We all know about the three R’s reading, writing and arithmetic. Well there’s one educator who says that there should be a fourth R taught in some schools, rap. For several years now a lot has been written in magazines and newspapers about the steadily declining reading level of American students. It’s a major problem and nobody seems to have a complete solution for it. But there are some good theories, and one of the strongest is the material students use to learn to read, should relate to the cultural environment that surrounds them. In other words, if a student comes from the inner city, he or she can best learn to read with materials that reflect life in the inner city. One of the biggest advocates of that theory is also one of the most important at controversial educators in America. He’s Dr. Houston Baker, a professor at African-American Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Baker is also the president of the modern language association, the most prestigious language educational group in the USA. He thinks rap music can be used to help teach inner city kids to read and write. Dr. Baker says the innovative high paced use of the English language in rap, is nothing short of dazzling. He calls it modern day poetry, and Dr. Baker says, “If you can get students to realize that, reading and writing will follow along.” That’s why Dr. Baker has pushed for using rap videos in the classroom, to get students excited about learning. If his theories prove true, who knows? The time may come when rap 101 will be a required course for would be teachers and students across the USA. Now here’s one of the hottest rappers around, 24-year-old Iggy Azalea. She’s at #13 this week moving up three with “Beg For It”. https://youtube/watch?v=9j5vmAH9VeE
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 03:08:39 +0000
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