Writing

My mother is great writer, a poet actually, and her love of language has always been infectious. But my affinity with writing has not been so natural or so passion-filled! I didn't feel the same excitement about iambic pentameter or the exquisite assonance of an ode by John Keats, but I ate up the great literary works and have been reduced to tears by a beautiful lyric or turn of phrase (I'm an emotional sort). As I grew older, my brother started to show an affinity for writing and poetry and began to write songs. My husband is also a singer songwriter and his lyrics are reminiscent of the lyrical poets of the sixties. It seems that I am surrounded by great musicians and writers. I attempted to write poetry and songs but abandoned my works and settled with the idea that I was a singer without a song, a voice without words... but maybe the problem was that I didn't know what I wanted to say.

So I wrote not! Even though I worshiped the great writers of the 19th and 20th centuries and the great singer songwriters of the sixties, I found myself unable to mirror their great abilities with language. I think I had limited my understanding of writing as a creative endeavor. I thought a good writer had to be a poet or a scholar! I didn't fully appreciate its importance on every day life. We always hear that knowledge is power, but so are words and our ability to find a voice and the ability to exchange in dialogue is paramount.

I recently watched the documentary 13th. It's incredibly sobering and somber. The soundtrack of the film features Usher, Common, Nina Simone, and Public Enemy. The music that was curated for the film cries out for social change which lends to the strong impact of the film.


Writing for Social Change

I wasn't one to listen to hip-hop or rap growing up. I was too preoccupied listening to Mozart, Debussy John Williams and Grieg. It was only in Graduate School that I heard Public Enemy and was exposed to a movement of which I was self-admittedly rather ignorant. I have been evaluating recently how I can incorporate a hip-hop unit into my future music class so students can learn about music and lyrics as an advocate for social change.

Hip Hop Lesson: Hip Hop, Identity and Place

I found a fantastic resource that I have linked to for future reference. The lesson plan is geared towards grades 9-12, but I think it could be directed towards grades 7 and 8 as well. This year at Winona Elementary we are doing a holiday Christmas concert. Mrs. Elliott and I chose a mash up of Anna Kendrick and Snoop dogg from Pitch Perfect 2 for the students to perform and they were so excited at the prospect of rapping!

Hip hop and rap have frequently come up in my placement and I think it would be an opportune avenue to explore with students how writing can act as an agency for social justice and change in their own lives! Just like we evaluate major literary works and poems, hip hop songs can have a structure and narrative that can be deconstructed and evaluated by students. In the process of writing their own rap or beat poem they will need to pass through the phases of pre-writing, drafting, reflecting and editing. This gives students to develop their craft as writers but through a unique and atypical construct. I think this grants students an accessible avenue to explore their own voice and purpose for writing that may be more relevant to their real life experiences.