For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)

by Christopher Emdin

The ability to guide without controlling, to create the best context, to be flexible, and to make the crowd move is found in both the black church and in hip-hop. Rappers, who are often described as the teachers of the hip-hop generation, are referred to as MCs when they have demonstrated that they have the ability to teach. To MC or move the crowd is to be able to share information, spark thinking, invoke dialogue, and keep an audience engaged.

The way that a teacher teaches can be traced directly back to the way that the teacher has been taught. The time will always come when teachers must ask themselves if they will follow the mold or blaze a new trail. There are serious risks that come with this decision. It essentially boils down to whether one chooses to do damage to the system or to the student.