Hip hop is deemed as leisure and fun outside of the classroom, it can take place in a club or in the hood or projects. But what about in lessons or in the classroom?
Recently, I was in downtown and I noticed a Caribana carnival was present. Seeing people in the core of downtown , Toronto involved in wearing beautiful dresses, elegant dances, and great reggae music. I realized how powerful and motivating it can be for everyone to peacefully and respectfully be participating. Hip hop is great lens for analysing sex, drug s, violence and it can help teachers assist at risk youth with the type of media which influences or even persuades them.
De Leon argues “Hip Hop is the dominant language of youth culture, and those of us who work with young people need to speak to them in their language (p.1). Since it is one of the “most influential cultures” in the world according to some, it makes sense for teachers to immerse themselves with common themes and try to use them for instructional strategies in discussing social justice issues. Since Hip hope has many different genres and subcategories such as “Deejaying, break dancing, remixing, rap etc.”, educators can take these main themes of hip hop and do programs that speak about racism or stereotyping of minorities.
This way educators and students can illuminate their communities with rich music, dance and hands on activities. Just like Freire and Akom, I think that critical pedagogy can be applied to Hip hop in order for youth to understand how mainstream hip hop has shaped them in society. Students can also try to recycle and reuse hip hop to improve on social and political inequalities.
Akom, A. (2009). Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis. Equity & Excellence In Education, 42(1), 52-66. doi:10.1080/10665680802612519
Emery Petchauer, “Starting With Style: Toward a Second Wave of Hip-Hop Education Research and Practice,” Urban Education 2015, Vol. 50(1), pp. 78–105
Recently, I was in downtown and I noticed a Caribana carnival was present. Seeing people in the core of downtown , Toronto involved in wearing beautiful dresses, elegant dances, and great reggae music. I realized how powerful and motivating it can be for everyone to peacefully and respectfully be participating. Hip hop is great lens for analysing sex, drug s, violence and it can help teachers assist at risk youth with the type of media which influences or even persuades them.
De Leon argues “Hip Hop is the dominant language of youth culture, and those of us who work with young people need to speak to them in their language (p.1). Since it is one of the “most influential cultures” in the world according to some, it makes sense for teachers to immerse themselves with common themes and try to use them for instructional strategies in discussing social justice issues. Since Hip hope has many different genres and subcategories such as “Deejaying, break dancing, remixing, rap etc.”, educators can take these main themes of hip hop and do programs that speak about racism or stereotyping of minorities.
This way educators and students can illuminate their communities with rich music, dance and hands on activities. Just like Freire and Akom, I think that critical pedagogy can be applied to Hip hop in order for youth to understand how mainstream hip hop has shaped them in society. Students can also try to recycle and reuse hip hop to improve on social and political inequalities.
Akom, A. (2009). Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis. Equity & Excellence In Education, 42(1), 52-66. doi:10.1080/10665680802612519
Emery Petchauer, “Starting With Style: Toward a Second Wave of Hip-Hop Education Research and Practice,” Urban Education 2015, Vol. 50(1), pp. 78–105