During our service at Cristo Rey, we are mentors. That is, we are not just concerned with teaching a lesson (that is tutoring), but rather, we are concerned with working with our CRJ students to make the material fun and engage with our students on a real level.
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In the New York Times, an editor discusses this notion of creating a bridge and his approach to education.
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In Teaching STEM Use Hip-Hop as a Bridge
Christopher Emdin is an associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently a fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard University. He is also the author of "Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation."
DECEMBER 10, 2013
I have found that classrooms with the most success in engaging students in STEM have moved beyond teaching straight science, technology, engineering and mathematics and taken a more interdisciplinary approach.
This approach, most commonly known as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), has become a worldwide movement and made a tremendous impact on youth engagement and general access to STEM. In my work with STEAM, I focus on art, but also on culture. I argue that the more teachers can consider the unique culture of their students, the more relevant and accessible their education will be.
For a large number of minority youth and women, STEM has been 'Eminem-ed.'
For a large number of minority youth and women, STEM has been what I'd describe as “Eminem-ed.” Basically, a white male face represents STEM, and the inherent patriarchy and bias perpetuated by gatekeepers in STEM goes unchallenged. This occurs in a way that is analogous to how the rapper Eminem is considered to be the face of a certain brand of popular rap, while the messages in his content are often troubling and yet not often questioned.
STEM instruction should be rooted in the art and culture of marginalized groups. To make STEM more fun and accessible, students must see themselves as inherently scientific, and their worlds as naturally mathematical. They must see diversity in STEM, and how it is expressed to the world. Once this happens, intellectual rigor becomes fun, and young people rise to the challenge.
My most recent project, Science Genius, which is a partnership with the rapper GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan and RapGenius.com, focuses on the art of rap and the culture of hip-hop as the key to engaging youth. Through and with young people, the art and culture of science is expanded. This is an approach to STEM that is inclusive of all youth, but that is particularly necessary for urban youth of color who are least likely to engage in these disciplines, and yet deeply engaged in hip-hop culture.
In short, to make STEM more fun and accessible, we must STEAM forward with art and culture, and expand the face of STEM to include youth who are most ostracized from these disciplines. The chief way to do this is to meet them on their own cultural turf.
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Please share your thoughts on this article. Be detailed and sincere. Feel free to respond to one another's comments.
_______________
In the New York Times, an editor discusses this notion of creating a bridge and his approach to education.
_______________
In Teaching STEM Use Hip-Hop as a Bridge
Christopher Emdin is an associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently a fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard University. He is also the author of "Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation."
DECEMBER 10, 2013
I have found that classrooms with the most success in engaging students in STEM have moved beyond teaching straight science, technology, engineering and mathematics and taken a more interdisciplinary approach.
This approach, most commonly known as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), has become a worldwide movement and made a tremendous impact on youth engagement and general access to STEM. In my work with STEAM, I focus on art, but also on culture. I argue that the more teachers can consider the unique culture of their students, the more relevant and accessible their education will be.
For a large number of minority youth and women, STEM has been 'Eminem-ed.'
For a large number of minority youth and women, STEM has been what I'd describe as “Eminem-ed.” Basically, a white male face represents STEM, and the inherent patriarchy and bias perpetuated by gatekeepers in STEM goes unchallenged. This occurs in a way that is analogous to how the rapper Eminem is considered to be the face of a certain brand of popular rap, while the messages in his content are often troubling and yet not often questioned.
STEM instruction should be rooted in the art and culture of marginalized groups. To make STEM more fun and accessible, students must see themselves as inherently scientific, and their worlds as naturally mathematical. They must see diversity in STEM, and how it is expressed to the world. Once this happens, intellectual rigor becomes fun, and young people rise to the challenge.
My most recent project, Science Genius, which is a partnership with the rapper GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan and RapGenius.com, focuses on the art of rap and the culture of hip-hop as the key to engaging youth. Through and with young people, the art and culture of science is expanded. This is an approach to STEM that is inclusive of all youth, but that is particularly necessary for urban youth of color who are least likely to engage in these disciplines, and yet deeply engaged in hip-hop culture.
In short, to make STEM more fun and accessible, we must STEAM forward with art and culture, and expand the face of STEM to include youth who are most ostracized from these disciplines. The chief way to do this is to meet them on their own cultural turf.
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Please share your thoughts on this article. Be detailed and sincere. Feel free to respond to one another's comments.
- How do you feel about approach STEM with an addition of arts?
- What does "meet them on their own cultural turf" mean to you? Recall our Helping vs. Serving approach in CCSJ?
- Has this changed the way that you might approach service at Cristo Rey for the rest of this semester?