and adults to interact in a motivating way that yields nice results.
The sheer benefits already mentionned strongly overcome any "ideological" attributes one might want to attach to such a program and the essence and nature of said program distances itself from these "critiques"
I read the end of your new post JP
and i must reiterrate its very young kids 9-12 so its about getting them interested
Real Headz: The Formative Yearz
Heres a recent thread
and Our website
I could go on about this but will probably post my thesis on the matter one day
Socio-Academicstrut
This story could only be improved upon with the addition of Young Checks battling a substitute teacher named Defari.
Six million dollars is what it cost 'em
To put back together Steve Austin
Now Defari gets bionic on an obstreperous gym student!
I mean when you do the LTHH let us know about it and I was wondering where you are doing LTHH.
The Peruvian stuff is cool.
That is cool and all but kids need to be interested in reading before they are 9 years old. Of course I know that is not the reality but I believe in holding everyone to the same standards of excellence. Otherwise what are we saying? How are we writing people off when we say "well, they're not gonna get Shakespeare but maybe we can interest them with some Trick Daddy." Like Big Stacks said it is putting a band aid on a gunshot wound. And I agree that teachers have to get kids interested when their parents do not but how exactly is the rap music popular with the youth going to lead to kids being able to process serious books?
That's what was cool about our program. It was marketed to all schools so it wasn't geared toward "disadvantaged" children, it was all inclusive. The program cost money, but kids that qualify, which were a big chunk, got a scholarship so it was free.
The most of it was a run of the mill, video editing, bike fixing, type after school program, but then there was taza_one's cool ass class that everyone wanted to get with.
My goal was to keep kids busy in that time between school and when their parents get home, promote creativity, and have fun. It was dope.
Lesson I do not support: "Let's read some verses by Trick Daddy."
The bitter taste of compulsory Defari verse-reading in gym class lingers...
Ha!
If as you and Stacks say this is a bad program that prevents kids from reading Shakespear or christopher Paul Curtis, then it is a bad program.
Can you explain why you think this is a bad program based on a fact about the program?
Also can you explain why you think "disadvantaged" youth should not be allowed to participate in the kinds of programs you did where you wrote your own rhymes?
Well, as someone who is obsessed with both rap music and books, I have to say that I find any attempt to substitute listening to/discussing/composing raps for reading books to be distasteful and dangerous.
They're just not the same thing. I'm not saying that books are an inherently better medium than rap, but they are one with which children should be familiarized at a very early age, and talking about rap is no substitute for that.
Oy, it is not preventing kids from reading those authors. My post clearly stated that the causes of that are much bigger than this program, let alone hip-hop.
Hip-hop is a great tool for teachers to use. I don't think having a program to decipher rap lyrics is going to solve many problems.
Maybe you missed it in my previous post, but Berkeley High School is a public high school. It has huge enrollment from South Berkeley, West Berkeley, not to mention Richmond, North Oakland, West Oakland, as far off as the 100s in East Oakland and occasionally SF hoods like Hunters Point and Fillmore. It was, when I attended, one of the most racially diverse schools in the entire state. If it is less diverse today it's because many white families have gone private. Of course I think "disadvantaged" youth should be allowed to participate in such a club. In fact, many of the club's participants were "disadvantaged". But please note: it was a non-academic club, there were similar clubs for enthusiasts of anything from politics to Dungeons & Dragons. That said I support extracurricular activity in all forms, but it's just that - extracurricular.
I think you're making some crazy assumptions about the people that are disagreeing with you.
My opinion is that inner city kids are not going to be advantaged by studying Young Dro in English class.
I know, that would be so third grade.
Maybe I should read the thread before posting because an edjumacator that would substitute good reading for rap listening sessions, is a moron. Do they really suggest this?
Just to get the story clear they read articles about rap history (in a tetbook)
and are encouraged to creatively write rhymes
Thats it
Ill be doing this in MTL and later on in SaoPaolo
Word. I understand what they are being tasked with, I just don't understand where this would fit into the school day. What is it replacing?
I don't doubt that it will interest kids... in reading about rap history and writing rhymes. That's not a real challenge though IMO; we need to get them interested in reading world history and writing essays. I just don't see this as being all too productive towards that end, because it's too far into the comfort zone. It's certainly no substitute for the issues I mentioned earlier: class size, role models, etc.
I feel you man Rigourous is the way to go
Its not replacing anything its more of a tutoring tool
after school program replaces cartoons/pimp my ride afternoons
it has the potential to provide role models
You get a young child interested in reading then get him (potential) to read better/bigger stuff
Bottom line these are great hubs for kids and provide a lot of room for potential and intiative
The open and volunteer nature of these programs make it so they are open to suggestions and improvements...
Its a platform from which to build and I will be glad to discuss the advents of my time spent there
Its like my peru project
we started not 100% sure what we were getting into) raised 8000 and went down...as the project and $$$ grew a lot more variables came into play we were improving our services and providing the kids with newer stuff (music teacher, night groups, medstudents) but as that increased the importance and susatinability of our contribution was increasing also
we are now working on getting into official NGO status in canada to assure the continuation
Its still a bunch of friends/students working on weekends to put together something and to be honest its still a bit of a mess
but we are going with what we got and so far the results remain great (while the technique always improves
I agree with all that.
As an extracurricular/afterschool thing, I can see that being very productive.
Precisely what its meant to be and it indirectly relieves parents who work late
The stuff you guys have pointed out have actually made me more aware of how i should get ready before participating in this so thanks
MTLers bring it on thrusday night blizzart SkatchBastid DjStatic(nomadi massive)
Wow Jonny, we agree on something.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
The reason I keep typing is people keep making stupid assumptions. We've heard that they will be teaching Trick Daddy. That this will be a substitute for reading books. That this will be a substitute for teaching reading. That the teachers are insulting and stupid. Go to the LTHH web site (which sucks) and if you see anything there that you think is bad let us know. But since pmrc posted this, and he seems like a good guy, I assume that it is good, or else he wouldn't be participating.
I agree with you completely (cept for the "reeking" thing) and coming from a intelectual family and studying to get to your PHD level i can relate
I study intl development so the larger problem / small solution thing is amplified to the world stage when i think of my peru project
even in that barrio we help out 600 kids in a place that has 3 million inhabitants
but as i always say do with what you have and start small...its a investment in human capital
the larger scale stuff needs to go down through political means
means that start with social mobilization
mobilization helped my human capital development
These programs have a cyclical nature to them that make them self-sustaining and contribute to their epansion
its only a small volunteer initiative, its been planted ill try to be one of the "gardners" and watch it bloom (no cheese)
the website sucks
ill check the program myself and let you guys know
Mysteriously i am very well qualified to analyse and advise in these types of projects
Walter Johnson '74. First high school to be named after a baseball player.
Two great guys + djs.
I have friends who work on the big problems you are talking about. Class size, funding, getting the best teachers to the worse schools, rigours curriculum, parental involvement. My friends go to meetings, create budgets, write bond measures. I can't contribute that way. I need to be direct, in this case to work with the kids. In one sense (hip hop) this is the fad of the month. In another, using popular culture to create interest, this is a tried and true method.
One of the biggest challenge in getting young students to read is motivation. I am guessing the ultimate purpose of LTHH is motivation.
Here is what a day may be like for an kid who is below reading level at the school where I volunteer. School starts with 100% of students in class for 2 hours of a scripted reading program. (Reading first; a federal title 1 NCLB required program). Everything the teacher does is scripted and required by the feds. For the rest of the day the student maybe pulled out for one or all of these; ELL (English Language Learning), speech, ERC (Educational Resources Center), reading naturally, title 1 (which is scripted phonics drilling). They also participate in AR (accelerated reading) which gives them prizes for reading.
K-3rd graders may also be pulled out for Start Making A Reader Today, the volunteer program I run. It matches kids with the same volunteer adult every week to ENJOY books together.
Every other month I bring good books from the county library to 4th graders. If I bring mummy books (or insects or volcanoes or Jackie Robinson) I bring 4 or 5 books on the subject. Some are super easy to read, some are hard. I bring books by Christopher Paul Curtis, Lawrence Yep, Gary Soto, Kate DiCamilo, Anne Martin, Dan Gutman. I bring books about football and skateboarding and drawing and poetry. I take 30 min to talk about 12+- books, I leave two copies of each. When I am done all the kids are jumping out of their seats to get the books.
I never use hip hop in either of these programs. But I have had a Will Smith kids book in my SMART program.
All I am saying is I think there are some kids who are grateful for a change from the grind and appreciate having what they are being taught connected to their lives.