Keith Benson

Urban Education
Dr. Beth Rubin
4.23.2007

Rap and Society Curriculum Background Information

Since the turn of the century, Social Studies classrooms have been dominated by

pro-Anglo world history and white American history. The dominant histories taught in

public high schools are comprised primarily of the teaching of politics and wars. As

college students, we are well aware history is much more than what most high school

classes are exposed to. The historical analysis everything from foods to weapons, from

clothing to sports, are all academically viable and valid. Most high school students are

not aware of the innumerable possibilities within the history “umbrella”, and, not

surprisingly, are generally turned off by social studies classes, and history altogether.

For my internship/project for Dr. Rubin’s Urban Education class, I chose to teach

a curriculum to my Social Studies class which is comprised of 11th and 12th graders. In

choosing to teach a curriculum of my own design to students, I desired to choose a

subject that was interesting to students and me, while historically and socially relevant to

the lives we live. Teaching in an urban area, Camden, New Jersey, to a class consisting of

teenage, lower-income black and Hispanic students, I decided to teach a class on rap

music.

Although I have been critical of teaching urban high school students about rap in

academic settings, as rap music and its language is widely marginalized and vilified in

mainstream America, I saw an opportunity to use rap as an avenue toward discussion and

deliberation with students about historic and social issues. It was my goal to illicit student

opinion and views about a subject my students knew and were comfortable speaking
about, while concurrently connecting rap music with larger societal issues like poverty,

racism, discrimination, feminism and progress. Taking the analysis of rap beyond surface

level acquiescence, my classes would be exposed to un-edited lyrics and uncensored

subject matter. Between the students’ communicated comments about the music, and my

relating the music to larger social phenomena, mutual education could occur. Within this

framework everyone is learning simultaneously, both student and teacher.

The title of the curriculum I taught to my US History II class is Rap and Society.

Rap and Society classes take place every Friday to give students something to look

forward to during the week, and to give the students the impression that this is a day for

“taking it easy” and without “work”.

With the exception of few instances where writing and note taking is required, the

class is dominated by group, “around the horn” discussion. I stress to my classes that

there is no wrong answer except, “I don’t know.” I want my students to think and

recognize possible connections between what they listen to and the environment in which

they live.

Overall, we’ve had some amazing sessions. Students who usually contribute and

participate continued to do so, but others who were more introverted spoke up as well. At

times I was forced to referee the class telling them they were getting too loud, and to

speak one at a time, but that was a joy to do. Most every student had thoughts and

opinions they wanted to voice and did so during our Rap and Society sessions. On a few

occasions the classroom adjacent to ours would overhear or discussions and join our class

discussion, or discuss the issue in their own class.

 Subsequently, I have noticed my entire class participated more often in Monday –

Thursday lessons as a carryover from Friday’s classes. While all of the seven seminars to

date have had lively discourse, the two liveliest discussions came on the curriculum’s

introductory session and on the first Friday after Don Imus’ comments about the Rutgers

University Women’s Basketball team. (These lessons are included and will be distributed

to the class)

In conclusion, the Rap and Society curriculum exposed me to my students’

capacity to understand social issues, and awareness of how rap music relates to their lived

experiences. In some cases, I was impressed by their familiarity of issues I hadn’t

covered that presented themselves during our discussions.

Also, I felt a sense of longing that education is too often rote and drilled; which

results too often in potentially capable students being turned off by school. Unfortunately,

school is less about student learning as it is competition, and maintaining social status

quo. My Rap and Society curriculum exemplified to me, a teacher and a student, what

education could be within an ideal circumstance.