Hip Hop in the Classroom: Light Some Fires!
Posted Mar 30 2006
Hip hop not only helps students with analyzing literature, but writing it. Think back to the sea of faces in your freshman English class. Many of those students have no interest in the same old, mundane lessons they have been force-fed for years. And those students who just want the “A?” They aren’t that unusual. Many are actually talented writers that aren’t tapping into their God-given resources. Students that don’t feel like they are writing for a purpose aren’t going to try to “wow” themselves, let alone anyone else. They are going to do exactly what is needed of them in order to pass, get on the honor roll, not flunk out, etcetera. However, if students had a hook; a reason to write, this might be different. Urban Educator Jamal A. Cooks tells his story of when he was a student, long before he became and educator. “As a middle school student, I struggled with the purpose of writing. I could produce a standard academic essay, but I saw little reason to choose to write a school essay. As a developing writer, I wanted to write in ways that made me feel good, empowered, and smart. I wanted to write raps, poems… because they were fun and showed that I was gifted and talented.” (Cooks 72) Many students likely feel the same way as Cooks. They might be talented writers, but slip under the radar simply because the five-paragraph essay format is boring them to tears, and no one can seem to think where they will ever need to write these kinds of essays once they pass their standardized tests.
When Cooks decided to use hip hop in is own classroom, he started by having students write a paragraph or two about a give topic. This was the “base essay.” Then, students transformed this essay into a “rap,” rhyming with clear pentameter and symbolic meaning. Students felt like their writing meant something, was significant, and didn’t even realize that they had just written what was classically called a poem. Cooks “…questioned how people would respond to my using hip hop and rap because of the explicit lyrics, controversial perspectives, and nontraditional curriculum content” but there was “no resistance from the students, parents, or administration because the students maintained a high level of interest in the class.” (Cooks 73) These were the same students that initially, like Cooks, yearned for something more while sitting in their basic composition courses.
Aside from individual districts and educators, major accredited organizations are exploring the use of hip hop and spoken word in the classroom. The National Council of Teachers of English, for example, has been publishing more and more articles on their website regarding hip hop and spoken word pedagogy. Currently, one could find fifteen separate articles on the site through its search engine regarding hip hop and spoken word.
Hip hop could also easily be incorporated into some of those “tried and true” methods mentioned before. Renowned teacher Jim Burke’s useful text The English Teacher’s Companion lays out many useful strategies for teachers, many of which could go hand-in-hand with hip hop. Several of these are “Evolving Notions of Literacy,” “Poetry,” “Domains of Thinking,” “Strategies for Discussing Ethics in the English Class,” and “English Teachers and the Law.” (Burke 29-30, 192-196, 229, 394-395, 404-406) Hip hop could be the initial focal point for any of these topics. As pointed out in Mike Rychlik and Pamela Carroll’s text 13 Way of Looking at Student Teaching, hip hop can also be a way to “jazz up the exercises,” “make vocabulary relevant,” “redirect negative energy,” “rock the classroom,” and “interact with poetry.” (Rychlik and Carroll 31, 34,156, 189,190) A teacher could take any stale idea and make it fresh with some hip hop.
Clearly, there are multitudes of ways for teachers to use hip hop in the classroom. However, before a teacher decides to use these new ideas in their own classroom, they may want to do some research about artists and hip hop culture before trying to appear as “experts.” As pointed out before, students are not dumb and will likely see right through this façade. This is where critics like Malkin may have a point. Where most educators using hip hop in their classrooms may actually be making productive educational headway, others may be trying to find a common ground with students that doesn’t really exist. This could easily backfire. Zarazua warns that while there are many excellent educators using hip hop, many may be “jumping on the bandwagon” instead of focusing on “academic standards, classroom management,” or the “positive work that students are doing.” While hip hop is a good way to get students engaged, it isn’t a miracle cure-all for bad teaching.
Overall, teaching the elements of English to a class ranging in ability and interest levels is never easy. Pressures from administration and school boards give teachers the constant challenge to “produce” students that are competent. In administration’s eyes, this often means that they can pass tests. However, for the passionate educator, competency is more that the ability to score well on a basic skills test. Many English educators want their students to get more out of school. While often perceived to be one of the most boring requirements by students, English classes often can be the best way for students to reflect their thoughts and to express themselves. It is time for educators to responsibly accept hip hop as a cultural force today, and embrace it as a way for students to not only learn the basics, but to become the best readers and writers that they can. Hip hop can ignite the fires inside of students, and passionate teaching can keep them going.
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