You gotta realize that Shakespeare was a really cool dude,” says Sitomer, . . . “I mean, he put rhymes down on paper about the same stuff that Biggie, Tupac, and Ice Cube laid down some of their best tracks about.”
As a natural followup to my previous post on making poetry and literature more interesting within the classroom, ive decided to address the use of hip-hop as a teaching device. The above excerpt was taken from a article about a teacher named Alan Sitomer entitled Yo, Hamlet written by Debra Lau Whelan. First let me state that the idea of using hip-hop or “culturally relevant” material is not a particularly new idea, although it remains a fairly controversial topic with teachers. Some see it as a great learning tool while others feel it doesn’t really belong in schools. This technique has become increasingly popular amongst teachers who are searching for ways to keep their students interested. Alan Sitomer gives his opinion on teaching hip-hop in the classroom:“I believe in validating students and their interests,” he explains. “If you diminish their interests, you diminish them-and then you’ll never reach them.”
Sitomer has had great success with creating parallels between his students interests and the curriculum that he teaches. Jamal Cooks agrees with Sitomer in his article Writing for Something: Essays, Raps, and Writing Preferences. Cooks writes:
“If we refuse to meet students at their learning point, many students may lose their confidence in writing and interest in learning. the end result is adolescents who have the potential to illustrate their knowledge of subject area-content but have been turned off by the learning process.”
This quote is significant because Cooks puts it well when he states that we should “meet students at their learning point” I think this is a great way to view the learning process. To me it seems wrong that students should only learn in the way and method that the teacher deems appropriate. By not teaching to students interests and passions educators are basically marginalizing the very topics that should be used as learning tools. We are forcing them to come to us. At the very least, we should meet them halfway between education and their interests. However, it takes a talented and motivated teacher to juggle student interests with approved curriculum. Classes like these can very easily become disconnected from what your trying to teach. There is always the possibility that students could simply focus on the the rap, tv show or song lyric and ignore the rest. The parallels must be highlighted to create a link between what they know and what they are learning. Cook says:
“If educators can move students to the point of respecting the parallels in nonacademic writing and academic writing-specifically raps, essays, and expository texts-then we will improve the teaching and learning of writing in urban schools”
Cook shows how his students have trouble writing essays with acceptable voice, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusions. However, when Cook asks his students to write raps he often gets very highly developed pieces of work that show a advanced understanding of voice and structure. Students have highly developed passions and interests, it is wrong for educators to assume these interests cannot be applied to the classroom. The challenge for educators is to get students to see the parallels between topics they love, like hip-hop, with lessons taught in schools, like the writing process or Shakespeare.
- Adam
Jamal Cooks. Writing for Something: Essays, Raps, and Writing Preferences. The English Journal, Vol. 94, No. 1, Re-Forming Writing Instruction (Sep., 2004), pp. 72-76
Debra Lau Whelan Yo, Hamlet!. School Library Journal, 03628930, Jun2007, Vol. 53, Issue 6
I really like this approach to education. I don’t know that I would ever write a rap myself, or even feel somewhat comfortable doing so, but I do feel as though leaving it as an option for students is a really good idea. I think that we so often wonder why many students struggle with creative writing, and I believe it has something to do with the parameters we place on their project. We should encourage students to write creatively in different “genre’s” of writing, such as raps. I also think that it is a good idea to incorporate this sort of writing into a curriculum. It is probably a wonderful way to reach to a wider varity of students. Although, I would still include some more traditional paper writing in order to prepare students for other teachers or future education where formal papers are required.
I think this is a great idea, especially for students in urban schools. What better way is there to get students interested in writing than to have them write in a style they already know and love?
When I was a sophomore in high school I had an excellent English teacher. A couple times a week we would spend the first ten or fifteen minutes of class free writing and then were allowed to share what we wrote. Occasionally he would give us a specific topic to write about. One day, he suggested that we write a poem, rap, or song lyrics. Usually, when it was time to share, only a few of us would volunteer to read ours out loud but on this day, about half the class was eager to share what they had created. Some of them even had gone beyond just writing lyrics and had created a melody for their songs as well. When we were given the option of writing in a style we were actually interested in we all got pretty creative and really took pride in our work.
I think that if other teachers teach like this, students will develop a deep love for the English language and eventually expand their writing to create other things like stories and essays.
I think this is an excellent post. Too many teachers in my opinion are reluctant to make writing interesting to their students. They just go about doing things the old-fashioned way. Yet it isn’t overly difficult to come up with writing assignments that are relevant to students and that will spark their interest.
As I mention in my blog, I believe that one of the main problems with teaching writing in secondary education is the lack of creativity implemented. While creative methods won’t work for all students, I feel as if they will get a good percentage more of students interest in what they are writing and how to make the piece good. Allowing students to write about things they like and things they’re passionate about is the best way to get them to care. And finding parallels between these passions and classic literature will only further generate their interest in the subject.
I feel that Sitomer and Cooks are both right. We do need to meet kids at their learning point. This statement could probably be overlooked because as we talked about the other day we do have tracking. These men are not talking about lowering the level of assignments given. They are talking about creating assignments to meet the students interest. Teachers should do this regarding what grade or level their students are at. The big question is, How do you make up assignments that meets every child’s interest? Cook as you said does mention this by saying that it would take a talented teacher to juggle all of this. I just really like this idea because I always felt that teachers just teach to those who are willing to be taught. What happens to the others then? Giving the students who struggle in class a reason to want to learn is great. Hopefully they enjoy it and continue to do it. Writing isn’t easy for all of us. I really wish my teachers in High School would of made it more interesting. Now I feel that I resent writing. This feeling of resentment might not be here though if teachers would of given me more interesting assignments that I would have enjoyed.