Whatitdo?!
As a young educator there are things I see, feel, and hear everyday that make want to share with someone; the world even. This blog will be my avenue to share the experiences of a hip-hop educator. It’s a complex journey (as most journeys worth having are). There are three dimensions down this road less traveled.
1. One is the experience of responsibility. In many ways I am a surrogate parent or guardian to my students (hence why I affectionately call them “my babies”). What’s ironic is I have yet to experience the joy of actual motherhood despite carrying the weight of it’s responsibility. This makes it frustrating because you become emotionally invested in your surrogate children, which makes it easy to ignore your own journey as you try to smooth the road of theirs. This is the heart of the journey.
2. The second dimension is one paved in passion; it’s the generational gap outlook. Though only a decade separates me and most my students, light years separate us musically. Often times I want to craddle them in the headphones that blare the soundtrack of my youth and protect them from the garbage they embrace as music. But I’d be a hypocrite if i did! Part of what made my music growing up, my music, was that my elders didn’t understand and like it, I would never want to take that feeling from my students. But why do they have to adore Gucci Mane like they ?! I seek comfort and peace in the music in the my headphones during this journey.
3. The third and final dimension is that of an art-activist. I do the work I do with young people because I see truth, innovation, and passion in them that most adults have grown to run from. I want to grow from misunderstanding the shorties on the metro, to being able to meet them where they are in their and see them with pride and greatness. I want to be the change and apart of the movement that will create change. So…all that to say this blog is an informal introduction to my three dimensions. There is such great honor in holding hands with the future of change.
Each entry will include the heart, the headphones, and the honor of this journey. Welcome…I hope you enjoy the read!!
