I found the article \u201c’Dear Tupac, you speak to me’: Recruiting Hip Hop as Curriculum at a School for Pregnant and Parenting Teens”, not only interesting because of its ideas for an English class curriculum, but also because of the school itself. I agree that using hip hop can be a great tool for students to identify with themselves, culture, and society in a way that is very meaningful. I have read about other teachers who try to incorporate hip hop into reading and writing and for the most part, it seems to be a successful tactic. However, I have never before heard of a school that is only for pregnant and parenting teens. I think the concept of this school is a great idea. It creates a safe space for these girls who have all gone through similar experiences and are motivated enough to further their education. Many girls drop out of school when they are pregnant or after giving birth due to struggles with finding daycare, getting harassed by peers, and having nobody with shared experiences to relate to. All these girls have the ability to achieve academic success, but there are so many barriers standing in their way that they lose all hope. This school solves all those problems. Using hip hop as a source of getting in touch with the students’ “authentic voice” and bridging out-of-school and in-school learning was definitely beneficial to these girls, but I think the atmosphere of the school itself is also a huge factor in their academic achievement. Without this safe space, the girls may not have been comfortable sharing their personal stories in their raps, poems, and songs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I found the article \u201c’Dear Tupac, you speak to me’: Recruiting Hip Hop as Curriculum at a School for Pregnant and Parenting Teens”, not only interesting because of its ideas for an English class curriculum, but also because of the … Continue reading