‘History of Hip Hop and Rap’ class proposed for P-CEP
A ‘History of Hip Hop and Rap’ class has been proposed for the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park.
The story of how hip hop and rap music evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry could be coming to a Plymouth-Canton Educational Park classroom in the not-too-distant future.
A final reading of a proposed “History of Hip Hop and Rap” elective social studies course was scheduled for the Jan. 23 Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education meeting; however, the meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The class is being proposed by the P-CEP Social Studies team.
According to the class description, it would: “… allow students to study how hip-hop and rap evolved from their origins to become a multibillion-dollar industry.
“Students will analyze lyrics, music videos, and other school- and age-appropriate resources to understand the struggles faced by underrepresented communities and how hip-hop gave them a voice.”
Cultural history
In a recent study conducted by The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy, 28% of adults in the United States agreed that hip-hop’s musical and cultural history should be taught in schools.
That percentage increased to 38% when the question is posed to those with children under 18 in the household, the study reported.
The study’s authors reported 31% of those surveyed neither agreed nor disagreed with the idea.
“This demonstrates an important opportunity to educate the public about the expansiveness of hip-hop,” said Manny Faces, the hip-hop journalist who founded The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy and co-authored the survey.
“So many people think hip-hop is simply a genre of music, but we’re seeing groundbreaking work when hip-hop is incorporated into fields such as education, mental health care, the technology sector and more.”
P-CEP students will learn how Hip Hop and Rap have empowered artists from various countries worldwide to use their voices to express viewpoints about the injustices occurring in their countries and communities, the class description reads.
“Students will also discuss and analyze music videos and lyrics to better understand people’s struggles in underrepresented communities,” a summary of the proposed class states. “The History of Hip Hop and Rap curriculum will be developed by a team of social studies teachers and published on Atlas.”
No additional funding needed
A textbook will not be required, eliminating the need for additional funding to offer the new course.
Open Educational Resources and district-provided resources will be utilized to help develop the curriculum, the proposal revealed. The resources include Newsela, Gale in Context: Contemporary Global Issues, the Michigan eLibrary (MEL), and various curriculum resources.
The next scheduled board of education meeting is Feb. 13.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
