Hip-hop, ghetto, graffiti, rap, d-jing, break dancing, nick names, what do all these terms have in common? All these words are in common because they all portray the hip-hop lifestyle. All these words take part in the world of hip-hop. But the foremost and most important question should be, how did hip-hop grow to be a lifestyle? What influenced hip- hop music to become more than just a type of music? Different people may have different answers, but one answer that numerous people agreed on and has shown to be true, hip-hop music has become a lifestyle for the reasons the lyrics and the rap artists. The lyrics that hip-hop artists song today send out horrific messages that influences the listeners to live a violent, immoral, and more sexual lifestyle.
When you watch MTV and BET, what do you think of? When I watch MTV and BET, I wonder to myself, how in the world did hip hop become this lifestyle? How has hip-hop become more than just a type of music? There isn’t just one straight answer, there are many and it goes back as far as when hip hop was first introduced to society. Through Dj-ing, break dancing, rap-records, and graffiti, hip-hop developed a style. Along with those things are the lyrics that hip-hop artist sings and the idea that they seem to enforce. Artists send out terrible messages that influence the listeners to live a hip hop lifestyle. A lifestyle that includes very violence, immoral, and sexual behaviors. A lifestyle that would have been totally the opposite of Plato’s ideal lifestyle, which was to only teach children the good things in life.
Dr. Delores Tucker, who is the National Chair of National Political Congress of Black Women, gave an example of youth violence influence by hip-hop lyrics in her speech to congress. The example was sixteen years old and his friends from New Mexico, who killed his eighty years old grandparents over something as little as beer and what got them to work their nerves up to murder the grandparents was by listening to “Serial Killer” by Snoop Doggy Dog (Tucker 12). Now, why do you think this was used as an example? This was the perfect example to use to show that hip-hop lyrics do have an influence on the listeners. Artists sing songs with lyrics that send messages saying that being violent is an okay thing. For example, N.W.A’s album called Straight Outta Compton, with the song name “Gangsta Gangsta.”
Now I’m the mutha fucks that ya read about
Takin a life or two
That’s what the hell I do don’t like how I’m livin
Well fuck you
This is a gang and I’m in it
My man Dre’ll fuck you up in a minute
With a right left, right left your toothless
And then you say goddamn they ruthless!
The first nigga that I saw hit em in the jaw
Ren started stompin em, and so did E
By that time got rushed by security
Out the door, but we don’t quit
Ren said, “Let’s start some shit!”
I got a shotgun, and here’s the plot
Taking niggaz out with a flurry of buck shots
Boom, boom, boom yeah I was gunnin
Rap artist are singing songs with these types of messages in them, and sending them out to people to listen to. With more than half of the listeners being minors who are too young to know better than not to follow what the lyrics are saying. “Young people often look up to perform artist for moral guidance and inspiration, as well as entertainment, but when these artists glorify guns and beating, they are injecting poison into the veins of America’s future,” said Tucker (qtd. In Tucker 12).
Many people disagree that they lyrics of hip-hop music has an influence on listeners. But when you get cases like the sixteen years old and his friends from New Mexico, who killed his eighty years old grandparents over beer, can you really say that the lyrics don’t have any influence what so ever? The problem with hip hop music is that, 780 million worth of rap records were sold in 1993, with more than half of the age of 17 and 50 percent of these minors were between the ages of 10-14 years old (Tucker). The point here is that they majority of the people who actually buys these records with bad messages don’t know any better than to follow the footsteps of the lyrics that they listen to. These minors don’t know what they are getting themselves into because they lyrics make it sound so good to steal, be violent and use drugs. A very good example is a letter from a prisoner that Dr. Tucker used in a speech to congress. Rappers make it sound so good and look so real that I would drink and smoke drugs just like on the video, thinking that that was the only way I could be somebody. My hood girls became hoes and bitches. What is so bad about it is they accepted it. You know so why? Because they put themselves in the video too, and the guns, money, cars, drugs, and men become reality. Look where this kind of thinking got me, facing 25 years to life in jail.
People may argue that rappers are only singing what is true and real. But what is the truth and reality? Is killing each other, stealing, and using drugs they only real thing going on here? Like Pierre Bennu said, “Yes criminals and violence come from the streets, but so do men and women who love their lives with kindness, and within the realm of the law.” There should always be more to life than just what’s happening on the streets in the hood. If it’s isn’t the case I think it’s pretty depressing that they don’t have more going for themselves. Instead of just singing about the problems, why don’t they try to do something about it?
In an interview Charlie Rose had with Ice Cube, “To be an American is to flaunt what you got […] and try to have more than the next man.” (Saddik II0). It is messages like this that gives young youth today the wrong idea about life. Being an American doesn’t and shouldn’t mean you have to flaunt what you have and you don’t try to have more than your neighbors, or the people around you. Being an American means you are free and equal. It would be nice to be rich and have everything you want, but it shouldn’t always be about things like that, and that’s what some rap artists are making it seems to be. In the interview, Ice Cube was asked if rap lyrics have any messages that goes out to the listeners. Ice Cube said that there’s a difference between when the rappers are just having fun and when there is really a message for the listeners (Saddick II0). This could be true, but how does the listeners know the differences? How are they suppose to know that lyrics like the one in “Gangsta Gangsta” was just the rapper having fun, and it’s not a real message to the listeners? Ice Cube also said that the violence described or used in the lyrics should be viewed as representation. He also compares it to movies with violence such as Heat and Terminator and said the violence in the rap lyrics should be viewed as “theatrical” just like the movies (Saddik II0). But the problem with that is that a lot of the listeners are from the hood just like some of these songs. This lead people to think that if it’s being said in the lyrics than it must be true and they must follow what is being said because they are from the hood too. This is not just true in the United States it’s even true in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. “In regard to hip-hop culture, some authors conclude that marginalized youth (those who experience the most dramatic social pressure) who listen to rap are likelier to be violent,” said Miranda and Claes 2004 (Perullo).
Not only does hip-hop persuade people to live a violent lifestyle, but also an immoral one too. Throughout the hip-hop history, the lyrics have created a negative portrait for women. Many lyrics some more extreme than others look down on women, disrespect them, and put the thought that treating a women like a sex object is okay. People can say that this isn’t true, but when topic such as the right to use bitch and ho in lyrics comes up at hip-hop conferences, can you really say that it isn’t true (Sharpton)? After all, it is like what Rev. Al Sharpton said, “They wanted the right to call a woman a bitch something the slave master called black women with impunity.” McCluskey also said, “Black women’s bodies, historically, have been sites of sexualized commodification and spectacle for the White mind. During slavery their bodies represented production and reproduction, allowing slave owners to increase their property while satisfying their lust” (Keels). Why would people especially black men want to negatively portray black women when that’s what slave owners did to their mothers, great grandmothers, or their kind in general?
What’s really immoral about this whole topic is that, it’s not like giving women a negative portrait is a latest thing. It goes all the way back in history, as early as the lyrics of “The Message” by Melle Mel and “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. For example from “The Message” by Melle Mel:
Crazy Lady, Livin’ in a bag
Eatin’ outta garge pails, used to be a fag hag
Said she’ll dance and tango, skip the light fandango
She went to the city and got so so seditty
She had to get a pimp
She couldn’t make it on her own.
On top of all that, hip-hop music has influence young youth to be more sexually active at younger ages especially in the African American youth. And it’s causing them to suffer from AIDS and HIV at a very young age. People especially young kids don’t need to take notice of the rapper singing about “his” sex life and how good it is, and how many women he slept with. Like Dr. Benjamin Hooks, former Executive Director of the NAACP said, “Some argues that these artists are merely speaking frankly about their reality and the black cultural experience, but our experience does not include debasing our women, glorification of violence and the promotion of deviant sexual behavior.” I’m pretty sure that not all the rappers out there are really like this in real life, but that’s what annoys me the most. If they are not really like that than why are they representing it? Why are they influencing young kids to be violent, immoral, and more sexually active if they themselves wouldn’t want to be like that? Instead of enforcing something like this, they should try to do something about it. Throughout the paper I have been talking about how music artists and their music are responsible for the actions of young children today, but parenting has a lot to do with it as well. A lot of what kids get themselves into these days has a lot to do with their parents and how they are raised. I always believe that good parenting can make a great impact on the children’s lives.
Hip-hop music has been to blame for young youth’s immortal behaviors. Although there has been a lot of proof that hip-hop and rap music have an influence on the youths that listens to it, there are also things that parents can do to help reduce these things from happening. If parents have good parenting skills to start out characteristics that help promote moral development that was given by the Indian child website of theories were: honest and trustworthy, faithful and loyal, hard-working, responsible, and self disciplined, kind, with concern for their fellow human being, independent, able to resist the pressure of the crowd, generous, giving, and gentle, concerned for justice, and respectful of legitimate authority rules, and laws, respectful of themselves and the rights of others, respectful of life, property, nature, elders, and parents, courteous polite, having good manners, fair in work and play, merciful and forgiving, understanding and futility of holding a grudge, service oriented, willing to contribute to family, friends, community, country, religious organizations, and school, courageous, peaceful, calm, and serene.
It was to believe that if children with these characteristics, it will help them to have a better moral development, therefore they would live a more moral life. In order for this to happen, the parents would have to do the following: respect their children, teach by examples, teach by telling, help children learn to think, help children take on real responsibilities, balance independence and control, love children and help them develop a positive self- concept, and lastly, foster moral development and a happier family.
When parenting, parents need to respect their children, but should also require the respect in return. When punishing or disciplining, the discipline should be with restraint, respectful, fairness, and gentleness. Once the children are getting older, the parents should ask and consider the children’s opinion, before setting rules and consequences. Parents should also teach the children’s by examples; it’s one of many ways to help children turn their moral reasoning into positive moral behaviors. An example of this would be how the parents talk and treat others outside their family. But because children will always be around bad examples as well as good ones, parents need to use words as well as actions. Knowing how and why to do certain things will leave a better impression. Not only do parents tell the children what to believe, but also help them to think for themselves. By giving children constant encouragement to stop and think and to take the viewpoint of others into consideration, it can help children’s moral development. It has been shown that children who thinks about and discuss moral issues make better progress through the states of moral reasoning than the ones that don’t. Taking real responsibilities can also help children’s moral development. Completing chores around the house, take responsibility for their own homework, or volunteer in the community are all ways that can kelp. When parenting, giving children independent is good as long as there are limits to them. Giving too much independence will only lead children to feel like they are overwhelmed because they are not really ready for all the freedom. Not only that, but the children may feel as if the parents don’t care what kind of people they will become. But not giving enough freedom can be a problem too. By not giving enough freedom, it leads children to rebel to get the freedom and that can lead to making poor choices. Also when there is parental love, children have a better understanding of the parents’ values and rules. Overall, when parents gives their children examples to learn from, people to identify with, way of life and values to maintain, and a support system to turn to in times of need, their children are going to be in better shape when it comes to being moral.
So as you can see, even if children are exposed to bad music such as hip-hop and rap music, the bad mortals that get sent out in the lyrics may not affect them if the parents helped developed a good moral development with children. The hip-hop and rap music are always going to be there, and the messages that are being sent out may never change from the way it is now, or even get worst. But if good moral developments are exposed to first, there can be a reduction in immoral behaviors.
Overall, hip-hop music has become more than just a type of music; it has become a lifestyle, a violent, immoral, sexual lifestyle. Of course not everyone that listens to the music gets influence by it, but the big picture is that there are many listeners who do get influenced by this music and it’s not a positive influence. Yes, the music can represent the person who sings and listens to it and it can represent who they are, but like Dr. C Dolores Tuck said, “Principles comes before profit.”
Bennu, Pierre. “Fuck Hip hop: A Eulogy to Hip Hop.” Dissdent Voice. 18 Dec. 2002. 03 May. 2009<http://dissidentvoiv.org/Articles/Bennu_Fuckhiphop.htm>.
“Parent Skills.” Parenting Skills-Rearing Moral children.2003 Indian Child.03 May 2009<http://www.indianchild.com>.
Roach Ronal. “Black Issues in Higher Education.” Find Articles.com. 22 Apr. 2004. 03 May 2000. <http://findarticles.com>.
United States. Senate Subcommittee on Junenile Justice. Shaping Our Response to Violent and Demeaning Imagery in Popular Music. Washington:GPO, 1995.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Graphic Novels
For as long as I can remeber I had always thought that comic books and graphic novels were fro people who didn't want to read a "real novel". To some point I still think that way, but what I didn't realize was that graphic noves can be educational too. To be honest I have never picked up a comic bookor a graphic novel so I would never know if they are educational or not. According to the book Tooning In, some graphic novels can be very educational.
For example a novel call Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Stamaty. This novel might be used i
n the intermediate and middle school grades. The authour recounts the heroic story of Iraqi librarian Alia Muhammad Baker as sh
e rescues over 30,000 volumes from her library in Basra before it's besieged (Tooning In p. 154). Another example is, Barefoot Gen bye Keiji Nakazawa. This book offers students a unique look at the experiences of an ordinary Japanese family who opposed Japanese invlovement in World War II, the persecution that the family suffered because of this stance, and also the esperiences of some citisens of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomo dropped by the United States (Tooning In p. 155).
What makes graphic novels right and good for classrooms? Graphic novels have themes and these themes are:
These themes can be used to help students learn and students tend to learn better when they are engaged. To get them engaged, educators have to get the student's attention. To do that we need to use what they like. Whether all the students like graphic novels or not, they are still going to be more engaged because it's different from what they are use to. Not only that but the reading is much more complex and short. Like what a lot of graphic novel readers say, it's very fast pace. We were all students once and most of us still are, we know how it's like to be a student. If there is an easy way out, we will take it!
Like I said, I have never been a graphic novel reader and probably will never be. But I know a lot of people who do read them and say they aren't that bad! It's acutally really easy to read and fun. If this is true and some graphic novels are educational, wouldn't you want to use them in your classrooms? And you never know, teachers might learn a thing or two also!
For example a novel call Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Stamaty. This novel might be used i
n the intermediate and middle school grades. The authour recounts the heroic story of Iraqi librarian Alia Muhammad Baker as she rescues over 30,000 volumes from her library in Basra before it's besieged (Tooning In p. 154). Another example is, Barefoot Gen bye Keiji Nakazawa. This book offers students a unique look at the experiences of an ordinary Japanese family who opposed Japanese invlovement in World War II, the persecution that the family suffered because of this stance, and also the esperiences of some citisens of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bomo dropped by the United States (Tooning In p. 155).What makes graphic novels right and good for classrooms? Graphic novels have themes and these themes are:
- Individual development and Identity: Learning about myself, classroom community, and the food we eat.
- Families: In our community and in other places.
- Our community: How they meet our needs and wants
- People, places, and environments: Cultures in our community, our Native American past, and making global connections.
These themes can be used to help students learn and students tend to learn better when they are engaged. To get them engaged, educators have to get the student's attention. To do that we need to use what they like. Whether all the students like graphic novels or not, they are still going to be more engaged because it's different from what they are use to. Not only that but the reading is much more complex and short. Like what a lot of graphic novel readers say, it's very fast pace. We were all students once and most of us still are, we know how it's like to be a student. If there is an easy way out, we will take it!
Like I said, I have never been a graphic novel reader and probably will never be. But I know a lot of people who do read them and say they aren't that bad! It's acutally really easy to read and fun. If this is true and some graphic novels are educational, wouldn't you want to use them in your classrooms? And you never know, teachers might learn a thing or two also!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Popular Music
This week reading was very interesting, I have to agree with what the book stated about popular music. But there is one issue that I wish the book covered a little bite more and that is how some music effects young kids negatively.
First of all, I agree that using music in a classroom is a very good way to get students' attention. When using something that they can relate to usually grabs their attention. The trick here is to use music in a way that will get their attentions. I remember when I was in high school, we had a few assignments where music was needed. Even though the music part caught my attention, I still thought the assignment was lame because of what we had to do with the music. I remember there was one assignment where I did really enjoy. It was in English class and we were reading the book called The Pearl. For one of our final projects, we had to make a CD with songs that would describe or be apporperiate for certain part of the book. That was really fun because in a way it was like making a movie and I had to pick out songs to go in the background.
What the book didn't really cover was the fact that even a lot of people don't get influence negatively by music, there is a pretty big port of people that do. For the final project, I decided to write on how hip hop music is a bad influence on young kids today. And let me tell you, some of the things that kids do because of music they listen to is crazy! Not only does bad music influence these kids to do bad things, but a lot of hip hop songs protray women as sex objects and kids are thinking that it's okay to treat women as sex objects. For an example the music video called Money Maker by Ludacris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_UQYXV1mc0.
Not only do guys see girls as sex objects, but girls are starting to allow themselves be looked at in that way.
It's good that educators want to incorpate music and popular culture in the circulums, but we have to remember that while we want includes things, we have to be careful not to use things that will influence kids negatively. Maybe there is even a way to use music and popular culture in a classroom and teach these kids what's right and what wrong. Maybe we should teach our students to think critically about what is a good and bad influence on them and their peers.
Overall, I think that using music and popular culture in a classroom is good for the teachers and and students if done in a good and right way. It allows the teachers and students to learn about each other and from one another, And that I think is very big and important.
First of all, I agree that using music in a classroom is a very good way to get students' attention. When using something that they can relate to usually grabs their attention. The trick here is to use music in a way that will get their attentions. I remember when I was in high school, we had a few assignments where music was needed. Even though the music part caught my attention, I still thought the assignment was lame because of what we had to do with the music. I remember there was one assignment where I did really enjoy. It was in English class and we were reading the book called The Pearl. For one of our final projects, we had to make a CD with songs that would describe or be apporperiate for certain part of the book. That was really fun because in a way it was like making a movie and I had to pick out songs to go in the background.
What the book didn't really cover was the fact that even a lot of people don't get influence negatively by music, there is a pretty big port of people that do. For the final project, I decided to write on how hip hop music is a bad influence on young kids today. And let me tell you, some of the things that kids do because of music they listen to is crazy! Not only does bad music influence these kids to do bad things, but a lot of hip hop songs protray women as sex objects and kids are thinking that it's okay to treat women as sex objects. For an example the music video called Money Maker by Ludacris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_UQYXV1mc0.
Not only do guys see girls as sex objects, but girls are starting to allow themselves be looked at in that way.
It's good that educators want to incorpate music and popular culture in the circulums, but we have to remember that while we want includes things, we have to be careful not to use things that will influence kids negatively. Maybe there is even a way to use music and popular culture in a classroom and teach these kids what's right and what wrong. Maybe we should teach our students to think critically about what is a good and bad influence on them and their peers.
Overall, I think that using music and popular culture in a classroom is good for the teachers and and students if done in a good and right way. It allows the teachers and students to learn about each other and from one another, And that I think is very big and important.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Fake News
Real news, fake news, what's the difference?
In the articles we had to read, it said that, "research has shown that between 48 and 60 percent of young adults watched fake news shows to get information about the 2004 American presidential campaign." And "reseachers from Ohio State University found television viewers who watch fake news programs are less informed about issues and candidates in election campaigns than those who watch network news shows." The article also said that, "Young Mie Kim, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State, said both newsand entertainment promote some knowledge gain, but people who are exposed to news gain more factual information and learn more about a wide ranges of important media."
If you ask me, I say any news is better than no news at all. It may be true that people who watch entertainment news may not be as influential, but i think that it is still very informative. It's not like the information that are given are really fake.
First of all, if people really cared about the news and wanted the whole download, they would watch the real news. People want to watch entertainment news for a reason, whatever it may be. As for myself I watch entertainment news because sometimes I don't want to know every little detail about the world. To be honest I get very depress to know all the bad and wrong things that goes on in this world. I try to stay away from the news as much as possible. When I do want to know something, I go online and read about it, or I watch entertaiment news where the news is given short and simple. And ontop of all that, it is funny and I am being entertained.
On the other hand, there are people who may argue and say that the only reason why they watch entertainment news is because they don't have time to watch the real news shows, or they don't get the channels that the news are on. I say BS! There are more than one way to get the real news if you really wanted to get the real news. There is such thing call the internet and google! There are many websites that people can go on to get real news without a TV. For an example, there is New York Times. com, it has all the latest news! If you dont' have a computer or internet, there is a library! And if that seems like too much work, there is always the actual newpaper.
In the articles we had to read, it said that, "research has shown that between 48 and 60 percent of young adults watched fake news shows to get information about the 2004 American presidential campaign." And "reseachers from Ohio State University found television viewers who watch fake news programs are less informed about issues and candidates in election campaigns than those who watch network news shows." The article also said that, "Young Mie Kim, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State, said both newsand entertainment promote some knowledge gain, but people who are exposed to news gain more factual information and learn more about a wide ranges of important media."
If you ask me, I say any news is better than no news at all. It may be true that people who watch entertainment news may not be as influential, but i think that it is still very informative. It's not like the information that are given are really fake.
First of all, if people really cared about the news and wanted the whole download, they would watch the real news. People want to watch entertainment news for a reason, whatever it may be. As for myself I watch entertainment news because sometimes I don't want to know every little detail about the world. To be honest I get very depress to know all the bad and wrong things that goes on in this world. I try to stay away from the news as much as possible. When I do want to know something, I go online and read about it, or I watch entertaiment news where the news is given short and simple. And ontop of all that, it is funny and I am being entertained.
On the other hand, there are people who may argue and say that the only reason why they watch entertainment news is because they don't have time to watch the real news shows, or they don't get the channels that the news are on. I say BS! There are more than one way to get the real news if you really wanted to get the real news. There is such thing call the internet and google! There are many websites that people can go on to get real news without a TV. For an example, there is New York Times. com, it has all the latest news! If you dont' have a computer or internet, there is a library! And if that seems like too much work, there is always the actual newpaper.
As for yound kids today, I say it's good to encourage them to watch the news so that they are informed about the things going on around them. But we as educators can only push so much, in the end it is still up to the students whether they way to or not. A lot of young kids don't watch the news because it is boring and who would want to watch a boring TV show when they could be doing something more fun. One way educators can do to get these kids to watch the news is to have it on during class. I remember in 7th grade, my history teacher would have all the students watch 10-15 minutes of news at the beginning of every class period! That was how I got all my news and I didn't even have to take time out of my spear time to do it. Another way to get students to watch the news is to quiz them on it. Every Friday my 8th grade teacher would have a news triva day. The class is broken up into groups and the teacher asks us a bunch of questions that he got from newspapers or the news channel. Everyone gets points for the questions they got right and whoever gets the most points get bonus points for their grade, or a prize. I never really cared for the news, but getting those extra points sure made me want to pay attetion to the new!
Overall, I think it is important that we watch the news and get informed on what's going on around us. But that is not always going to happen. I think people should just be glad that there are entertainment news out there that even keeps some people like me informed about this world. People need to relax and not care so much!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Kid Popular culture
I thought the reading for this week was very informative yet I thought it was a no brainier. I'm not a teacher so I wouldn't know how hard it is to actually teach a group of kids and try to get them to think critically, or use kid cultural in the classroom. But if I was a teacher, the first thing I would do is include kid cultural in the classroom because as a kid, I loved it when the teacher would include things that I like or was familiar with. For some reason there are people like White and Walker who thinks that “kid culture is often subject to condemnation, censorship, and regulation. Kid culture has always been questioned regarding its legitimacy and impact on youth and society…What one finds in schools is a negative reaction to kid culture in whatever form (rap, Pokemon, video games) through stereotypes, banning, and demeaning acts and comments” (77). I like I mentioned early think different.
I believe that videos should be used in classrooms to engage students in the subject or topic espeicailly if it's a drier topic. I think that using t.v. shows such as Liberty Kids and Histeria is a wonderful idea. Sometimes when teachers use older more scholarly videos is confusing and boring to students. I remember when I was in high school and we were learning about the Boston Tea Party, I couldn't' really grasp the whole story and history behind it. One day after school I was babysitting and Liberty Kids was on and the episode was The Boston Tea Party! In thirty minutes I had a better understanding of the Boston Tea Party than I did during that whole week in history class! What made the TV show so much easier to understand was that it was fun to watch and it caught my attention. Not only that but the characters on the show explained what was going on in terms that could be easily understood. Instead just just dates and numbers, things were explained in terms that I could understand and follow easily.
Like the one of the reading said, course information have to be deliver in ways other than just lectures and textbooks, it has to be deliver in a way that will get students to think critically and want to learn. Otherwise it just becomes a memorization and we all know that with memorization, the information doesn't stay with us for very long. Not only that, but learning becomes a chores instead of something that the students should want to do.
I believe that using kid culture in classrooms is a very good idea because it will get the students' attention and and it's for their own benefit. I mean it is their future and education that we are dealing with, why not do in a way that will benefit them and let us do our jobs!? I don't think that teachers should just throw away the text books and curriculum, but finding something that will work with those two things and get kids' attention would be great. Of course there will always be times where educators can't make learning fun and exciting, but using kid culture every now and then would be a good change, and even then not all kids will be engaged, but a few is better then none!
I believe that videos should be used in classrooms to engage students in the subject or topic espeicailly if it's a drier topic. I think that using t.v. shows such as Liberty Kids and Histeria is a wonderful idea. Sometimes when teachers use older more scholarly videos is confusing and boring to students. I remember when I was in high school and we were learning about the Boston Tea Party, I couldn't' really grasp the whole story and history behind it. One day after school I was babysitting and Liberty Kids was on and the episode was The Boston Tea Party! In thirty minutes I had a better understanding of the Boston Tea Party than I did during that whole week in history class! What made the TV show so much easier to understand was that it was fun to watch and it caught my attention. Not only that but the characters on the show explained what was going on in terms that could be easily understood. Instead just just dates and numbers, things were explained in terms that I could understand and follow easily.
Like the one of the reading said, course information have to be deliver in ways other than just lectures and textbooks, it has to be deliver in a way that will get students to think critically and want to learn. Otherwise it just becomes a memorization and we all know that with memorization, the information doesn't stay with us for very long. Not only that, but learning becomes a chores instead of something that the students should want to do.
I believe that using kid culture in classrooms is a very good idea because it will get the students' attention and and it's for their own benefit. I mean it is their future and education that we are dealing with, why not do in a way that will benefit them and let us do our jobs!? I don't think that teachers should just throw away the text books and curriculum, but finding something that will work with those two things and get kids' attention would be great. Of course there will always be times where educators can't make learning fun and exciting, but using kid culture every now and then would be a good change, and even then not all kids will be engaged, but a few is better then none!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Avatars?! What!
It’s crazy to think that people are coming out with new technology that can talk! Not only can these new technlologies talk, but they listen and respond! It’s like talking to a real robot! Lol. I know I sound like I am extremely fascinated by this whole thing with agents and avatars, and I am! It’s crazy to me that technology has come so far to the point where we can create 3D looking cartoons to talk and respond. What really fascinates me is that these avatars understand what is being said and can respond to whatever the other person is saying.
I think that an avatar or agent would be very useful in a classroom especially if it was an online class like this one. First of all, I think it would just be cool to have a robot talking to me instead of me just looking at my computer screen and read a bunch of text. I also think that it would really get students’ attentions because it is so different from what everyone is use to. I am a person who learns best by being told and hands on, so I think it would be very helpful and interesting to have an avatar talk to me and give me the information that I needed to learn. I also think that it would be very useful to have an avatar in a classroom when a teacher is absent. Even though there are substitute teachers, they don’t always know what’s going on, so having a robot that can portray you and teach your students what you were going to teach would be very beneficial.
Even though this new technology sounds very interesting and cool, it has its down fall as so does a lot of technologies. Like the article that we had to read for Sunday, there are always going to be people who will abuse their privileges. Like the examples that the article gives, there are going to be students who won’t actually use the avatar for what they are really going to be there for. Like the conversation where the student was asking the agent about sex and cursing at the agent. It’s hard to control these kids if there’s not actually anyone there to control and watch them. I think it will always be a problem because kids are always going to be kids.
One thing that I did think of that could maybe control what goes on between students and an avatar is the avatars can be programmed so that they have user names and passwords to get into. By having each student have their own user name and password, you can watch and control what is going on. If they don’t use the avatar for the right reasons, they can get kicked out!
I make that sound easy, but when I thought of the idea, I thought it was brilliant! Lol. Anyways I feel like the whole abusive thing is always going to be an issue so I think that people shouldn’t make such a big deal out of it. I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that we should just ignore the fact that sex and drugs are being brought into education, but then again where else are they going to learn about it? Like I mentioned earlier, kids are always going to be kids and one of the things that kids are best at is being curious. By being curious, they are going to push the limit and ask inappropriate questions all because they are curious.
Overall, I think that the avatars are pretty awesome, I really had fun making my! Feel like a kid again! Lol.
I think that an avatar or agent would be very useful in a classroom especially if it was an online class like this one. First of all, I think it would just be cool to have a robot talking to me instead of me just looking at my computer screen and read a bunch of text. I also think that it would really get students’ attentions because it is so different from what everyone is use to. I am a person who learns best by being told and hands on, so I think it would be very helpful and interesting to have an avatar talk to me and give me the information that I needed to learn. I also think that it would be very useful to have an avatar in a classroom when a teacher is absent. Even though there are substitute teachers, they don’t always know what’s going on, so having a robot that can portray you and teach your students what you were going to teach would be very beneficial.
Even though this new technology sounds very interesting and cool, it has its down fall as so does a lot of technologies. Like the article that we had to read for Sunday, there are always going to be people who will abuse their privileges. Like the examples that the article gives, there are going to be students who won’t actually use the avatar for what they are really going to be there for. Like the conversation where the student was asking the agent about sex and cursing at the agent. It’s hard to control these kids if there’s not actually anyone there to control and watch them. I think it will always be a problem because kids are always going to be kids.
One thing that I did think of that could maybe control what goes on between students and an avatar is the avatars can be programmed so that they have user names and passwords to get into. By having each student have their own user name and password, you can watch and control what is going on. If they don’t use the avatar for the right reasons, they can get kicked out!
I make that sound easy, but when I thought of the idea, I thought it was brilliant! Lol. Anyways I feel like the whole abusive thing is always going to be an issue so I think that people shouldn’t make such a big deal out of it. I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that we should just ignore the fact that sex and drugs are being brought into education, but then again where else are they going to learn about it? Like I mentioned earlier, kids are always going to be kids and one of the things that kids are best at is being curious. By being curious, they are going to push the limit and ask inappropriate questions all because they are curious.
Overall, I think that the avatars are pretty awesome, I really had fun making my! Feel like a kid again! Lol.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Shopping is my therapy!
I love shopping, it's probably one of my favorite things to do. I think that shopping can be good and bad at the same time. First of all, I think shopping is good because it helps our economy going. I mean if no one shops we wouldn't have the hundreds and thousands of jobs we do today! But than again, it could be bad because some people spend way too much money on shopping and when I say shopping I don't mean grocery shopping. I mean clothes and appliances that people may not really need. Speaking from personal experience, I know I shopping sometimes just because I have nothing to do, and usually spend way more money than I should!
I guess one thing young kids could learn from shopping is that, it helps to shop when you can afford too, but it's something that you shouldn't have to do all the time. You don't need to buy a new cellphone every two months because there's a new phone with a new technology. Or you don't always have to buy new clothes just because someone in your school has it.
It's very hard not to buy things because it's the latest thing out there, or it's very hard not to buy something because someone else has it because some people base their status on the things they own. For an example, I person who makes $100,000 a year wouldn't be driving a 1995 Toyota (no offense to anyone that does, just an example) They would be driving a BMW or a Lexus. Why? Because by having a nice car people will know that you make a lot of money. Same goes to brand name clothes and houses. I think that it's sad that that's what people do, but than again you can't blame them because that's their money, and when people have the money, they spend it on nice things. And I believe that's how it's been for people in the U.S. we spend money to show off our status.
I'm not sure on how to get young people to think about their experiences with shopping, but I believe that we can try to teach them that there is a smart way to shop and a not so smart way. I mean like buying things that they don't need, or to buy things that are a cheaper brand. And just because you have money doesn't mean you should spend it.
I guess one thing young kids could learn from shopping is that, it helps to shop when you can afford too, but it's something that you shouldn't have to do all the time. You don't need to buy a new cellphone every two months because there's a new phone with a new technology. Or you don't always have to buy new clothes just because someone in your school has it.
It's very hard not to buy things because it's the latest thing out there, or it's very hard not to buy something because someone else has it because some people base their status on the things they own. For an example, I person who makes $100,000 a year wouldn't be driving a 1995 Toyota (no offense to anyone that does, just an example) They would be driving a BMW or a Lexus. Why? Because by having a nice car people will know that you make a lot of money. Same goes to brand name clothes and houses. I think that it's sad that that's what people do, but than again you can't blame them because that's their money, and when people have the money, they spend it on nice things. And I believe that's how it's been for people in the U.S. we spend money to show off our status.
I'm not sure on how to get young people to think about their experiences with shopping, but I believe that we can try to teach them that there is a smart way to shop and a not so smart way. I mean like buying things that they don't need, or to buy things that are a cheaper brand. And just because you have money doesn't mean you should spend it.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Women+game=?/ Gaming Strategies in classrooms
I don't know much about games or gamers, but the little I do know is that the game industry is geared more towards men. Most of the games out there today are made to catch men's attention not women's. For an example, World of War craft, don't get me wrong there are females who love this game, but really think about it. Do you really think that this kind of game was made to attract women's attention? I don't think so! I believe that there are very few games out there for women because there is a lack of women in the industry. There are not very many women working in these industries, designing these games, they might do the graphic design but they're not actually making the games. Not only that, but I think that the industry don't go after the women because a lot aren't into gaming. Even though there are a number of women who game, it's always been known that men do most of the gaming and they are the ones that actually buys the games. Not to sound old school, but women are portray to be house wives who cooks and clean, playing a video game is out of the picture!
I can't say they I would like to see more women gaming because I myself is not into gaming what so ever so I could really care less. If people want more women in this industry, I say more power to them! What I do think is important is that if we want to incorporate gaming strategies in our field of education today than it would be nice to have women in the industry. Why? Because the students include both boys and girls. If the only people designing these games are men and they are only gearing towards males, then what does that do for the girls? If we are going to incorporate gaming strategies in classrooms, then it should include girls also. Which leads me to say that I think it's extremely important that we use gaming strategies in classroom. If kids learn best when it's about things they like or they way they learn best then I think that we should do it. It is so hard to get kids these days to get engaged in the stuff that are being taught in schools, I know because I was a student and still am. But what I did come to realize is that, if the subject is being taught in away that will get my attention, I'll pay attention even if I don't care for the subject!
Some people may argue that gaming strategies in a classroom will only cause a distraction, but there has been many research showing that there are benefits to using gaming in a classroom. For an example, there is a medical school professor that encourages his students to play a game call Monkey Ball. This game helps the student's eye-hand coronations, the study shows that the students who did play the game had a less chance of making a mistake during surgery. Because the game forces them to use their eye-hand coronation, they have a better eye-hand coronation during surgery compared to the students that didn't play the game.
Not only are medical schools using games, but even the people who swears to protect this country. Some soldiers are getting trained by a video game. These games put the soldiers in real life situations and they have to figure out what to do.
Here is a website to an article where a teacher used a game designed for a economical class. It's really interesting. http://www.ucea.edu/resources/pubs/infocus/200604coverstory.html
Maybe we can't literally use games in classrooms like this teacher did, but I think that if we can incorporate gaming strategies in our classrooms, students would be more engaged in what we have to teach them.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Fan
I think it was 7th grade when i first really got into fashion. I have always been interested in fashion and how i looked, but it wasn't until middle school that I decided I was really into fashion. It all started one day in English class, for an assignment we had to write on our dream career and how we were going to achieve it. At first I didn't know what my dream career was going to be. After about twenty minutes, i still couldn't think of anything to write on. All of a sudden i noticed that my teacher had on the ugliest shirt on, and as I looked around the room I noticed that all the kids had on similar clothes. Everyone had on clothes that all looked the same, but just in different colors and patterns. I also realized that the students that didn't have the same kind of clothes were the ones that weren't "cool". I couldn't believe how much of an impact clothes had on people, and ever since then I decided i was going to become a fashion designer. I was such a big fan of fashion that I subscribed every fashion magazine out there. Fr
om Vogue to Elle to Bazaar, I had it all. I would 
every waking moment looking at these magazines. I even had a journal where I kept of all the new fashion of every season. I was so obsessed with fashion that I would go to the store, buy clothes, bring it home, take it apart and add my own touches to it. Most of the time it turned out very nice and unique. It got so bad that there's been a couple of times where I told the workers in retail stores that the clothes on their mannequins didn't look right and fixed it for them! Some days i would sit in front of the t.v. and just watch fashion shows. I was beyond thrilled when Project Runway came on air! There was never a day that I would miss that show, I would schedule my week just so I could watch the show. I was such a big fan of fashion that when I came to college, I actually started out majoring in clothing design. After two years of taking design classes, I came to realize that i love fashion, but I don't like making it. I love looking at clothes and see how it looks on people, but I don't actually like making it. After realizing that, I some how become very interested in art and art education which lead me to where I am now.
om Vogue to Elle to Bazaar, I had it all. I would every waking moment looking at these magazines. I even had a journal where I kept of all the new fashion of every season. I was so obsessed with fashion that I would go to the store, buy clothes, bring it home, take it apart and add my own touches to it. Most of the time it turned out very nice and unique. It got so bad that there's been a couple of times where I told the workers in retail stores that the clothes on their mannequins didn't look right and fixed it for them! Some days i would sit in front of the t.v. and just watch fashion shows. I was beyond thrilled when Project Runway came on air! There was never a day that I would miss that show, I would schedule my week just so I could watch the show. I was such a big fan of fashion that when I came to college, I actually started out majoring in clothing design. After two years of taking design classes, I came to realize that i love fashion, but I don't like making it. I love looking at clothes and see how it looks on people, but I don't actually like making it. After realizing that, I some how become very interested in art and art education which lead me to where I am now. But back to fashion, fashion like a lot of other pop culture stuff has a lot of impact on people and their lifestyle. Like me in the past, some people live their life around fashion. They try to stay on top of the latest trend, and spend hundreds of dollars on clothes that they think will make them look "cool" or "fit in". People spend so much money on brand name products because they see people they look up to wear it. For an example celebrities, kids who look up to their favorite celebrities will try to look just like them and want to get the things these celebrities have. All because they are a fan of these people, they want to be like them. I don't think that my obsession with fashion had anything to do with the people I was friends with or anyone around me, but more like I just wanted to make a fashion statement. I just wanted people to look at me and say, "wow I wish I had her clothes" or "I wish I had her taste of fashion". I just wanted to be different from everyone else in a good way.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tooning In Ch:1,2,3
Chapters one, two, and three talked about why popular culture is important, why educators need to include it in curriculums instead of thinking of it as a distraction. In chapter 2, it talked about how students choose to learn what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. So as educators, one should take that into consideration and use that to engage students. The example the book used was social studies. Because it is a much more dry subject to learn and teach, one should concentrate on how to use media to help engage the students to learn social studies.
I have been in classrooms where the teacher did not even know how to turn on his laptop, or open a folder and thought to myself, "where in the world have you been?" And it is those classes that are usually more boring because I did not have anything to focus on other than the teacher and the lecture. But what I did not realize at the time was that not everyone is comfortable with today's technology. Some people especially for the older generation, they were not born with computers and all these fancy toys that we have today. Even though they did not have all the technology we have today, they still got by just fine, which makes me think that maybe we don't always need all these fancy technologies.
Overall, as much as I agree that popular culture is a big part of the lives of everyone today especially the young kids today, and media is a big part of that, we can't forget about rules and morals. I believe that new technology could and would help students learn better, and it is a lot more interesting when the teacher is up to date on today's technologies and popular culture, but those popular culture shouldn't cross with rules and morals. Rules and morals are there to teach us from right to wrong, and we all know that there are many things in today popular cultures that would be considered wrong in the book of morals.
I have been in classrooms where the teacher did not even know how to turn on his laptop, or open a folder and thought to myself, "where in the world have you been?" And it is those classes that are usually more boring because I did not have anything to focus on other than the teacher and the lecture. But what I did not realize at the time was that not everyone is comfortable with today's technology. Some people especially for the older generation, they were not born with computers and all these fancy toys that we have today. Even though they did not have all the technology we have today, they still got by just fine, which makes me think that maybe we don't always need all these fancy technologies.
Overall, as much as I agree that popular culture is a big part of the lives of everyone today especially the young kids today, and media is a big part of that, we can't forget about rules and morals. I believe that new technology could and would help students learn better, and it is a lot more interesting when the teacher is up to date on today's technologies and popular culture, but those popular culture shouldn't cross with rules and morals. Rules and morals are there to teach us from right to wrong, and we all know that there are many things in today popular cultures that would be considered wrong in the book of morals.
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