Untangling Hip-Hop for the Classroom

Music is one of my passions.  I obtained my undergraduate degree in voice performance in the naive hope that someday, classical music can again be related to current society, rather than be a merit badge for the well-to-do or the exit tune for cheesy cartoons and commercials.  This article speaks of a teacher who shared his youth with that of the hip-hop culture, and continues to make connections with his students through this medium.  Now personally I'm not a fan of this style of music; too much violence and repetitive sounds for my tastes (though ironically I love hard rock).  Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I can still appreciate what it means for students who do connect with it.  Music is something that transcends all boundaries, and should be used much more often than it is in the general education classroom.  This is especially true of current music, since the majority of students listen to it, watch it, and enjoy it on a very regular basis.  Creating connections between the content of a lesson plan and some type of music shouldn't be too difficult, given the wide range of possibilities to choose from, both lyrically and instrumentally.  One of my goals is to weave music and its emotionally stimulating abilities into my class whenever appropriate, and I love that the author of this article is on the same wavelength.  A massive part of being a successful educator is knowing your student, and their music is such an identifying piece that it's a no brainer to me that it should be celebrated in a class environment.  Sadly, music programs seem to be first on the chopping block when budget cuts come around; it seems the sounds of the boardroom drown out the music of the past, regardless of the tones. 

Am I Part of the Problem?

I really enjoyed this editorial.  The author speaks of how he is currently helping to widen the achievement gap as a parent, which he has battled for years to close.  How?  By being a white, active, involved parent, who is teaching is young girls (also white) to read early, spend quality time with them, and take them on educational outings on weekends.  His emphasis is on how the achievement gap is already in place by the time children enter Kindergarten, and that parents are the most important educational influence in a child's life.  Another point that he makes that I agreed with is that children of color or low-income are constantly compared to upper class white students - as if they cannot measure up to standards of their own, or at least ones that are universal and race-neutral.  We discussed these issues constantly in last semester's equity course, and this focus on race and/or socio-economic issues rather than the need for every child, regardless of background, to reach their full academic potential really bothered me.  I think we need to focus on each child as an individual, rather than grouping them all by color or the ever looming dollar sign.  Now naturally one would argue that studies indicate that race and income do influence achievement - but why is this?  Is it a cultural issue?  Obviously the income aspect makes a difference; it is much easier to raise your child in a nurturing, educational environment if you are fortunate enough to have a parent stay home with them or take them on amazing field trips.  But then we need to be looking at our daycare systems, and why they aren't picking up the slack when parents are too overworked and underpaid to devote the time needed to help these kids get a good start on life.  I know how much daycare is, and it seems to me that for those prices some focus needs to be placed on their work with young children.  Additional parent education should be highly encouraged as well, so that they realize how important the time and effort they put out for their very young kids can be. 

The Maker Movement

I'm very excited about this article, and what it could mean for science and math classes everywhere.  The "Maker Movement" focuses on the doing of the STEM fields that usually get lost in dry, boring text, long lectures, and seemingly endless testing.  Part of what draws me to become a science teacher is the vast array of physical experiments that can lead to understanding the complexity of the world around us - taking apart chemical reactions in common household items, discovering the functions of diverse plant and animal life around the globe, recognizing weather systems and how hard those weatherman really have it - these are all things that can either alienate students or get them excited and thirsting for knowledge.  As necessary as tests and texts may be to our current educational system, it shouldn't end there, and the makers certainly bring the data off the page and into a student's hands.  To me it seems obvious that this is the way to get students involved and motivated to learn, not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well.  Maybe the fear of embracing a new way of learning and the technology to do so is what keeps some more "traditional" educators at bay, but hopefully the new wave of teachers that are comfortable and very familiar technology can usher in an era of hands-on, project based learning.  I know that's my intent.

Researchers Look for Ways to Curb "Mean Girls" and Gossip

This article focuses on the increasing need to recognize and diminish "relational aggression" in schools.  I was actually quite surprised that this is a "new" idea, since to me it seems obvious that the majority of bullying begins with "relational" aggression - in other words, the interwoven psychological effect of gossip, ostracizing, and cliques on the victims, bullies and bystanders.  While the more physically violent bullying is extremely obvious, this more subtle form of aggression (I believe) is what leads up to the violence - especially in girls, who tend to be just a vicious but in a sneaky way that is harder to detect.  What was bothersome to me is when a group of researchers and teachers in Seattle observed students on the playground, while the researchers were able to easily identify "semi-public relational bullying", the teachers could not.  As a victim of this type of aggression myself in seventh grade, I can attest to how frightening and depressing it can be, and as a prospective teacher I believe having training on how to recognize the signs and immediately diffuse the situation is paramount to the well being of the student body.  Children need to learn empathy for one another, and I think with the desensitizing that goes on between violent video games, graphic reality television, and the wide range of images readily available on the Internet this is becoming a greater challenge for parents and educators alike.  To me it seems more than worth the class time to require social consciousness courses in early adolescence (fifth and sixth grade, just when hormones and peer pressure begin to kick into gear), in the hopes that we can head off some of these behavior patterns later on. 

No-Pass, No-Drive Laws Spreading

This is a GREAT idea!  Apparently over the last twenty years, several states are implementing policies that restrict driving privileges for students that are having attendance, behavior or academic issues.  For some reason researchers have been skeptical about the results, stating that there is little evidence pointing in favor of this practice.  I'd personally like to review the raw data, since I can't imagine how this wouldn't be a massive motivator for truant teens; unless of course they just drive without a license.  However, I would hope that there would be parental involvement in this instance - maybe I'm being optimistic, but most parents I know are rather loathe to place their children on their insurance in the first place, and are even less likely to allow them out the door with car keys when they are completely illegal to do so. 
To date, twenty-seven states have some variety of this policy in place, and I would applaud the rest jumping on board.  Professor Russell Rumberger at the University of California disagrees, stating that just because the students are in class doesn't mean they are learning anything.  But how then are they to learn when they aren't there at all?  At least this gets butts in seats (and teachers can't be dragging them kicking and screaming to strap them in); it is obviously up to the teachers at that point to get them engaged.