I do love technology, but not as much as you, you see… Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I realize I should have written about this much earlier, but with the end of the year coming upon us faster than we can expect, this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and spend some time with this blog in quite awhile.  During the second week of April, Matt and I attended a technology fair in downtown Grand Rapids.  Professors from Grand Valley had many different booths, so much so that we actually missed the keynote speaker.

To get down to business, I actually found this fair to be quite interesting. I say “actually” because I came into the fair with negative expectations; I’m not a huge fan of tech-y kind of conferences. Not that there is anything wrong with technology or the people that thoroughly enjoy it- I’m just not one of those people.  However, I really enjoyed myself at this technology fair.  All of the information we received was very helpful and could prove useful as as begin my teacher assisting at Grandville Middle school this fall and eventually in my student teaching as well. Much of the technology will be very helpful to me as a volleyball coach as well.

On to the specifics. Matt and I visited quite a few booths, but one of the most memorable tables to me was the booth with the clicker.  This booth was run by one of the professors in the Geology department (Peter Wampler) where I have been able (or forced) to spend much of my time here at Grand Valley. Matt and I took a quiz on plate tectonics using the clickers, which allowed the professor to give quizzes on a big screen in class.  This tool would be excellent for reviewing for tests, as each student can see what answers they submitted and whether those answers were right or wrong.  I’m happy to say I did fairly well on the quiz…you can ask Matt how he did yourselves.

Next, we visited a booth presented by the people of Physical Education.  This booth was chiefly interesting to me in terms of coaching. The woman we spoke with had great ideas about utilizing heartrate monitors in practices to increase athlete productivity.  She gave great examples about increasing meet times for cross country and gave us ideas as to how to use those monitors and different drills to use for our volleyball teams when we become coaches.  In addition, she also stressed the importance of using PDA’s in a classroom or a coaching setting. 

Yet another booth we visited was the one involving Interactive Whiteboard/Powerpoint technology.  This booth was my favorite (no offense, Prof. Rozema). This station showed Matt and I the ins and outs of using a whiteboard in combination with powerpoint instead of taking typical classroom notes.  This program allows the teacher to write notes on a powerpoint and save them for later, as well as make new notes and share them with students. I thought this was a FANTASTIC idea! I really want one for my classroom in the future.  I called my Mom after talking with the representative from this booth, and she said that the high school she teaches at is purchasing two of these whiteboards, so maybe I’ll get lucky enough to have one of my own when I am hired for a teaching job somewhere in the United States in the next year or so!

The last booth we visited was the Second Life booth set up by our own Professor Rozema.  I have to admit, I’m not much of a “Sims’ type person, but the information and the idea of having another whole world for your students to enter into and learn about their texts in sort of an escaping manner is a wonderful idea.  I can see how students that are really into video games would absolutely love this software. I’d like to see a Second Life World done on the Great Gatsby.

Jake Reinvented Thursday, April 5, 2007

Matt and I created a podcast for our ENG 311 class. Listen to it here.

“Rock Yo Hips” Thursday, April 5, 2007

With all the negative response that I’ve been receiving lately, I had expected to find that the articles sorted out by my Google Reader would indicate the same thing- no one wants hip-hop to be integrated into our educational classrooms because of its negative aspects. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the articles turned up. The exact opposite of my expectations, as a matter of fact, was what I found when I began reading. Even more pleasing to my stance on this issue, many of the articles found by Google have been local (well, from Michigan or the Tri-State area) and many are in favor of this idea. This is very encouraging to me because I have felt slightly attacked lately for my position.

However, today I chose to read a different type of article, one I believe brings to light a completely different opinion of the hip-hop music industry. The author of this article takes a blunt stance on hip-hop, suggesting that historically black colleges and universities need to “go to college.” He attacks these universities because of the portrayal of their universities that they allowed to take place in the video for Crime Mob’s song, “Rock Yo Hips.” The author, Anthony B. Bradley, states, “Black colleges are being portrayed as nothing more than strip clubs and brothels.” He slams these universities, claiming that they are perpetuating the very images that hip-hop needs to rid itself of. He also questions why Warner Brothers chose to film the video for this song on a black college campus, suggesting that it is the people higher up in management that are enforcing this stereotype. What saddens and infuriates Anthony B. Bradley the most is that a black college, South Carolina State University (also a historically black university) is thrilled about its booking of Crime Mob for a concert in April. He calls this video “deplorable” and says, “Black college women dehumanize themselves while black men gawk and thrust at them. Black college cheerleaders dance like strippers, with lyrics linking them with “the pole,” and the black men with metal-plated teeth in this video appear to be in need of something called ‘books.’”

After viewing the video myself, I have to agree with Bradley’s assessment. Groups like Crime Mob are the reason why so many people are skeptical toward the integration of hip-hop into the classroom, as well they should be. However, drawing the distinction between what is appropriate and not appropriate in terms of hip-hop (as well as general classroom behavior of students toward one another) could prove to be a great lesson for students to hear.

Read the Bradley Article Here.

“Tell ‘Em What They Want to Hear” Thursday, April 5, 2007

While I appreciate all the interest (from both inside our ENG 311 class and from outside visitors), I feel like a clarification to my blog is necessary because there seems to be some confusion. I DO NOT advocate the use of ALL hip-hop in classrooms. The majority of hip-hop is not appropriate! I agree wholeheartedly! The whole point of this blog is to acknowledge the good and bad aspects of this genre, not solely rag on the negative portions of hip-hop. Think of it as “the glass is half full” type of philosophy. Certain artists and aspects of hip-hop (specifically the rap portion of the industry) are known to be vulgar and degrading, which I thought I had clearly mentioned in my past posts, but apparently I needed to be slightly more specific.
In the article I read for today’s post, I was please to discover that Michigan State University has already implemented some of the ideas (that is, integrating hip-hop to some degree in the classroom) that I have expressed here in my blog. To help students like Christina McGuffie, professors at Michigan State brought hip-hop in to aid her in the transition from high school to college education. McGuffie, a senior at MSU, says, “The teachers and the environment made it really hard for us to learn and get anything accomplished,” the said the criminal justice major. “Teachers spent most of their time throwing (students) out of the classroom, writing them up.” The type of classroom she describes is typical of many inner-city classrooms (as well as many rural ones) because students just do not pay attention to the teacher, or respect the teacher. Whether the student can actually pay attention, or whether they simply choose not to is another matter altogether. McGuffie and her collaborators have been working (using a hip-hop influence) with a group of artists known as Detroit Summer to increase the link between inner city classrooms in Detroit and Lansing. She and the artists hope that this will encourage a greater number of inner city students to consider a college education and not drop out before finishing high school. The high school students are offered help in writing resumes and filling out college applications, and shown that college IS AN OPTION that they can choose. This is key.

This directly relates to our class because we are constantly learning about finding ways to create excitement in our students’ learning while in high school. In addition, we also hope that if they can be motivated and excited about their work in high school that they will take that excitement to the next level and attend a college or university. So, I say that if hip-hop excites kids and gets them into what they’re reading or writing, USE IT- in moderation and in an appropriate manner, of course.

The State News Article is located here.

“Money, Cash, Hoes, Education?” Thursday, March 1, 2007

Efforts are being made to change the image of hip-hop. Mainstays and pioneers in this industry are acknowledging that this business has a negative image that needs some serious uplifting. However, what concerns me is that although people in and outside of this industry are realizing that there is a problem with what hip-hop portrays as important, no one is taking the blame. Both sides (those on the inside of the industry and those judging it from an outside perspective) are blaming each other for the moral downfall of rap and hip-hop music and the sub-culture itself as a whole. Chuck D, a co-founder of one of the groundbreaking hip-hop groups, Public Enemy, speaks out on this topic in an article I read recently. In his speech, he articulated that BET has a large role in the negative portrayal of women by hip-hop because the network (and Viacom) chooses to play those videos with girls hardly dressed, grinding on each other and the rappers in those videos.  He says, “..the images and activities on TV are not real. In hip hop, there is a standard that has to be continuously worked on.” Chuck D. maintains that specifically, it is the head of the network that is responsible for these videos getting airtime, the CEO, Steven Hill. Chuck D. has a positive message for students, warning them, “Watch who you roll with. Hold onto your reality and don’t get caught up in this fantasy world.”

Moreover, he stresses that hard work is necessary for hip-hop to keep growing in a positive manner and that education is the means for that hard work. “Talented artists have to be smart and creative and must continuously hone their skills. There is no such thing, ladies and gentlemen, as a collegiate thug,” Chuck D. states. It seems as if this Public Enemy founder is suggesting that kids must be one or the other: a thug or a student. Maybe this is why so many kids are confused about rap music. In my opinion, Chuck D. is sending a somewhat conflicting message. Granted, when Public Enemy was in its prime, the idea of “thug life” was not as large as it was during Tupac’s reign of the rap/hip-hop world, but it seems to me that there aren’t many rappers attending college. Chuck D. references Tupac in this article, noting that Tupac attended a school of arts as an actor before making it big as a rapper/actor. Yet, the rap and hip-hop lifestyle is what is being promoted as the way to go for many young kids today. How can this be? How many Tupacs can there be out there? I think for many kids this is misleading, a “fantasy world” as Chuck D. calls it- as much as I’d like to believe that students can have the best of both worlds, it seems largely impossible.

Chuck D. indicates that the idea of being a thug and a student cannot be done; they are largely polar opposites . So, why aren’t more rappers pushing the idea of education instead of what Jay-Z terms in one of his earlier songs as “money, cash, & hoes?” While I have to applaud Chuck D. for speaking out and calling for the push of education, I have to wonder: where are all of the hip-hop artists that are storming up the charts right now? Granted, Chuck D. has an influence, but a hot new artist right now could have a larger impact at the moment! Take Jay-Z, Ludacris, Snoop, anyone-their huge influence could be put to better use.

See what else Chuck D. has to say here.

“The Bad Side of Good, the Downside of Up and Everything in Between.” Thursday, March 1, 2007

An interesting couple of articles caught my eye this week as I prepared to write this newest blog entry. In all honesty, I have been trying to present both sides (that is, the pros and cons) of integrating hip-hop music into the classroom. But, I have yet to contrast two articles arguing those sides. This week I am doing this- I have researched articles from both sides of the fence, one promoting hip-hop and one that is critical of this genre as a whole.

At Central Connecticut State University recently, a panel was held discussing “the educational values of rap music, but stressed the lack of positive messages in the genre.” This panel discussed the fact that although hip-hop contains negative messages, the genre itself has qualities that could be useful in the classroom. One member of the panel, Dr. Melanye Price, stated, “I use hip-hop to describe in what ways the powerless use what they have at hand to resist the power structure they have at the time,” Price said. In other words, what used to be a minor sub-culture in America has used its voice (hip-hop) to become one of the more powerful leading cultures that composes are society as a whole today. Price also talks of comparing current rap songs to old slave songs, stating that in both types a political message is being stated subliminally. The author states what I have been insinuating all along and that Price agrees: “Price believes it is way to help students connect to the classroom.”

However, the second article I read takes a contrasting view of hip-hop. This author argues that the mainstream has given rap a bad rap. He claims that “racial capitalism” has brought the songs and artists with songs that are not thought provoking or politically charged because “they” want to suppress the artists who are actually improving the genre by rewarding those artists that write songs about women, making money, and violence.

In the past, I have gotten comments that people not integrally a part of hip-hop do not know the elements of hip-hop and do not know all that makes hip-hop what it is. The author of this second article puts these elements in plain terms. He states, “The four foundational elements of hip-hop are the DJ, break-dancing, graffiti and the MC – not spinners, champagne, grills or strippers. And only two of these foundational elements are evident in the mainstream.” These two elements being the DJ and the MC. The break-dancing and graffiti have fallen to the wayside because of what people in the record companies choose to promote. So, I have to wonder- who is to blame? The artists or the record company executives? 

Read the Connecticut State article here.

Find the rest of the Illini Article here.

Not Family Friendly? Or “Parents Just Don’t Understand” Monday, February 19, 2007

Thus far in my discussion of the integration of hip-hop into high school classrooms, I have tried to focus on the positives of this tool (the educational tool being music) and not the negatives, which the media seems to focus on.  However, I’ve had a negative response to my posts (which I’m not surprised by).  So, now it is time to give the negative aspects of hip-hop some air time. No pun intended.

The article that I read for this week argues that hip-hop began as a positive outlet for young African-Americans to describe their daily lives and trials, but became increasingly negative in its chosen topics because it was “hijacked by major record labels.” This is an interesting point. The author of this article takes a radical stance against hip-hop (similar to the outrageous article we read about the censorship issue of the book Of Mice and Men), suggesting that a letter ‘C’ be placed in front of the word “rap” to more accurately describe what the music is. He suggests that listening to rap music is “rewarding crudeness, vulgarity, and brain-rotting filth, thus guaranteeing more of it.” However, if listening to this music is rotting our students’ brains, as he suggested, and apparently he does not listen to this type of music, couldn’t this man have come up with a more articulate statement than suggesting this music is crap?

Do I agree that this music is indeed “crap”? No. Are a great deal of topics that rap chooses to endorse negative in nature and should not be promoted? Yes. But the genre itself should not be ignored. The author blows by this point, seeming to suggest that this genre of the music industry should be boycotted as a whole. The author discusses Ludacris’ album, Word of Mouf, which is the chief recipient of his rage against rap music. This album does indeed promote the degradation of women, violence, and other misogynistic ideas in its lyrics. I strongly disagree with the ideas promoted here by Ludacris, agreeing with the author. However, I have to wonder- when was the last time this man caught up on the current topics that kids are into? This man is arguing against Ludacris performing at a family festival in his area with information that is over five years old! Word of Mouf  was Ludacris’ second album was released in 2001. He has since put out Release Therapy this past year. I would suggest that this author work on researching what he is attacking before writing an article for the internet that the world can see.

While this third album by Ludacris is not perfect, it is a step up. His current song out on the charts, “Runaway Love,” on which he sings/raps with Mary J. Blige, is a song speaking out against child abuse. However, he reverts back to old language with other songs, lacing what would be clever lyrics with profanities and derogatory statements against women and others. So, while Ludacris may not be family friendly (as many hip-hop artists are), he and the rest of the bunch do have positive qualitites. BUT, their songs that promote sex, violence, homophobia, and degradation of women should NOT be promoted.

Click here to go to the Montgomery Advisor Article.

“What You Know About That…” -T.I. Thursday, February 1, 2007

One of the biggest debates that has arisen in the suggestion of a hip-hop influenced classroom is the idea that students of other races besides African-American will not or do not understand the culture. Granted, there could be many students that do not understand the culture and are merely imitating it because it is the popular culture of the day. However, a large number of students (again, especially in urban settings) live the same lifestyle and experience the same hardships that many rappers and hip-hop artists speak of in their songs. Today’s students are growing up almost immersed in this culture. For those of us that are college students, we have grown up with rap music and the hip-hop industry. So, in this way we identify with our future students because (at least some of us) share the same likes and dislikes of this music. In one article that I read, a teacher discusses the drawbacks to students adopting this culture without fully understanding the meaning behind it. One of her students, an Afghan girl named Fareeba, quickly assimilated into the culture but did not comprehend what her actions and speech meant when she did so. She changed her clothing style and attitude to match that of the popular culture she was now thrown into when she moved to New York. Fareeba even got herself into trouble for plajarizing an assignment because she wanted to belong to her new culture so badly; that is, she had learned that getting into trouble and “being bad” was a good thing and that her new “hard” attitude was how she was supposed to act. Her prideful attitude would not allow her to seek help from her teacher. This “I don’t need you” stance and refusal of help by students is prevalent in classrooms across America; one could argue that this stems from hip-hop culture, which prides itself on rising above “the school of hard-knocks” and achieving success on one’s own.

However, there is a fine line between imitating hip-hop culture (and all that entails) without knowing what it all means exactly to berating it and making fun of hip-hop’s attributes without understanding. In yet another article, the author comments on the rising amount of U.S. college students mocking hip-hop culture by having “gangsta” theme parties on their campuses. At these parties, students dress in what they believe is hip-hop fashion and portray both men and women of hip-hop in a negative light. These students act and dress in the stereotype of hip-hop or rap music, mocking it. Girls are skantily clad and pad their jeans to have a “ghetto booty.” Males wear wifebeaters (men’s undershirts) and huge baggy pants. Both sexes strike intimidating poses, complete with flashing gang signs and lots of fake bling-bling or ice (large necklaces with pendants, huge fake diamond earrings, etc.).  Much of this hip-hop culture’s celebration of over-the-top jewelry and expensive cars, amongst other things is just that: a celebration. These people are celebrating their success and flaunting it for the world to see. These kids do not realize that they are being racially offensive by mocking what they think they understand but do not really know fully. They think nothing of it. The sad thing is, this misunderstanding of culture is largely due to students’ belief that racism no longer exists. But in a way, they are changing racism to a subtle form of mocking, yet this imitation also recognizes that hip-hop is a force to be reckoned with. One professor, James Johnson, had an interesting point: “In the civil rights movement, you didn’t have blacks who called themselves ‘niggers’ and who called their women ‘bitches’ and ‘whores’ and who glorified being violent and being thugs. Now these white kids are kind of confused.”

So what are we to make of all of this? Hip-hop’s influence is a powerful one, but before its use in the classroom a short lesson on its history would prove helpful.

New York Times Article

Herald Sun Article

February 1, 2007.

“Hip-Hop and You Don’t Stop…” -Sugarhill Gang Thursday, February 1, 2007

Today, I read the article below and it really spoke to me; the ideas spoken of here are KEY to relating to students and getting them involved in “active learning” in the classroom, especially in urban settings but in rural places as well. This article describes the effort of one professor to teach his students African-American history by utilizing the large popularity and influence of hip-hop. This professor, Reiland Rabaka, points out to major areas that teachers have largely overlooked: the Civil Rights Movement and the hip-hop influence. He says, “Hip hop has the potential to be a vehicle for powerful social and political change.” I firmly believe this to be true. That is, hip-hop music has become the voice of this up-and-coming generation, even more so than our generation. His lecture is to be one part of a series of lectures during this month for Black History Month.

However, what if this concept was taken one step further? Instead of only one lecture, what if a teacher used hip-hop daily to help the students learn? Surely hip-hop music can be used to as a teaching tool for something other than Black History Month, although the ties there are strong. Opposers can argue that not every student identifies with this culture and music; but this type of music is so mainstream that it is almost impossible to get away from! Not that I personally want to get away from it- I happen to be a HUGE fan. But that’s besides the point. Even students in rural communitites can name hip-hop artists and can probably sing the lyrics to more than a few songs. 

Many different possible teaching tools could be effective in combination with this hip-hop culture. What if they memorized a poem to the beat of one of Jay-Z’s or Beyonce’s songs? Many children are auditory learners; putting words to a beat and melody can often help them. So, if they learn a sonnet of Shakespeare’s or Poe to the tune of “Irreplacable” by Beyonce (a current top-40 hit), they are more likely to remember it and may even recite the poem when the song is played in other places besides the classroom, establishing an auditory form of recall.

Yet another aspect of this article that I enjoyed was that Rabaka encourages the evaluation of the hip-hop culture: viewing the good along with the bad. He also stresses the major impact this subculture has had on our culture as a whole. In combining “old history” (typical African-American studies) along with “new history” (current hip-hop culture), he revolutionizes the way in which history is taught. And it seems to be working! The article states that Rabaka’s class at the University of Colorado-Boulder was increased to one hundred students due to the overwhelming interest. Students are actually bargaining and begging for seats in this man’s classroom! Imagine if students were that enthused about middle school or high school…

University of Colorado

See the University of Colorado article here.
Feb. 1, 2007

“We’re not against rap, we’re not against rappers…” -Bone Thugs & Harmony Wednesday, January 24, 2007

After realizing that my original selected topics (all 5 of them) were too broad and needed serious refocusing, I have decided to center my wordpress.com blog on the idea of hip-hop music and education- that is, does it belong in an English classroom? It seems to contradict the very grammatical rules and manner of speaking “proper english”- so why include it? After all, the majority of the news the hip-hop industry seems to create (or at least what is published by the media) is portrayed in a negative light, promoting vulgarity, violence, rampant drug use, and the degradation of women. So, why integrate hip-hop?
THE STUDENTS, that’s why. Hip-hop is the fastest growing music industry, reaching far beyond simply music. This genre influences the clothing students are wearing, the lanugage they are using, and has infiltrated the music and films they watch to a large degree. For example, in the 80′s and 90′s Run DMC had kids “rockin the shelltoes” (Adidas sneakers) and Adidas sweatsuits with gold chains from their hit, “My Adidas.” Since 2000, Nelly has had teens (and adults alike) running to the shoe store to pick up pairs of Air Force Ones. This shows that the influence hip-hop has is not always a negative one. Students at Indiana University echo this sentiment:
     “When you look at the rap industry now, many artists have enough power and money to inspire youth to wear certain clothing,” Wellmann said, “and I think they can also do the same by inspiring social change. Wellmann said the purpose of the program was to highlight the positive influence of hip-hop music, instead of the negativity surrounding the genre. ‘I want students to do their research reading through different lyrics and try to find the meaning and message of certain lyrics,’ Wellmann said. Wellmann hopes participants learned that they have the power to make a change in their communities and that students can initiate that change, big or small.”
In other words, hip-hop sends a strong message of empowerment, even if that message is hidden behind language we as teachers would normally not deem as “classroom appropriate.” The key to using this genre in a classroom will be searching for the good among the bad and allowing a positive view of this industry to come to light. Simply put, to utilize a tool like hip-hop (which students are very interested in) to convince them to learn in the classroom would be very helpful, in my opinion. Students could create a rap which rewrites the story of Romeo and Juliet, or one of Shakespeare’s sonnets. I believe this genre could be incredibly useful. This blog will discuss different ways hip-hop could be incorporated, as well as the pros and cons of doing so.

Read the full IU article here.