Most students would never imagine their high school English teachers spending summer break freestyling and listening to hip-hop. But in an effort to reach out to students, that is just how area teachers have spent the last two weeks.

A class offered by the UW-Madison Summer Institute, with help from Youth Speaks Wisconsin, aims to give teachers the tools to bring hip-hop and spoken word poetry into their classrooms.

The class included a history of hip-hop, listening sessions, creative workshops, performances by artists from across the country and a lyrical showcase with performances from the professionals and teachers alike. The hip-hop and spoken word curriculum hopes to target various academic problems, ranging from high rates of dropouts to general disengagement, by reaching students in a new way.

"We're using stories from 30 or 40 years ago, and while they're brilliant stories, they're just not reaching the kids," Middleton High School English teacher Chris Cummings said. "We want them to be excited about learning and being creative, but we're not doing that. This is a way to bring new blood, bring new energy back into the environment that will hopefully reinvigorate them."

After Madison's Sennett Middle School brought in a local group, Elements of Change, to empower students through hip-hop last year, teacher Robin Weindruch and school psychologist Mary Rhoades saw encouraging results. "The work they did was powerful and had a positive impact in students that can be difficult to touch," Rhoades said.

The programs and curriculum seem to work when educators can meet kids "where they are at," Rhoades said.

"It's not a top-down type of theory, it's more of a bottom-up in a way," Weindruch said. "We're at a middle school with teenagers who are entrenched in the culture of music, so it's bringing their experiences to meld with academics."

However, the spoken word curriculum is not intended to replace traditional literature, but instead to provide a way to make many classic texts even more meaningful.

"Hip-hop makes it relevant -- we have to go to them," said Michael Cirelli, poet and professor at College of New Rochelle and co-author of a hip-hop curriculum book called "Hip-Hop Poetry and the Classics."

"It's basically a curriculum that uses hip-hop and classic poems to teach poetry. It cross-compares everybody from Shakespeare to Langston Hughes with Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac," Cirelli said. "A lot of it is really focused exercises that get them to start thinking critically about the world around them."

Although the latest hip-hop songs probably won't appear in standardized tests anytime soon, Cirelli said his book of curriculum and lesson plans meets educational standards just like any traditional text or workbook. The first edition of the book abides by California standards, and Cirelli said a nationally standardized book is in the works, along with talks with major children's book publishing companies.

"People are behind it," Cirelli said. "We're in the beginning of the revolution. There is really hope because teachers care about it and resources are starting to be created."

Although Cirelli said many educators throughout the nation have been supportive, Weindruch said some parents might have initial concerns about hip-hop in the classroom due to the often-distorted portrayal of hip-hop culture.

"But the material can be presented and cleaned up," Weindruch said. "I think parents need to see that it's not the words, it's the message and the message represents their children and who they are."

Cirelli said negative music gets the majority of publicity because sex and violence sell.

"What you hear on the radio is such a small part of the culture," Cirelli said. "There's so many positive artists out there doing so many positive things."

And those artists -- whether famous performers or simply freestylers during recess -- seem to be everywhere.

"Hip-hop in Madison is just as relevant as in New York City," Cirelli said.

The hip-hop culture has also extended beyond its Black history, so students of every race can relate to this type of music curriculum, according to Cummings.

"If I can do it with hip-hop, I can do it with country, heavy-metal," Cummings said. "I want students to get into the habit of looking for their own music like what we're talking about in class. The students can provide the vehicles for the skills we're teaching."

As it turns out, the music students hear today might not be too different than the music of past generations.

"These are issues that have been around a long time," Rhoades said. "The content is virtually the same."

"I didn't grow up in a generation of hip-hop, but I grew up in the Bob Dylan generation," Weindruch said. "So I can relate to protest and the angst and the anger and the change in society, just all from a different time. There is a difference in generations, but we need to close that gap."

Add or View Comment

Login to post your comment. If you don't have an account, you may register for one.