01st Mar 2010
EDEC 262- Blog 9
Blog 9- I Am Not a Role Model
Basketball player Charles Barkley’s famous dictum, “Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids”, continues to provoke controversy, not in its literal sense (to which most would agree) but rather in its sentiment that athletes are not heroes, that sports figures should receive no more adulation than anyone, and that it is principally wrong to hold professional athletes to a standard beyond what we hold the average person. Charles Barkley may have been arrested for a variety of reasons, some violent, he may have accrued massive debts due to gambling, and he may say things that insight fervent discussion, but he has said upfront, clearly and unequivocally, that he is not a role model.
Does this admission, however, relinquish him from a public responsibility as a role model?
This persistent ideal of ‘public athlete as public hero’ returned to the airwaves this past week when victorious Canadian female hockey players celebrated their gold medal victory over the Americans with beers and cigars on the ice. Some have argued that even though the celebration occurred after the stadium had cleared, the women were somehow in violation of an unwritten code of “role models” and as such acted inappropriately. Others countered that they are all women of legal drinking age celebrating in a manner common to hockey. Furthermore, others have noted there seems to be double standard at work- Jon Montgomery, a Canadian skeleton medalist, celebrating his win by pounding back a pitcher of Canadian lager, yet there was no public outcry. But Montgomery is also an adult who is legally able to drink a beer. Does his action somehow diminish his position as a role model?
Why do we continue to idealize athletes as though their ability to perform on the field, the rink, and the track somehow indicates a moral superiority or valorization? Athletes maintain a special place in the public discourse as the embodiment of the “noblest” and best of human achievement- consider briefly the rhetoric of the Olympic games and what this kind of friendly competition can ennoble. Why does this mythology of good athlete/ good person persist?
Given our class’s recent discussion of gender in the Olympics, I found it very a propos when a friend of mine sent me an article about Lady Gaga’s sexual and gender identity.
Sarah Hampson’s article was written in response to audience claims of a “penis sighting” of the pop artist Lady Gaga at the Glastonbury music festival in the UK. The article suggests that gender expectations may be the “last taboo” and that Lady Gaga is an artist who knowingly (and cleverly) pushes these boundaries. Hampson suggests that Lady Gaga recognizes the expectations that society places on the different genders and uses her eccentric and shocking performances to make the very point that “gender is all performance art”. Is it because she takes full responsibility for the messages and images she projects during performances that she has “power”?
Is Lady Gaga successful in her deconstruction of gender roles through her performances? Does she risk isolating audiences who will consider her performance too riské? Or do we still listen to her anyway because she can knock out a catchy tune? How much does the audience care about (or identify) what messages and images artists project?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/lady-gaga-and-the-hermaphrodite-controversy-is-she-or-isnt-she/article1482773/
I was brought up with the idea that family was supposed to be your “role model”. And so I’ve always looked up to my grandfather (the stories and accomplishments he’s told me) and my mother (single mother raising my brother and I). Sure, athletes like Serena Willams, or celebrities like Nicole Richie are “looked up to,” but we can’t forget they’ve only accomplished the step behind the camera that we, average people, haven’t…
Wayne Gretzky is famous for setting 61 National Hockey League scoring records and played in all 18 All-Star games of his 21-year career. So a lot of people look up to him because he’s mastered his sport. As an athlete, a lot of people would like to accomplish or are just proud of what he’s done. But who knows if he’s a woman beater? Would we look up to him then? Take Tiger Woods. We’ve seen this already. He is the most highly paid athlete and now the media has been saying he’s disappointed his fans. What he did was part of his private life, so no “fan” should know or care what goes on “behind the curtain.” They should look up to what he’s done career wise and the records he’s set.
We mentioned the women’s hockey team in class today drinking and smoking on the ice after their game with no spectators. Yet, because the media was there, it made the headlines. They won, big deal. You’re going to tell me you’ve never had a drink because you were celebrating something (maybe your friends birthday, a holiday or anything of that matter). Give these guys a break!
It all comes down to how we perceive these “heroes” and what is said about them. Next thing you know, they’ll find something to say about a new athlete and then another and it never ends. In the end, people still look up to them for what they’ve set as records or news and not for the athlete himself.
I totally agree with what has already been said in regards to athletes as “heroes”. I was shocked to see the amount of people in the news that opposed the Canadian hockey players having some champagne after winning their game. Are you kidding me? Like Melodie said, who hasn’t had a couple of drinks to celebrate a big win, acing a test or getting a new job? People in the media can be so judgemental and hypocritical in order to create a “big story”. My family was laughing along with Jon Montgomery when he downed the beer after getting the gold..I don’t see why this should be held against them. As said in class, they are legal and have every right to drink or smoke.
Athletes as role models is a very two sided issue. As a kid, I was obsessed with sports (and still very much enjoy them) and definitely looked up to skiiers like Peekaboo Street and Olympic swimmers and high jumpers for inspiration – if they can do it, so could I! However, besides looking to these people in terms of athletic achievement, I don’t see any reason that they have to behave in a “heroic” way all the time, as Barkley said. Athletes are only human! Let them have fun, as long as it is in a respectful and nonviolent way, who are we to tell them how to live their life? Olympic athletes devote their lives to their sport – they do not owe us anything other than the example of passion and determination that they already have given us.
I looked up the word role model in the dictionary to get a better sense of the word and this is what was written:
a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people.
The key part for me in this definition is the CAN be emulated by others. Whether or not an athlete’s behaviour SHOULD be emulated, the fact is that it often is. Why? Because they are in the public eye and many people have access to their lives personal or professional. I agree that family is supposed to be your role model as Melodie said in her blog. I always looked up to my mom as my role model for everything that she sacrificed for our family and all the hard work she does. Some children won’t know what they should take in and what they should leave out in terms of media saturation. I guess this becomes a bit of a parenting issue as well. If I was a parent and noticed that my child looked up to someone that I wouldn’t want them to emulate, I would definitely address it to my child. However, there are parents who won’t do this and parents who won’t know who their child looks up to.
I think the term role model has a different meaning to different people. For some, a role model has to do something spectacular to become a role model. For others, the term spectacular can have a widely varied meaning. In the case of the Canadian women’s hockey team, I personally would of done the same if I had won a gold medal, the only difference is that I would not have wanted this to be shown to the public. These women should of probably picked a better place to begin their celebration, but I also think its the media’s fault for showing these images on television knowing that many young children would be watching.
One way that media is often used is to put concepts and ideas out there to help make the world a better place. We are constantly seeing commercials for ads to help children in third world countries, to help save animals from abuse and extinction, and helping the environment. But just how influential are they in obtaining our help?
More often than not, I find myself ignoring the commercials that are constantly flashing through the television channels. Having seen them so many times they have begun to lose their meaning. Now, they are simply another commercial in between shows. There is one form of media, however, that I find extremely influential and inspiring; MUSIC. Through songs and videos I find that we are able to reach people on a more spiritual level. More often than not, music is seen as a way to reach deep inside us and really touch us. For instance, I find that one of the most influential artists that have reached millions of people has been Michael Jackson. Through songs such as HEAL THE WORLD, EARTH SONG and WE ARE THE WORLD, Michael Jackson has been successful in reaching out and obtaining help for those truly in need. He has been so influential that even 25 years later, his song is being remade to help in today’s current events; WE ARE THE WORLD—HAITI
New Topic: The Bachelor
So I will admit that I succumbed to the ridiculously sappy season of the Bachelor this winter and as a result I spent 3 hours watching the finale last night. While I find the show to be incredibly entertaining because of the ditzy girls and their abilty to fall madly in love with a man that they have known for about 2 weeks while in the company with several other girls, I found myself almost sick after watching the finale show last night.
There were only 2 girls left and Jake, the bachelor, was to choose between the two of them and propose to the one that he loved the most. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with the bachelor, they have been on a few dates with this guys, including one overnight date, and have been swooned and tricked into thinking that he is absolutly in love with each of them.
So last night, 2 hours of the show were spent focusing on how much these girls loved this man and how sure they were that he was going to pick them to marry. Saddly, he could only pick one to marry (even though he had convinced the other girl that he was madly in love with her too), so he had to send the one girl walking away after she had given her self to this guy both emotionally and physically.
While I will admit that I laughed at how cheesy the girls were at the beginning of the show, I felt horrible at the thought of people being entertained by this poor girls heartbreaking emotion last night. She was sobbing, absolutely heartbroken, and even hyper ventilating at times after he broke the news to her.
Yes there is certainly some entertaining factors to reality tv, however, after watching this show last night I cannot help but think that maybe it has gone too far. Should the focus of our nightly entertainment really be based on a girl experiencing heartwrentching heartache with a camera 3 inches from her face?
After seeing the media hype over the Canadian hockey team celebrating over their win, there is no question that these athletes are absolutely role models. Why else would we put them on such a pedestal, and then be so disappointed in them when they do something even remotely close to somebody’s idea of “wrong”? These athletes really did nothing wrong, and yet because they were partaking in activities that some (not very many, but some) people find to be immoral, they are suddenly a disgrace to Canada, and everybody has to apologize for them. I really don’t think that this is fair to them at all. Yes, we should look up to them on the ice, I mean their athletic ability and talent is amazing! But it should stop there. Have they also done something in their personal lives to warrant us to idolize them there too? No, so then when they step off the ice, or when they finish their interview, or when they leave the dressing room, we should leave them to their own lives, and not be always taking pictures of them, or following their every move. These women are amazing athletes, and I believe that they, and other athletes, should be our role models when we want to become and athlete, or even when we want to accomplish a goal that we’ve set for ourselves, because that’s exactly what they do. But when they finish competing or training, we should not continue to idolize their personal lives. After all, they’re real people too.
DIFFERENT TOPIC: Are Earthquakes Old News?
The mere fact that I had to look up information on the earthquake that happened in Chile confirms that the media has not latched on to the story in the same way that it did recently with Haiti. I have read about Chile, and, according to ABCnews, “The 8.8 magnitude earthquake was one of the most intense ever measured, and the official death toll has risen to 711” (ABCnews.com). Also, “Some coastal towns suffered a deadly double blow as the quake triggered giant waves that crashed into the coastline,” (ABCnews.com). Not only did Chile suffer an earthquake of greater magnitude than the one that occurred this year in Haiti, but it was also struck with a Tsunami after the fact.
My question is then, why has the media not publicized the event in the same way that it did with Haiti? Do the producers of media think that earthquakes are old news or pale in comparison to the Olympic coverage that they were doing at the time? Since the earthquake that happened in Chile was of a higher magnitude and, on top of that, contributed to a tsunami, one would think that the news coverage of the event would be even greater than it was with Haiti. The event is however, much less publicized. The only reason I can think of to explain this phenomenon, is that news broadcasters feel that what happened in Chile is a rerun of what happened in Haiti and thus will not attract viewers. With less news coverage on the topic, Chile also receives less awareness from the outside world. Haiti received much public empathy and outside help. Chile seems simply to be pushed to the wayside.
To read more about what happened in Chile, the article I refer to can be found at: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Chile_Earthquake/chile-earthquake-death-toll-rises-officials-control-looting/story?id=9975129
Responding to Amy MacLachlan blog on “The Bachelor”
I must admit that I saw the show perhaps a couple of times, and it disgusted me to see how we now define “love”. Like Amy had said, these people go on a couple of dates and they are already thinking about marriage. That is absolutely ridiculous! Also, Amy brought up the fact that in the end, the Bachelor must chose one to marry, leaving the other in utter pain and embarrassment on public TV. What a way to be rejected! Amy asked “Should the focus of our nightly entertainment really be based on a girl experiencing heart wrenching heartache with a camera 3 inches from her face?”My response to that is, of course! In current society, when it comes to reality TV especially, we take pleasure out of watching other people’s pain. This is a sad truth, but other reality shows conform to this idea as well. Take a look at Intervention, Hoarders, Maury, Jerry Springer, cops, 48 hours, and the list can go on. It becomes clear, that a reality show is nothing without the drama and the pain.
What disgusts me above all concerning “The Bachelor” is the mixed message being sent about the dating norms of society. It seems that cheaters are scorned by society in every facet of social life, except of course when it comes to this show where being a “player” is actually praised. The cultural acceptance of this show scares me because it threatens societies respect, most notably towards women, and respect towards monogamy. We shouldn’t just be attacking Tiger Woods for his actions, what about the culprits on “The Bachelor”.
Different topic: The dangers of the internet
The other day I was on the computer with my 9 year old cousin looking for games to play. I clicked on a game on a children’s site that looked interested and I was immediately redirected to a porno site. I was so stunned! I immediately scampered to close the page. I looked over to my cousin and I was alarmed to see that she had absolutely no reaction. All she said was: “It happens to me all the time; I’m used to it.” This made me feel sickened. I cannot believe that depraved material is accessible on the Internet to any child who stumbles across it.
It’s a fact that children are curious. If a youngster, out of inquisitiveness or carelessness, clicks on links that seem appealing he or she may be exposed to material that can never be erased from the mind. Let’s not forget, there a millions of sexual predators online that are just waiting for a child to get sucked into their world. It is not morally right that children be exposed to these types of things at such an early age.
***OFF TOPIC*** Plastic Surgeries: Where do we draw the line?
Heidi Montag is famously known for her, oh so talented role on MTV’s hit reality series, “The Hills”. Last November, Heidi’s picture was on every single magazine stand displaying her “new and improved” look. She had 10 plastic surgeries completed in one single day. She was already in the media (more than necessary) and since her operations, she had received even more media attention.
Despite her obnoxious role on “The Hills” she was definitely not an ugly girl. What was so absolutely hideous with Heidi’s image that made her so desperately to complete not only one, but ten surgeries? I would hate to see her when she hits the big “50”.
I can understand why someone would want to have plastic surgery; maybe they are unhappy with a particular body part or maybe it’s a health reason. However, where do we draw the line when it comes to going under the knife?
Response to Lisa’s post on Plastic Surgeries
-Even before all of the plastic surgeries, Heidi was famous for just being on the reality tv show, The Hills. She was on magazine covers, and young girls already wanted to “be just like her”. As she started going out with Spencer, that’s when, in my opinion, she started becoming obsessed with the media and craved attention. The day that she came out and told everyone how she got 10 plastic surgeries in one day, was the same day that Heidi’s album (which Spencer produced) was coming out. Does anyone see the correlation?? I honestly believe that all of this is just for the advertisement of her new CD. Who will actually buy that cd or else? Even Spencer’s character on the show is just for show. How can someone be so disrespectful, annoying and obnoxious at the same time? To top it off, how can someone be married to someone like that?? Once again, it’s just for show! They just want people to remember them!
In response to Diana Samaan’s issue on earthquakes
I also had to look up information on the recent earthquakes because I wanted to know more about what was going on in Chile. I believe that the media did not as much publicize the event in Chile, Japan and now Taiwan (magnitude of 6.4) because of the number of people affected by the earthquake. Because they are places less populated or are more prepared (Chile) for such seismic activity, maybe they feel it is not as important to concern people in other parts of the world who are not experiencing the earthquakes. I do however agree with Diana that news broadcasters would do less coverage on Chile or Japan because it would attract less viewers. A lot people would probably see/ hear about the Chile/Japan/Taiwan earthquake event in the world and just think of it as “just another earthquake, can’t be worse than Haiti.” In my point of view, it does not matter where and how many people were affected, what matters is that we should be made aware of them and be informed. I find it strange how none of these earthquakes in the past week have anything in common according to this article found in USA Today/Science Fair: Science and Space News. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/
I believe that athletes are role models whether they choose to be or not. When you make the choice to live your life in the public eye then you are choosing to open your life and your actions to many young followers. In today’s society young people spend more time consumed in media than they do talking to their own parents and therefore are very influenced by their favorite athletes, musicians and actors. When taking their place in the limelight they must understand that so many people look at them as their hero and someone they aspire to be like and thus need to be making good decisions. However, I do not agree with what people have been saying about the celebrations of the Olympic athletes. I think that what they did was completely ok and they should not be scrutinized for their actions simply because they definitely deserve to celebrate. I believe that it is ok to show viewers and young followers the importance of celebration after you have worked so hard to achieve something. They did not break any laws ie they were all of age and they deserve to really glorify that moment. What Charles Barkley is doing is wrong because he cannot choose to be in the public eye and then decide that he can do whatever he wants and there will be no repercussions for his actions. If you are going to be in the spotlight you must understand that with all the fame and fortune comes the responsibility to act and portray yourself in a respectful manor.
The comment Charles Barkley made in the Nike commercial “Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids” got me thinking a lot. I realized that maybe I did expect too much from these celebrities and what kind of role models they give kids and that I had some pretty negative role models too judged by those standards (i.e. Eminem and other rap stars) but that in the end I turned out pretty good. I’m still in school and I am still determined to be my own person. I think that as long as children have a positive home ambiance with loving parents who guide them to make the right choices then the risk of them following in a celebrities footsteps are less likely. I also don’t want to undermine kids and teenagers reasoning abilities because I believe that they are able to see how the athlete wronged.
However I’m not sure if underprivileged children without much guidance in their life would have the tendency to follow in these athletes footsteps more. I would think that the major factor influencing these kids would be how the athlete and especially how the media deals with the event. If a wrongdoing (I by the way don’t consider that the female Canadian team did anything wrong) is glorified by the media and the athlete then kids might see it as something they want to do as well. However if the media looks down upon such actions (i.e. like Tiger Woods cheating on his wife repeatedly) then the kids might be more likely to adopt that point of view (i.e. that cheating on one’s spouse is wrong)
So then the issue becomes again “how much does media” influence individuals, especially children? This question brings me to agree with most of the essays in The Media Literacy Reader that critical media skills should be taught to students. Students need to be taught how to reason and critically interpret what they see around them.
DIFFERENT TOPIC? THE HIP HOP SYMPOSIUM
Tonight I attended the hip hop conference that Shirley recommended we watch and I loved it! I’ll be completely honest, when it first started I did not really think I would enjoy, however I thoroughly had a good time. The acts were just great and they really brought out a good spirit in the crowd. One thing that I really loved was the Slam High Poetry group. What an amazing act. Sharese King opened it up with a duo poem with one of her group members with a poem I am assuming was called “World in his Pockets”. The way they intertwined the music as well as the words was phenomenal. All the other poems were just as great. I think it is amazing that someone can come up with lyrics that are quite meaningful and that the artist can really relate to. I loved the way the male artist integrated a poem all about flowers yet the subject of flowers was not the topic at all. As well, I loved the way Sharese took the story of Rapunzel and made it her own. I think that is a great technique that can be used in my classroom one day. Having my students take their favourite story and somehow twist it to make it unique to their own personal experiences. I think that the conference was a great opportunity to have some fun and learn about a community that I was not very familiar with. I believe the evening was a success!
There are many athletes in the world, but very few are known. It is a great accomplishment to be such a successful athlete that people know your name and recognize you in the street. For this hard work, time, effort, determination; for this accomplishment, I believe that athletes are role models. When I was a little girl I remember watching athletes on TV and telling myself, if this girl could do it, I can do it. Although I never “did it”, these athletes were inspirational and motivating. It is these athletes that got me into sports and share partial responsibility for why I am still playing sports. These athletes come on TV and share their passion and love for a sport, and I believe that this is something to look up to. While I do believe that athletes are role models, I do believe that there are limitations. Athletes are not perfect, super humans. They are simply people like you and me, who happen to be really good at their sport. It is for this reason that I believe that athletes should not be criticized for their behaviours. While I must say that some behaviours are unethical, most behaviours are harmless. In the case of the Olympics, I don’t believe the athletes did anything wrong. These athletes have been working their butts off for four years, and have been doing so even more in the last few months, they deserve to let loose and enjoy themselves. For starters, simply making it to the Olympics is reason enough to celebrate, but these athletes had just won the gold medal and were proclaimed as the best in the world. If that doesn’t deserve a little celebration, I don’t know what does.
**DIFFERENT TOPIC** – Hip Hop Conference
Tonight I attended the hip hop conference, and I must say, I enjoyed it a lot! I’ve been a fan of hip hop music for a while, but never knew much about the culture. It was a great experience and honestly, I’m glad that the extra credit marks motivated me to go!
The group from Cote-des-Neiges, No Bad Sound, had amazing young talent. I couldn’t believe that they were all under 19 years old. It’s nice to see and hear the talent that our city holds, and I hope that in the future others get to benefit from the experience as well.
What I enjoyed the most was the poetry. I’m personally not a fan of poetry, but three talented students from SLAM High brought it to a whole new level! One of the guest speakers mentioned that most people see advertisements for poetry readings and assume that they are all the same boring stuff, which is exactly what I think, or used to! He is definitely right though, and if people knew poetry was so exciting, moving and interesting, there might be more of an audience. Maybe we have to spice up the advertisements? Or spread the word around? I was truly amazed how they took a personal story and used a metaphor to help the audience really picture it and if so, relate to it.
I was surprised to hear that the big contest (forgot the name) doesn’t award the winner of the best poetry. I think it’s a good thing, because it sends a strong message to our youth. The point for them is not to win, but to get a message across that will hopefully make a difference in not only their own lives, but of the lives of the people in their community as well.
Like Cristina mentioned, I also think that this type of poetry would be a great technique to use in a classroom. It would open the students’ mind and at the same time they can learn about another culture.
**DIFFERENT TOPIC** – HIP HOP CONFERENCE
Tonight I attended the hip hop conference, and it has to be said that it was very interesting and two hours that I really enjoyed. Unlike most of the audience in attendance at the conference, I have never actually enjoyed hip hop or been an avid listener of this genre of music. What I quickly came to realize was that hip hop is not only a music genre, but rather a culture that many people identify with and live. As Krs One’s stated, “Hip Hop is something we live, Hip Hop is a state of mind, I am Hip Hop”.
The talented and high energy group from Cote-Des-Neiges, No Bad Sound opened the conference and was definitely an act hard to follow. When they each shared their ages, I was expecting to hear them all say 20 something, but they were all 19 years of age, with youngest being I believe 15 or 16 if I am correct. The talent only continued to shine with the SLAM (Students Lead Arts Movement) High Poets, which is curricular and after school program that acts as a forum for children to talk about issues and make use of their voices to express their thoughts. The three students that were on hand spread powerful messages that are far too often lost in the mix.
The part of the conference that was not talent related, but spoke to me as a teacher was when Hodari Davis, Director of National Programs and the Executive Producer, Brave New Voices. Spoke to us about the importance of hip hop/poetry in the lives of youth. He made us all aware that children have stories, and as teachers, we need to recognize this in order to help them find their voice, develop it and ultimately apply it. It is their voice that will create change and pass along their message. I was honestly taken back by how huge Brave New Voices is. As a tournament that brings youth from all over the world together to share their thoughts, ideas and voices through poetry, I thought that their goal was well suited and one that acts as a way for youth to interact, connect and get their message out there.
As a Christina and Camille have already mentioned, I also believe that this type of poetry would be great thing to implement in the classroom, as it would allow children to speak their mind, sharing their ideas and thoughts, while at the same time learning about the Hip Hop culture, which something I look at entirely differently now. It is true, mainstream media presents images of Hip Hop that are not true to what it really is. Having gone to this conference, I left with a greater understanding of what hip hop is and how it can be implemented in the classroom as a way for children to talk about issues.
Different topic: THE HIP HOP SYMPOSIUM
This hip hop conference was quite interesting. The performances were amazing and the guest speakers were animated and full of life. It was amazing to see such young students have the courage to get up in front of the audience and speak the way they spoke. It takes a lot of courage to perform the way they did, yet they did it flawlessly. The act I enjoyed the most was the three students that were there from SLAM High poetry group in New York. There were three of them and each performed two poems, but they didn’t just read the poems. Instead they put life and meaning to the poems and to the words. Each word was like a new story and each story had a hidden meaning. They spoke of realities and added twists. This was incredible to see because there was not even a shutter in their voices. Each verse was significant of something and these were all stories that the students experienced firsthand. Each interpreted them in their own ways and the outcomes were all different, yet meaningful.
Each of these students had a talent and in my eyes they were artist, because they had something the rest of us sitting in the audience did not. They had courage and what they spoke about last night, and the way they performed was entertaining, yet no word said in vain. Everything had a reason and a place. It was great to see young people, such as themselves, trying to make a difference and trying to underline what most of society is afraid to.
It takes great ability, but these students accomplished it flawlessly.
Thanks to Shirley for a great night, and to being exposed to something new.
Response to Diana and Joannie’s blog on earthquakes:
I had originally thought of blogging about this particular topic this week since I had asked myself similar questions about why there is not being placed much importance on the Chile earthquake compared to the Haiti one? As soon as I found out about the Chile earthquake from a friend, I immediately thought that the Chile earthquake was much smaller than the one that took place in Haiti and it was therefore not as much worth covering for the media. After reading about the earthquake on the internet, I realized that its strength surpassed the Haiti one greatly, yet there was barely any media coverage on this topic…
I think that Diana came up with a valid point, where she mentions how earthquakes might be too much old news and too overdone for the public therefore the story is not worth covering again. Joannie also said something interesting about it having to do with where the country is situated compared to the North Americans. We also might not feel a great connection with the Chile population compared to the Haitian one since the media has just overdone the Haitians’ tragedy. My outlook on this case, after reading several articles on the Chile tragedy, is that it has to do with fear. It was mentioned in every article that I read that the Chile earthquake was the biggest earthquake in the country’s history and it was so powerful that it caused a change for the entire world; the duration of an Earth day is now shortened by 1.26 microseconds. There has also been a change in the earth’s axis where the earthquake moved the axis by 2.7 millarcseconds (3 inches). Considering this information, I believe that the media is playing the role of hiding this valid data from the population since they do not want us to get scared for more earthquake repercussions that can happen in the future as well as fear other tragedies that might be coming. I think that they are trying to hide the data from us.
Article: http://www.physorg.com/news186727801.html
Might I just add that the Haitian earthquake was fearful, but more specifically for one population. The rest of the world was able to look at the Haitians and sympathize with them since they knew that it did not affect them and therefore mass media coverage was acceptable in this setting. With the Chile earthquake, the repercussions of this phenomenon affected the entire world! If media were to cover it as they did with the Haitians, there would be great worry and fear for the entire Earth.
*DIFFERENT TOPIC* HIP HOP CONFERENCE
Last night I attended the Hip Hop conference and I am really glad that I got to experience something different. It was unlike anything I have experienced at McGill. I do enjoy listening to hip hop music but I mostly listen to it for the beat of the music and I have never really put a meaning to what I was listening too. However, tonight I learned that hip hop is not a movement it’s a lifestyle and a culture. This really opened my eyes because I realized that these talented artists want to get their stories and messages across. For example, I really enjoyed listening to the Slam High team because they delivered strong messages and like Camille said I was amazed how they took a personal story and used a metaphor to help the audience really picture it and relate to it.
I really enjoyed listening to Hodari Davis, Director of National Programs and the Executive Producer, Brave New Voices speech. He made me realize that it is important that teachers change their teaching habits. Davis created this program because he wanted to give everyone a voice and a place to say whatever was on their mind and place to exercise their stories. Unlike teachers who may tell students to stop rapping, stop swearing and using vulgar language and constantly putting down students I believe in Davis’ method of giving a generation the chance to speak for themselves. Poetry is a great idea to introduce in any classroom and I feel that I have left this conference with many new ideas for future teaching strategies.
Hip Hop, Spoken Word , and Youth
MMMM Hmmmmm! I learned a lot last night as a listener. This conference gave me a whole new perspective on hip-hop, rap, spoken word and poetry. I remember during my last stage I began the school year with poetry for my grade 6 Language Arts class and was not sure how to approach Hip-Hop/Rap. I decided it would be a good idea if I could start off with a book and present it to the class. I found a book in our Education Library entitled: Hip hop speaks to children : a celebration of poetry with a beat by Nikki Giovanni. What was great about this book was that it came along with a CD so I got to play some music. A lot of the poems were by famous artists such as Kanye West, Lauren Hill and Queen Latifa. It was nice to see the students realize that rap was poetry. After we had read the poems and listened to them from the CD, we analyzed the words and discovered how much they were powerful, especially when spoken.
When I heard the 3 poets from Slam High, I was amazed on how they presented their poems. Their voice intonation, facial expressions and bodily movements really helped to bring out the messages. I enjoyed the metaphors they used and stories they told. I also want to mention that what Hodari Davis said concerning educators as facilitators inspired me. He said that teachers need to help youth find, develop and application of voice in what they do best. We should also get youth engaged and not exclude any, we have to give them responsibility over their words since, after all, their words do have an influence on others.
One thing that I did not quite understand what was the “clicking of fingers” by some people in the audience. What did it mean? Did it correspond to them agreeing with the poet and supporting them? Oh well if someone does know, let me know. Thanks.
*HIP HOP CONFERENCE*
HIIIIIPPP HOOOPPP HIIIIPP HOPPPP *Put your hands in the air*
I really enjoyed this conference, and I agree…finally something that is out there at McGill.
I am a big fan of hip hop, and not only the mainstream. It all started with Notorious B.I.G., Wu Tang Clan, and Puff Daddy (at the time that was his artist name). I loved the variety of ethnicities that were presented – Asian, Latino, African-American, American, and Arab – because too often people think that hip hop is merely represented through African-American thugs. I am a white girl from the suburbs, and it really hit me when the poem written by a little girl said that white people from the suburbs don’t get where they come from. I think it’s important for everyone to understand and grasp their reality, even if we didn’t grow up in a ghetto, or in an oppressed group.
Overall, I did agree with the message that students should be able to express themselves in any way that they want (although I don’t think I will allow swearing in my future classroom). I find it important to decode the messages in certain lyrics – not all songs are about pimps and hoes…
P.s. Props to Habib, it was a great performance in The Narcissist’s videoclip!!!!
and to answer to Joannie, I am pretty sure that the finger clapping is just a ‘hip hop way to clap their hands, but with more ‘attitude’…;)
I am a big fan of hip hop, and not only the mainstream. It all started with Notorious B.I.G., Wu Tang Clan, and Puff Daddy (at the time that was his artist name).
*the last little paragraph reappeared…it wasnt suposed to
Different Topic: Hip Hop Conference.
Although, I arrived late and only got to see the last artist perform, I was in ah with the performance and its message. From what I heard about the other poets, the message was similar. That awareness is key to understanding cultural diversity and accepting all for who we are. When sitting and listening to the rap artist, I felt as if every one of us was a family, with our own story to tell. I truly enjoyed the fact that the audience got involved and really felt what the performers where expressing.
I truly believe that these artists would really be able to teach young students the importance of accepting everyone for who they are and be proud of their own heritage. Growing up, I was fortunate to have lived in a diverse neighbour hood, where most of my friends were from different ethnic backgrounds. I was truly blessed to learn at a young age how beautiful it was to have so many diverse friends that I could learn from. I was introduced to rap at this point in my life and learned a great deal from it. I remember one of my best friends introducing me too LL Cool J, for the first time. There was something so real about his stories. It was at that point when I realized that rap told a story. It was not just about the beat but about the lyrics.
It was not only rap that realized told a story but I came to learn very soon that my dear friend, who was from a European background told an endearing story when she played piano. Yes, it may be hard to believe that the piano could reveal such emotion but it does. I learned to appreciate classical and Opera for what it was and what it brought to the world. It often told a story of love and loss. Rap being from the other spectrum, did not mean that It was of less value, it just meant that it had a different way of expressing the same emotions. Having an eclectic taste in music has taught me so much about diversity and given me an appreciation for those who have brought so much to my life.
NEW TOPIC: HIP HOP CONFERENCE
Wow! There was just so much energy yesterday at that conference. The artists were entertaining, but also conveyed deep and thoughtful messages. People in the audience were participating and giving their opinions about the messages being delivered to them in “helloo”, “hell no!”, “hmmhm”, “oh yeah”, clapping and finger clapping.
Overall, the conference was very enlightening because I didn’t know much about Hip Hop and through the artists and educators that were presented, I learned a lot and I finally understood how Hip Hop is a culture. With the SLAM High poetry group, I realized that Hip Hop could really help young adults express themselves and that this rich culture consists of the perfect medium to let their voices heard. The poems that were presented at the end from a grade 10 class were extraordinary. The deep messages were well brought out and I could easily understand and feel the author’s opinion about what he or she was writing. Those poems finished to convince me that Hip Hop is something important to include in your classroom. It talks to teenagers and it helps them learn more about themselves, about society, and about Hip Hop. One of the main messages that were expressed yesterday was that you have to accept yourself as who you are and feel good about that. I completely agree with that, and I think it is what makes Hip Hop real.
I think heroes should be determined based on what people do and not solely who they are. I think it is fair for Charles Barkley to say he’s not responsible for raising people’s children. Athletes are responsible to perform, they do not sign up to be role models. People who work with children sign up to be role models, i.e. teachers, daycare workers, pediatricians, etc.
The same thing applies to the women’s hockey team; they signed up to play hockey, not be role models for children watching the Olympics. As a result, I do not think they should be held to that standard.
I am not saying that athletes are not heroes, because I know they are to many people. However, I don’t think they should be expected to be role models. Many children who look up to athletes, it is for their athletic talent. Most children do not know a whole lot about the athlete’s person life. Therefore when an athlete does something deemed “inappropriate” by society, it is their life. They haven’t changed their athletic performance, so our opinion really shouldn’t change, considering that’s what we look up to in the first place.
I admire athletes who want to be good role models but those athletes do things that make them respectable, i.e. volunteering, charity work, keeping a good reputation, etc. I believe these individuals are in a different category. It’s like I mentioned earlier, it is more about what they do than who they are,
We cannot expect every athlete to be a good role model, it is a choice they make. Being a respectable citizen and having a good reputation may get them further in life, but that is the choice they make. If we admire athletes for their athletic performance, then their personal life is really none of our business.
** NEW TOPIC: Hip Hop Conference
There are a few things from the conference that I found interesting and would like to speak briefly about.
The Narcycist said “Iraq is the new black” and it kind of stayed with me (I think partly because the rhyme makes it catchy). But when I heard it, I instantly thought of the conversation we had in class regarding racism and racial profiling. The Narcycist spoke of how racial profiling is like a fad and that when one wears out, society moves on to the next one. Someone mentioned this in class too. It’s easy to see the truth in this. The thing I wanted to point out though was that it left me wondering, who’s next? Which race/ nation will become “the new Iraq”?
Secondly, I thought the comment about radio play was very interesting. For those who were not there, it was mentioned that the songs of rappers played on the radio are much different than the majority of tracks on the their CDs. Basically, the radio plays more of the rap tracks, and leaves out those of MCs. I thought this was very interesting considering the negative stereotypes hip hop has in society. It is almost like radio play reinforces the stereotype that rap music is violent, perverse, and has no real meaning. If artists have meaningful tracks with strong messages, why aren’t they being played? If we want hip hop to be more highly accepted and held to a higher standard, why wouldn’t we play the most respectable tracks?
Lastly, another thing I took away from the conference is the fact that Cotes des Neiges is the most multicultural neighborhood in Canada. I had no idea and I found it fascinating! I even told my friends who I went out with last night haha and they were shocked too! I guess the main reason it really caught my interest was because we’ve been discussing multiculturalism in my geography class. Yesterday, we had a guest speaker who was talking about the fact that Montreal does such a good job to integrate its immigrants. The quote she used was “The world needs more Montreal” and last night when I heard about Cotes des Neiges, it all made sense and I really believed what she had been saying
NEW TOPIC: Technology + Media Accessibility
My cousin in Grade 7 just started high school this year, and I am actually appalled at how my Aunt and Uncle are handling her trasnformation. She is one of those skinny, blonde girls who is focusing much more on her social life than her academic life. She has a lot of older cousins who have got to McGill and other amazing universities, and she looks up to all of us and we know that. But for some reason she’s still got it stuck in her head that she can’t be pretty AND smart. Which makes us, and her parents, very sad.
So my Aunt and Uncle have decided to bribe her with a cellphone, a digital camera, and a LAPTOP. Since when do TWELVE year olds have laptops?! They gave it to her to she could do her “homework” on it, which is a complete lie and everyone knew it. She literally stays on facebook until 3 am. There is no way she’s doing any homework on that thing. Her extrinsic values are multiplying daily and it frightens me to think of how she’s going to handle Grade 11 and CEGEP when they have nothing left to bribe her with.
She has too much access to things which are taking her off-topic. She gets gift cards for bookstores and spends it on magazines. She was given a cellphone in Grade 6 to ‘be safe’ and ‘have contact’ with her parents while she’s at school…. but is consistently texting and on the internet on it.
I am nooooot one for censorship, but I think my Aunt and Uncle need to appreciate the effect that building intrinsic values has on a child. Giving her all these tech devices and accesses to the wrong kinds of media isn’t getting her anywhere. She is getting this media, which encourages her anxieties about being pretty over being smart, and she is just on this awful path.
Should they buy her books which might actually speak to her instead of letting her buy dufus magazines, or devices which encourage learning instead of facebook, I feel like she would take that media to heart as much as what she’s being provided now.
Athletes are human beings, practicing and competing in a sport they love. I would like to stress again the fact that they, like us, are human beings. They are not perfect, and when they are happy, they might have a drink to celebrate their happiness, and/or victory. They didn’t become athletes to become superheroes and role models. I personally think the media over-covers certain stories, such as this one, for lack of a better story. Once the media covers such a thing, suddenly everyone becomes interested and criticizes them. I would like to ask every single person who criticized the hockey players, if they have ever had a drink in celebration of something, and if that made them bad people. I think it is up to the parents to educate their children about certain issues, and what is covered in the media; athletes should not be responsible for millions of children’s actions. Additionally, I highly doubt that child alcohol consumption will increase as a result of this “incident”.
**HIP HOP CONFERENCE**
I was so damn happy to see this conference go down at McGill last night. It’s always had this stereotype of pretentious richs kids, and last night slammed that down SO hard I hope every student heard it.
And WOOOOHOHHHHHOOHHOHH to all those performers last night. (Especially Habib in his acting debut). The spoken-word performances just made me want to cry they were so good. It’s so refreshing to hear that there is a movement like that out there somewhere. It actually blew my mind – and I know it sounds cheesy, but I have EVERY intention of including that in my lesson plans.. regardless of the fact that I’m training to become an elementary teacher.
I learned that every kid has their own story, and it’s our responsibility (and priviledge) to give them an outlet for those stories to come out and be heard. Hodari Davis may have talked for a long time, but he hit home when he talked about letting the kids say whatever they wanted and giving them every chance to do so. I’m so FUCKING sick of censorship and he made every effort to tell us that we should rid ourselves of it.
I have met and worked with a lot of under priviledged kids at my camp for the past 9 years, and I know how much the hip hop culture means to them. There’s sooo maaaany kids in Verdun that don’t want to hear about Shakespeare – but if you teach them about Lauryn Hill and Tupac, and their messages, you can really teach them important lessons (academically, culturally, politically, socially, etc etc etc).
I liked Priya Parmar’s idea of using graffiti in english l.a. classrooms for kids to interpret, dissect, and analyze. And her emphasis on using alternative media sources to hear the emcees over the commercial rappers that are speaking with real emphasis out there. Hell, Eminem has some lessons to teach, and that means something.
Overall, I had a SWEET time, and can genuinely say I learned a lot. I’ve always planned on working in inner city schools, and this is the kind of thing those teachers need to know about so they can bring it home for their kids.
It is definitely fair for Charles Barkley to say he is not a role model, and he is not responsible for raising society’s children. Like Sarah said athletes have one job which is to perform. People do not become professional athletes to become children’s role models, they become professional athletes because they are great at what they do, and they love the sport. As for the women’s hockey team they became professional hockey players to play the wonderful Canadian game! They did not become professional athletes so that they could be role models for the children watching the Olympics. The Olympic athletes are already under so much pressure, and when they can finally let loose it becomes a scandal. I do think that it was somewhat unprofessional, and that their celebrations should have been kept in the dressing room, however, they just won gold and were ecstatic and wanted to celebrate. I guess they were not thinking about the repercussions. I know that these Olympic athletes are heroes to a lot of young athletes out there, however, these celebrations do not alter any of their athletic abilities, and that is what the young athletes look up to them for. Therefore, athletes are role models but to a certain extent. Athletes are not perfect, they are just like any other individual, and in the case with the Olympic women’s hockey team they deserved a celebration, perhaps they should have waited till they got off the ice, but I really do not think this should have been blown out of proportion. There was also Jon Montgomery, who while being interviewed after he won his gold medal sat in front of national television and a huge crowd, and drank a big pitcher of beer. I mean why wasn’t this blown out of proportion? The women were in the arena, no fans around, no news cameras, and having a celebration with their team. That whole situation confuses me. All in all I think that athletes are role models to many children who want to grow up and be just like them, however their athletic ability does not depend on their morality or personal lives.
Response to Amy and Tanya’s posts on The Bachelor
I must admit that I am guilty as well for watching this show, not only during this season but many past ones as well. Even though I have willingly given up so much of my time to watch the show and have become so entertained by it, there are many aspects of the show that disgust me as well – yet I can’t stop watching. Like Amy and Tanya mentioned, I wonder as well how these women could possibly fall in love with the Bachelor after spending a very limited amount of alone time with him, and even THINK about the idea of marriage so early into the “dating” process. I question how these women can become so vulnerable and emotionally open to a man who they know is interested in other women. I also cannot figure out how most Bachelors end up proposing to the final woman in the season finale, when he only spent a tiny fraction of time with her in comparison to the years it normally takes a couple to fall in love, get to know each other, create many memories together, and only THEN think about getting married. It makes me wonder if the show is scripted to a certain extent, and that the people on The Bachelor are just “acting” to make for entertaining TV. I also really like the argument Tanya brought up about how the show glamourizes polygamy and compromises the respect of the women on the show and in general. I never really thought of it that way, but I could say that an important aspect of the show is that it constantly emphasizes that the bachelor’s main goal during this “journey” is to find a wife. Perhaps this is always being stressed throughout the show to counter this possible way of thinking by its viewers.. that because the bachelor is only on the show to find a partner for life, this makes his polygamous dating process okay?
I went jogging today and at the end of my run, when I was starting to fatigue and wanting to stop, I thought of that woman in the Olympics who won a bronze medal despite having a perforated lung and 4 broken ribs and thought “well if she can do something as amazing as that, I can definitely run for a few more minutes.” It’s only natural for us to emulate athletes because of their absolute strength, power and endurance. Their amazing feats serve as inspiration for us in our own endeavors and eventually we develop an emotional attachment that transcends our admiration for their athletic abilities. People forget that athletes are normal human beings with the same desires and emotions as anyone else. I know nothing about Clara Hughes and yet I find myself thinking “wow, she is just a genuinely kind person.” What am I basing this on? For all I know, she could be bossy and controlling, qualities that are definitely not classified as role model material. As Katlynne P. points out, athletes are not perfect, they are just like any other individual and that’s why when people complain about Tiger Woods being a bad person and a bad man, I always feel like saying he’s just human.
RESPONSE TO “ARE EARTHQUAKES OLD NEWS?”
The first time I heard about the Chile Earthquake was in a brief news announcement during the continuing coverage of the Olympics on CTV. Not much was said, basically that it was an 8.8 magnitude and that Tsunami warnings had been issued for many countries. During the Olympics, CTV only took a few breaks during the day for news coverage and I was surprised at how short the segment was for the earthquake. It seemed to me that the Chile earthquake got lost among the Olympics. Even since the Olympics ended, I haven’t seen much coverage about the earthquake. Even on CNN, where they focused on Haiti for weeks after the earthquake happened, Chile hasn’t received nearly as much coverage as Haiti did, even though Chile’s earthquake was much bigger. I didn’t even know until I read Noemie’s blog that the earthquake caused a change for the world, where the earth day and earth’s axis were changed. I am surprised that these facts haven’t been in the news more.
As I have been looking at the coverage of the earthquake in Chile, I have been trying to find reasons why Chile hasn’t received the same coverage as Haiti. I think that one of the reasons is that, like Diane said, the public received a lot of coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, and Chile is like a rerun and is old news. There has been so much coverage on earthquakes and the networks may feel that their viewers would not be as interested as they were before. Another reason why I think that Chile hasn’t received as much coverage is because Chile is not as poor a nation as Haiti is and was more prepared for the earthquake. Their buildings were built more securely and were able to withstand the earthquake better than the buildings in Haiti. Therefore, since Chile was more prepared than Haiti was, the networks may have thought that it wasn’t as interesting to cover because the focus of Haiti was just on how devastated the country was and how much help they needed and while Chile does need help, their country is not as devastated as Haiti and therefore not as much coverage is needed (in the networks opinion).
I believe that this story should be getting more coverage than it is getting right now. It is one of the largest earthquakes on record and if it was able to change the length of the day on earth and earth’s axis, it certainly deserves more coverage to help us make sense of what the consequences of these changes may be.
******New Topic – Celebrities************
I’ve asked myself this for a long time and have yet to come up with a concrete answer. Why do we (society and the media) place so much emphasis on the lives of celebrities? Why do we care about who they’re dating, what they’re wearing, what they’re eating, where they’re living, and so on and so on and so on. I’ll admit, I’m just as much of a celebrity gossip hound as anyone else, but honestly what is it about these individuals’ personal details that make us so interested?
Perhaps it’s because they’re in the public eye and we take pleasure in scrutinizing their daily activities because their wrong-doings make us feel better about ourselves. Or maybe it’s because everyone knows who they are and thus, they serve as a unifying force that brings everyone together by giving us something to talk about. Perhaps we’re interested in them because we don’t see them as real people and they’re more like characters in book that provide entertainment.
Those are possible answers, what do you think?!
I don’t think that athletes should be role models for kids. The only way they should be role models for students is when they are actually playing or practicing their sport. Once their off the ice, off the tracks or off the fields, they should no longer be role models for our kids. I’m not saying that kids should not look up to them but they should only look up to them concerning their careers and not their personal lives. What these athletes do in their personal lives should affect how a child goes about their dreams of becoming a professional athlete. People should not inflict upon others the obligation to be role models just because they are very good at something. This statement goes for all celebrities and not just for athletes.
continuation*
I don’t think that what the women’s Canadian hockey team did after the crowd left the arena, was wrong. I think thewy had every right to celebrate amongst each other. After all, isn’t that what any other athlete would do after winning an Olympic gold medal. I mean, Montgomery did it, why can’t they? Just because Montgomery is from Manitoba and he has to portray this tough canadian image, it’s ok, but when the women from the hockey team do it, it’s unprofessional. Not to mention, they’re titled as bad role models. I think that’s ridiculous! I also don’t think that they had to apologize for anything but I guess they had to because society required them to do so. And probably because their managers probably forced them to. Anyways, in all, I dont think that athletes should be forced to be role models because they’re simply doing what they love and they’re not necessarily doing it to encourage children to do the same. If they are encouraging it then good, but that is not they’re main goal.
Plastic surgeries response
I think it’s an interesting point of view Lisa and Stefania took on Heidi Montag’s surgeries and other schemes for fame. Together with her creepy husband Spencer Pratt, the couple has made it clear they will jump through hoops if it means they will make more money or become more famous. And while I often wonder what is wrong with these people, I usually cannot answer the question when it’s turned back at me: what’s wrong with me for watching a show like this?
I can’t help but be reminded of this Kurt Vonnegut quote: “we are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” In a Hills context, I think this means that while Heidi may still think she’s the same old girl from Laguna Beach on the inside, she doesn’t live her life that way or portray herself that way, and so she has become the mindless Hollywood bimbo in every sense of the word. She’s not ‘pretending’ anymore.
On a more introspective note, I think it means we need to reflect on what our media-consumption habits reflect about ourselves. As a viewer, I suppose it means I have to own up to being a consumer of a garbage show like The Hills- in spite of acknowledging how terrible it is. I think it’s easy to blame and judge and criticize these celebrities, but we’re no better if we don’t take responsibility for helping them get there. They didn’t get so famous on their own. How all this junk gets streamed into popular culture is a two-way street, even if we seldom acknowledge it.
Hip Hop conference
Out of the whole hip hop conference the most astonishing event was when the guy with the dreads said that the poetry slam winner didn’t win a prize. My first reaction was “Why would anybody go, if there’s no prize?” The whole point of the poetry slam is to get you r word across. To try and improve the world for the better. To let society know that the place we live in isn’t perfect and that there are problems out there that we can fix. Martin Luther King is a perfect example of this. Who ever thought he would have made a difference, but without him the world may have been a completely different place. Poetry is an art, it’s something each and every person should believe in. There are no winners or losers in a poetry slam because everybody is just trying to make the world a better and safer place. This is an event that everybody must attend. Poetry slam consists of troubles in our society that people feel they can express, and attempt to make a difference by speaking about problems that face our us everyday such as environmental damages, war, obesity, disease, gangs, killings, habitat destruction, racism, species extinction, etc..
- HIP HOP CONFERENCE
I always thought of Hip Hop as one of the many genres of contemporary music. After the conference last night, I understand how it has become a global way of living life.
More than a style of music created by many “similar” people, Hip Hop represents many different people from different cultures and how they relate to one “similar” interest — music. Through one of the performances last night, No Bad Sound Crew, we were able to see how much of a great success that can be. Singing in 3 different languages, this group is one example of how music units people.
Similar to Cristina’s and Camille’s response, I think the poetry part of the night was also really interesting. I never quite got poetry, but I can definitely say that the artists last night were very talented. Poetry is a way to be yourself, express yourself and tell your story. The way these young artists presented their work was definitely a fun and entertaining way to bring in poetry in the classroom.
Hodari Davis, one of the guest speakers, was very inspiring because of the passion he held about his work. As teachers, I hope we all find that special something to teach that creates such passion in us as well as in our students.
I think the Hip Hop conference gave us a new way of seeing how certain “standard” subjects to teach (i.e. poetry) can be turned into something exciting and meaningful to students.
In response to this topic, I have to agree with one of the students in this course who mentioned earlier, about growing up looking toward her family members as her role models. I have to agree with this considering it is a similar notion I have been brought up to think as well. In my opinion and generally speaking, you tend to look up to your brothers, sisters and/or parents as you grow up. So when the famous basketball player, Charles Barkley, says in the Nike commercial, “Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids”, I tend to agree with him.
While professional athletes like other public figures are often held to a higher standard beyond that of average people, (because of their praised accomplishments, etc) it doesn’t mean this is necessarily right. Why should they receive more adulation, as was said by Shirley or Robert, than anyone else? Is it this even right to hold athletes, and other popular figures to this standard? As Barkley said, he doesn’t raise ‘our’ kids and he shouldn’t have to think he does either. It is nor his responsibility or endeavor to do so or any other athlete or celebrity for that matter. That being said I am still of the opinion that important public figures should behave appropriately in the public eye, considering they do have the responsibility of knowing that what they do or say has a certain impact on others. But, to know that what they may say or do is a form of upbringing is not exactly right. Parents and family members are after all, the ones we should be looking up to, considering how much our actions and behaviors are directly influenced by them. They are the people in our lives who have the direct responsibility of knowing what they say or has an impact on their kin.
NEW TOPIC: Hip Hop, Spoken Word, and Youth Conference:
I was very excited when Shirley informed us about this Hip Hop conference taking place because I have always wanted to experience a slam poetry evening. I have seen many videos of popular artists slamming poetry and the spoken word such as Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, but never had the pleasure of experiencing one of these sittings live. Thursday evening was really interesting and especially moving to hear poetry, spoken words, and hip hop from such a diverse crowd. I especially enjoyed the No Bad Sound group and how incredibly young and talented these artists are. They did a really great performance and was very happy to see such a strong female presence in their group. It’s nice to see a woman reaching others with her voice and her words at such a young age.
I have always enjoyed Hip Hop and poetry especially because of the emotion and truth the words resonate. Hip Hop, rap, poetry and spoken word, as Priya Parmar mentioned, provide multiple points of access to get children to engage in and act as vehicles allowing youth (especially underprivileged youth) to voice their opinions and their truths. Hodari Davis said something really meaningful that evening that stuck me. He said something that is very relevant to the type of discussions we are having in our Media class and on the blogs; artists “have the responsibility to know what they do has an impact on others”. I believe this is true of many other influential people whose voices and actions touch other’s lives such as politicians, musical artists, actors, athletes and teachers. To go back and comment about Charles Barkley’s statement I am left thinking about how we may not be directly responsible of other people’s children but however, aren’t we responsible for what we say and do? If so shouldn’t we be held accountable no matter who we are? After all, our voices do have meaningful sound, and that sounds often times reaches many.
In response to the plastic surgery topic
I thought that the topic of plastic surgery that Lisa brought up was quite interesting. Actually, not just pertaining to plastic surgery but to our appearance in general, people are really overly focusing on their physical appearance these days. And I believe, as Suzanne clearly said, that media hugely influences this.
This reminds me of a conversation that I was having with a girl that I work with. She was telling me that her mother had had three surgeries to date to get breast implants. She was explaining to me the complications that her mother had and the pain that she sufferred through for weeks at a time. Not to mention the enormous scars that she was left with after her numerous surgeries… Yet, this girl was telling me that she also felt that her breasts were too small and that she was waiting to be 21 years old before she would get “her own breast implants”. I remember asking myself what is wrong with this person? How could she think like this especially after experiencing her own mother’s pain?
I really think that the “ideal women” that is portrayed everywhere in the media is clearly influencing a lot more people than we think. In my head, plastic surgery was only for celebrities or wealthy people but I certainly got a reality check when my coworker was telling me that, at 19 years old, she too wanted to get surgery. People everywhere are too focused on being beautiful and being in the media’s eye that their bodies are suffering because, let’s face it, surgeries do not always make people look better! This also relates to what Alison was saying about her little cousin. Media is taking a huge space in our lives and we should educate our future students to think critically about what they see and not simply act on what they believe is beautiful or socially beneficial.
In my view, everyone can be a role model because the children can look up to anyone, BUT a role model can model either positive or negative behaviours. Some athletes, like Clara Hughes, are really trying to be good role models because they know that they are popular in the Medias and they want to encourage children to be active and play and develop a healthy lifestyle and a good behaviour. Others just don’t mind. They do their own thing. They are simply athletes who just want to be athletes. They do not have to act in a certain way to please other than play fair and develop sportsmanship because this is what sport is about.
When it comes to beer and the Olympics, I say ‘’let them be’’. Those athletes have almost killed themselves to just get to the Olympics. Most of them have worked hard physically, many did not party at all for many years so that their bodies could handle all the training they have been putting on themselves. People should be happy the athletes are finally taking some (little) time to do something else than sport. If I were to go to the Olympics, I’d probably ask someone to get me a bottle of beer that I could drink right after my race! Actually, now that I think about it, athletes should almost get payed to drink some company’s beer if it’s being mediatised!
By the way, are we supposed to blog about the hip hop night on this page or will there be a new page specifically for that?
thanks
HIP HOP
Since I see everyone has written about it on this page I’ll do the same.
The first slam that was performed on Thursday night really inspired me. I used to see slam as boring and worthless, like just another hippie’s thing. The reason for that is, first, that last year, some group in my class did a presentation in front of the class about slam. It wasn’t engaged or inspirational. It made you want to fall asleep and wake up for the next presentation. Anyhow, since I did not do further research on the subject, I was not fond of slam. But last night, when that girl started, I was shocked, more than that I was amazed! I loved how she could say so much in such few words and get a meaningful message in such beautiful and worthy words. I’m definitely going to do some more research on slam to see how it can be implemented in certain schools or programs. The other slams were also great. I liked the guy’s first one (and I really liked his voice and its tone) and the girl with the pink scarf slamming about some poet on stage.
New Topic: Hip hop bight at McGill
I unfortunately only arrived for the conference at 8:20 since I had an exam that night. The 45 minutes that I was there I had a good time analysing what was going on. The first thing that I have on my mind is that hip hop really is a culture by itself. They were making jokes that I didn’t understand because I am not part of that culture. I was discussing it with another student from the class and I said that putting a picture of Puff Daddy during this conference brings laughter probably like a picture of White Snake would bring laughter in a heavy metal convention. The other point is that it opened my eyes to the fact that rap and Hip hop (I am sorry but to this day I still don’t know the difference) is probably the music that has the most profound lyrics related to multiculturalism and social issues. I am a fan of rock and metal from the 70s and 80s and I haven’t heard many lyrics that tell the story of poor people and ghetto life although a lot of the greatest artists come from very poor neighbourhood of England and the States. There are a few songs like “hey stoopid“ from Alice Cooper and “Suicide solution“ from Ozzy Osbourne that makes suicide prevention. Maybe this due to the fact that metal is a lot more white culture than Hip Hop, R & B and jazz is. I was very impressed by some of the texts written by grade 10 students that a teacher from the New York read to us. I don’t know how much help the teacher was providing to help the students write their lyrics but it was very remarkable and I certainly couldn’t have written such a text. Of course my reflex is to say: ’’had a guitar, drum and base and that would be an amazing song’’ since I am a metal fan but the point is I believe in using music and art in the classroom to help the students express themselves in another fashion. I will certainly make a research about rock and metal that relate to social issues as material for my class and I will use poetry and Hip Hop in my class for the students to write about their life.
HIP HOP CONFERENCE
I’m pretty sure this is probably one of the most cultural events to happen at McGill. I really enjoyed this conference and was impressed by the talent of all of the performers. In terms of pedagogy, I thought that both speakers, Christopher Emdin and Dr. Priya Parmar were very insightful. With regards to media, when Dr. Priya Paramar spoke about the distinction between hip hop artists and rappers, I thought it really touched base with what is discussed in this class. Paramar noted that when you look at artists such as Eminem, and consider his songs which are aired on the radio and those that are not, you can definitely notice a discrepancy. Such an example enforces our discussion on how the media chooses what we see/hear and what we do not. The result is a distorted perception of what hip hop culture really is, and white men such, O’Reily leveraging artists out of endorsements because of “cultural disrespect”. This is why this conference was really powerful and insightful for future educators, because as was said, we need to understand our kids and where they’re coming from if we ever wish to help them and teach them. If we stay closed minded about hip hop and let the media define it for us, then we would all be no better then O’Reily.
Different topic*** HIP HOP conference
I really enjoyed the conference on Thursday night. I am not very knowledgeable about hip-hop culture so I found I learnt a lot of new and interesting things. As I am not very mass media centered, in the since that I don’t really watch the news and am defiantly not a star stricken “entertainment tonight” type of girls, I didn’t really have a strongly constructed view of Hip hop as portrayed in the media. I knew I would enjoy watching the performers, however I didn’t really think I would be able to take away any new ideas as how to connect this to pedagogy for my future classroom. I was surprised to hear a lot of good ideas and point about how this idea could relate to the classroom. This conference left me with several questions about the Hip Hop culture as well as how this can work in a classroom which I plan to further look into. One thing that made me skeptical is that I felt like these students are so talented and also very into hip hop, in fact it seemed like the class was voluntary for them, will this work in a class where there are children who may not be as talented writers? And, will it be possible in a class where there is diversity of culture and not everyone can relate to Hip Hop culture??
Another thing is that I agree we should not sensor our student’s stories, however in a class of diverse students is there not the fear that one student’s work (which maybe totally real) may offend another? For example I really loved the PHATWA video, I feel it showed a real struggle facing Muslims and people of Arabic decent; however I was slightly offended by the part with the Israeli. I am engaged to an Israeli and I feel it used a wrong stereotype about them. It had no connection to the idea of the film and was just implying that the Israelis are doing the same thing to the Palestinians. This may be their interpretation however it is not necessarily the case. From an Israeli perspective, his lyrics would look a lot different. As mentioned in the conference, this could be talked out amongst students, however, these issues are often very touchy and we must make sure our student can handle it, as it may not go over well when the students leave the class and we (as teachers) are no longer their to monitor a peaceful debate.
once again… i don’t believe in censorship, however i do think we should be aware of the possible repercussions.
** Hip Hop Conference**
First of all hats off to Shirley and everyone involved in putting together the Hip Hop conference. Being a fan of rap music (which isn’t exactly the same thing as Hip Hop culture) I found some of the things particularly interesting.
Being a fan of the Hip Hop pioneers (KRS, BDK, etc.) I appreciated the performances and speeches that were given. It seems like in that quick two hour session it generated a lot of fans!
There is one thing that I just couldn’t understand and it continuously resurfaced throughout the event. Many of the speakers and performers would speak about the desperate need for change. We need social change. We can’t keep living like this, it has to change.
I understand that many peoples have been oppressed for hundreds (thousands) of years. But it seemed like this idea of “change” was universal, as if any change would be an improvement. But an improvement on what or to what? Some of the performers did touch on specific things on their poems, but overall it seemed like change was desperately needed.
I don’t want people to read this and think I am ignoring the fact that in order to get something you have to fight for it. What I got out of the speakers and performers was a vague sense or need for something monumental to come and change the world. To have the world become a perfect place. I would love for that to be true, but the harsh reality is it never will be.
I encourage people to comment on this idea because if you had asked me for one theme that rose from this conference, it would simply “Change” but I don’t seem to understand exactly what is meant by that.
I’m disappointed in myself because I’ve done a terrible job of explaining this.
** Hip Hop Conference **
So, today I will dedicate this blog to the Hip Hop conference that was held on Thursday. I kinda had to chillax in the school grounds for 5 hours…but it was worth it. I also brought my notebook, and jot down notes, since I probably won’t be able to remember all.
Hip Hop comes with many stereotypes by the media. It’s ghetto, slang, rap, violent, sexist, gangsters, showing off bling bling, etc. However, it’s much more than a combination of DJ’ing, MC’ing, break dancing, rapping, and graffiti.
I’ve learned many things about Hip Hop. It’s a fully recognized culture. That is something we live for and our state of mind and we communicate by rapping usually in a poetic rhythm giving by the group Slam High. At first, I kinda didn’t know what to think at first because they were speaking too fast, so I kinda lost track, but it did have a catchy beat. Poems included Repunzel being thought of a sister, and the idea of the sunflower and weeping willows. It was cool, and there was so much energy in the lecture hall.
Then I learned about the Brave New Voices, a program for high school kids to bring in their voices and articulate what’s going on in their lives; we never was allowed to express ourselves in school because of strict school regulations. Can you imagine Brave New Voices goes through over 400 poems in 1 day? That is unbelievable.
I think it’s a hot idea bringing hip hop into the school curriculum, because it teaches us how to express ourselves through poems and one can appreciate the graffiti art in Montreal and elsewhere.
It was a sweet conference to attend, and thank goodness I decided to participate in the high energy. McGill should schedule these more often.
I think that commercial is quite upsetting. I think (professional) athletes are doing more than just people playing sports for their audience’s entertainment. I believe they are role models for other people. Sure, maybe the athletes’ lives outside of their sport aren’t perfect and don’t seem to reflect what a good role models life should, but in terms of sports role models I think they are good role models. They show people, children especially, that if you work really hard and stay committed then you can become your best and achieve goals. They show sportsmanship, activeness, enthusiasm, determination, etc. I think it depends on how you look at and define the term ‘role model’. I believe that athletes should try and be good role models all the time, but especially during their sporting events since that is when most of their fans watch them and look up to them. I don’t think it matters whether or not the athletes come in first all the time or not, I think what matters most are the characteristics that they show while they’re getting ready to play, while they’re playing, and right after they play.
NEW TOPIC: Hip Hop, Spoken Word, and Youth Conference
J’ai assisté cette semaine à une conférence dont je ne m’attendais pas du tout. J’ai toujours été intéresser par le hip et hop et comme tout autre forme de musique, elle permet d’exprimer les sentiments ressentis. J’ai été bien impressionné de constater que ce talents de compositeur que ce soit en poème ou seulement en musique, est beaucoup plus populaire que je ne le croyais. Je dirais que ma plus grande surprise a certainement été le groupe de Côte-des-Neiges prénommée No Bad Sound. J’ai été impressionné de savoir que ces derniers étais tous plus jeune que 19 ans considérant la richesse de leur rimes. De plus, j’ai beaucoup aimé le groupe qui venais de New York. J’ai réaliser que la musique permettait vraiment à certaine personne de transmettre un message et les gens de ce groupes croyais en chaque mots qu’il disait ce qui rendais leur prestation époustouflante. Finalement, cette conférence a attirer mon attention sur les messages que les chansons peuvent tenter de nous passer et depuis se temps je porte une attention particulière aux paroles de chansons.
NEW TOPIC- HIP HOP SYMPOSIUM
Contrary to some of my peers, I was not the least bit surprised that I enjoyed the hip hop conference and everything it had to offer–performances, discussion of critical pedagogy and it’s relation to the hip hop culture…without even knowing, we were being EDUCATED on a form of multicultural EDUCATION. To me, this shows the power of education–how so much can be brought to the surface by in depth exploration of something that many take for granted–the hip hop culture. The performances (Ie, SLAM High) demonstrate what potential this kind of art can hold.
Again, the key word here is EDUCATION. As future educators, we should not overlook the ample opportunities that are presented to us within our classrooms to TEACH. As many have claimed in this blog about Hip Hop, I have claimed, and still claim that “i like hip hop”. However, it’s important to know what it MEANS to like and understand hip hop. I realised this at my dance class. My teacher makes it an aim to EDUCATE his students (in this situation, they are his dance students but students nonetheless) about the hip hop culture, not only the dance steps that make a form of dance “hip hop”. He’s told us:
“You don’t date a guy whose background or history you know nothing about…Just like we don’t dance without knowing what that DANCE is all about” (ie, hip hop culture, roots, history). Having put it that way, it made me realise the importance of education in every aspect of life. For a while, he even used to randomly quiz us about what he would teach us, such as the basic components of hip hop and what they are; for example, MCing and grafitti.
The bottom line is, if we want our students to be AWARE, we need to TEACH and EDUCATE…this may take time and effort, but it is essential, because it’s effects can have wonderful results, such as the ones many of us have experienced at the conference- a new understanding and respect for a CULTURE, a community–not just a form of mere entertainment.
Just imagine how much more understanding the world would gain if we all took the time to teach and to educate about all these other “cultures” and “communities” in the world that are so frequently misunderstood?
I agree that professional athletes should not be judged more than the average person and that it is not fair to them that they are constantly watched and judged when they are just doing a job just like everyone else. However, they do have some responsibility in my opinion as soon as they decide to become a special athlete because although they do not asked to be judged and watched all the time, they know that they are in the spotlight all the time and therefore whether they like it or not, people do look up to them and judge them when they do something wrong. They can argue that it is not fair however they cannot deny the fact that young children do look up to them and follow what they do and wear and that when they mess up the public does judge them whether its fair or not. People have problems and make mistakes all the time however nobody knows about them. Since athletes know they are constantly watched, if they want to maintain a decent reputation they should know to either stay as far away from the spotlight as possible or act accordingly.
BARKLEY “I AM NOT A ROLE MODEL”
I think the fact that people, especially parents, now EXPECT celebrities, such as athletes, to be role models just shows the predominance of the media in today’s society. People know almost everything is aired on television and published in magazines, and they know children have some means to access this information, so they WANT and EXPECT the people in the public eye will somehow adjust their behaviour in order to put off an image that is expected of “role models”.
For this very reason it is very hard to reach a “yes” or “no” conclusion to the debate regarding whether or not athletes should be deemed role models. The “role model” label is a consequence of their athletic status–it is not the other way around. So, while I am at times disappointed by what it is I see in different forms of media regarding celebrtities or athletes and their free time, I do realize that there is absolutely no reason these individuals should be held at different standards (or double standards) than “ordinary” individuals. We look up to and respect people for what it is they have excelled in (for example, beating the odds and winning a gold medal despite adversity)…not for what they do in their own personal lives–that is none of our business. This whole “role model” controversy, to me, is one that exemplifies just how crucial media literacy is in the classroom. That way, our students themselves will be able to think critically about what is portrayed in the media (ie, stories about their favourite athletes) and this will be used as a filtering device of everything that is out there in the media.
It becomes a question of morals–athletes, alongside everyone else who consider themselves to have morals should always think about the consequences of their actions. However, the fact that they are “athletes” should NOT put them subject to a double standard just because they are famous.
As many of you, I really enjoyed the Hip Hop conference and thought it was a real eye opener. I was blown away by the performances specifically from the youth of SLAM high. As an educator, it was incredible to listen to the stories each person wrote about, the passion in their eyes was inspiring. You could tell this came straight from the heart. They touched upon many critical issues like body image and racial profiling. Some of the lines where so profound and so true to today’s world, I felt like I was listening to a much older and wiser adult. Hodari Davis spoke about Educational Pedagogy, and how we should teach about Hip Hop as a culture, and use it as a means to educate our students into become free, open-minded and critical thinkers. Hodari gave an example of how he would teach Shakespeare in his class. They would read Shakespeare, turn it into their own language, and write poems or responses about how this story relates to them and how they can identify with some of the issues the characters deal with. He explained that from that one story, 30 more stories are produced, analysed and compared. This is Hudari’s way of making connections, and making the curriculum engaging and directly related to the students. I thought this approach was brilliant. Turning the “mic” or voice over to the students and allowing them to channel their own subjectivities through art allows them to share their experiences with the text and produces a higher level of education to my standards, and as proved by the students of SLAM high. Those students are incredible artists and are wiser beyond their years; I would not mind taking a course from them one day!
New Topic: Patents Stifling Innovation
Throw down the gloves and get ready for a shitstorm. Apple vs. Google. Is it even possible?
Apple has very recently decided to pretty much declare war on Google through HTC as a proxy. It begins with the iphone: the only mobile internet device out there that didn’t suck for a long time. But Google, with its innovative notions and crazy ideas about giving things to people for free decided to join this market with the Android phone. The Android phone, for those of you who don’t know, is an iphone where almost all of the apps are free (0.00$…FREE).
Apple and Google began by having a very good relationship (http://gizmodo.com/5483662/how-apple-and-googles-romance-turned-to-hate). They worked together to ensure the iphone would work. For example, Google adjusted youtube to be compatible with the iphone.
When Google decided to join Apple in the smartphone market, Apple had a hissy fit. They don’t want competition, especially when the competition is much more reasonably priced. So Apple is trying to eliminate this competition.
Apple managed to patent many things that should not be patentable. They essentially patented touchscreen. They have a patent on unlocking the screen with a gesture, on moving icons on the screen “in a pleasing manner”, having a screen turn when you turn the phone…and many other ideas that should NOT be patented (http://gizmodo.com/5483689/the-apple-patents-cockpunching-all-smart-phones-an-illustrated-guide/). These things are basic, rudimentary, and not really an invention. Touch screen has existed since 1974. Apple should not have been allowed to patent these things! It is almost like going to get a patent on breathing, and people need to pay you every time you breathe, because it is your invention. Allowing patents like this will do nothing but stifle innovation: it is easier not to invent something than to deal with getting sued by Apple after inventing something. Apple has come on record saying they have 40 billion spare dollars to use on things like lawsuits.
The worst part of all of this is that Steve Jobs, in 1996, came right out and said that Apple steals ideas: “Good artists copy. Great artists steal. We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas” (http://gizmodo.com/5483914/steve-jobs-1996-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal). Sooo basically Apple steals ideas, then patents them so no one else can use them.
Now, they are suing HTC, an Android phone producer, as a middle man to get to Google. They are going for the underdog to get their point across to Google.
This monopoly on innovation shouldn’t be allowed to exist! With the amount of money they have floating around, Apple could ensure they have complete control over all smartphones. A monopoly on the market would mean they can charge whatever they like and dictate what people can and cannot have, even if different and better options are available.
I for one am concerned about the monopolization of media outlets, and this is just another example of why it is such a terrible thing. Hmmm…I wonder if anyone has patented blogging…
*******Hip Hop – the global language
W-O-W, what amazing performances on Thursday night at the Hip Hop symposium! It is easy to see how this can become a way of life for youth. A great evening full of great talent! I will definetly be listening to more Hip Hop.
From the moment “No Bad Sound” started performing the room went quiet, everyone listening to their incredible talent. I loved the way they incorporated different languages into the song, this really showed that Dr. Steinberg’s opening comment that hip hop was the global language is true! Despite the fact that I did not understand some of the words it did not take away from the astounding song. The energy kept growing when Rita Golden stood up and read her poem. Asking the audience to answer if they believed really increase the sense of excitement in the room. Hundreds of people answering “YES” made us all become a part of the poem.
Hadari Davis made a very important point that all kids have stories to tell and has a teacher we need to acknowledge this and facilitate the finding of their voice and help them develop it so they can share their message with others. I found it striking when he mentioned that the only prize for the event “Brave New Voices” was the fact that the youth have a forum to share their stories. The poet’s message is conveyed in an interesting way that looks like fun to do while being incredible to watch! When the artists were doing SLAM poetry I was captivated by the beat and rhythm it had and began to see how the issues they were alluding to were ones that many people in society could relate to. The young man’s performance about reassuring a girl about her looks had a really important message and surpirising ending, males can be insecure too. Davis mentionned that SLAM poetry is different than other poetry for more reasons than the fact that it fills seats… When most people think of poetry they think of hard to understand words but SLAM poetry is very different it uses everyday language that is understandable to youth. No wonder one of the performers was interested in “the poet and not the man”.
*****Hip Hop Conference*****
I attended the Hip Hop conference on Thursday night. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with how the night turned out.
As soon as No Bad Sound performed, I knew it would be an interesting conference. They were so good! I was completely shocked when they starting rapping. It just seemed to come so easy for them and everyone in the group fed off each other’s energy. The audience was into it and you can’t help but not be into something when the performers themselves are putting everything they have into the music. I’d also like to give an honourable mention to the guy who came down and beat boxed while No Bad Sound performed. At one point my friend and I completely forgot that it was a person creating the beat.
Slam Poetry was amazing. All their poems just had so much emotion and they were very engaging. The audience felt as though they were part of their poems and could feel the strong emotions being expressed throughout. It really made me look at poetry in a different way. I am one of the people who would see posters about a poetry reading and just imagine these boring monotone people sitting on a stool with a microphone as they read out their poems to a little audience. Slam poetry is pretty genius and it allows for creativity in every way. Not only are they writing their own poems and expressing their own stories, but their delivery shows creativity as well.
I think using poetry in the classroom is a really great way of getting every student involved and allowing their minds go in whichever direction they choose. With the school curriculums being so strict and with little room for flexibility, this would definitely be a good, yet educative way of getting students to open up and use their creativity to express themselves.
McGill should have more of these conferences. I think it was definitely a huge success.
**HIP HOP CONFERENCE**
I have always enjoyed listening to various kinds of music and hip hop was definitely among those kinds. Although, i may listen to it, this conference truly opened my eyes to the meaning behind this genre and how it came to be.
I LOVED the opening act by No Bad Sound. The fact that the group was so diverse made the music even better, there was a little bit of everything, French, Spanish, English…It was interactive, it was fun and i would love to see more of it.
This conference really opened my eyes to the various aspects of hip hop as well as different ways of self-expression. I had never before heard of SLAM HIGH but i think its a great way for young voices to be heard. Shareese’s King performance was amazing especially the first one she did as a duo about the ‘black man who has the world in his pocket’. I find that spoken words are a great form of poetry. As many have already mentioned i too agree it was one of my favorite moments of the night. The way these artists came up and just let go and shared their stories with the audience was inspirational. Every single performance had its own story to tell and each one was truly great.
I also really enjoyed when Hodari Davis came up to speak about his program called Brave New Voices. Just listening to him speak and the interest, dedication as well as passion he held for the work he was doing with these young voices was inspiring. I agree with him that it is important to celebrate diversity and i think that by organizing these competitions he is doing just that.
I agree with Sabrina that as future educators we must EDUCATE our students but the first step is to educate ourselves. I think the Hip Hop conference has educated me on so many new ideas and things i did not know about Hip Hop. As a future teacher i hope i can enlighten my students on different ways of expressing themselves and incorporating Hip Hop as well.
DIFFERENT TOPIC ** HIP HOP CONFERENCE
I went to the Hip Hop conference Thursday night, and it was quite interesting. I agree with Dr. Steinberg when she said that conferences like this are needed at McGill and it is sad to think that this is “cutting edge” for McGill.
The No Bad Sound crew from Cotes des Neiges was a very interesting group of teenagers. I enjoyed how they integrated their own diversity within their presentation. I enjoyed the fact that they did their performance in English, Spanish and French.
When Reenah Golden discussed Slam High, I found it really interesting how in the States that they are integrating Hip Hop into the curriculum. The student let art movement, as she discussed, is a part of schools (during and after) but most importantly part of the community. As a future teacher, I really think that it is important that we help our students be a part of such organizations that can reach out to them. Often times, we ignore the passions of our students but I BELIEVE that they should be shared and that our students should be inspired to dream and achieve their greatest potential.
As many others, I had never heard of such programs as Slam Highs or Hadari Davis’ Youth Speaks or Brave New Voices. I think this is a great opportunity for these students to be able to get their point across. As Hadari Davis said, this is all a part of youth lead social change and I agree with him when he said that this generation can speak for themselves.
Priya Parmar really made me realize just how important it is to have critical and cultural pedagogy in our classrooms. “Educate to revolutionize” truly resonates with me, as I strongly feel that we must always give our students the chance to succeed and achieve their maximum potential. When she spoke about her lyrical minded project (and how many of the amazing poems that she read to us where from students who previously did not participate in class) it made me truly appreciate just how much of a great impact that we can have. We must never take for granted just how much we can affect our students and inspire them to believe in themselves.
****Hip Hop Conference****
I was not sure what to expect upon arriving on Thursday night, but boy o boy did I ever have the wrong idea. I had never really taken the time to consider or ponder the fact that Hip Hop has now become a defined culture. It has the capability to shape and teach individuals’ minds and experiences. For these reasons alone, I am grateful that I was given this opportunity to be exposed to a small introduction to a powerful force that shapes the lives of my future students. It is not that I held an overly negative view on Hip Hop, but I never took the time to really listen and attempt to understand. It was one of those things, that I sort of just wrote off and placed on the back burner. It was a joy and somewhat of a revelation to listen to the Know that Sound crew perform. When they announced that there was going to be a rap group from Cote des Neiges perform, all of my perconceived biases surfaced; but I was way off. The group was talented, and they spoke about topics that I believe are really relevant to today’s youth. I appreciated the fact that their songs were not raunchy and commercialized. One was able to appreciate the natural talent of the performers, and respect the evident passion behind their young voices. Once they were finished performing, they were asked to announce their ages. They were all in-between 16 and 18 years old. At once I thought to myself, they are the same age as some high school students that I could be teaching one day. There is that possibility that my students could be as talented as these performers, and really have some truly important and profound things to say. I reflected on the idea that it really is so important to encourage the youth to use their voices; yet it is equally important that we educators show them the way to do this, and show them respect when they have the floor. The poets were so passionate about what they were preaching. I was hanging on every word that they were saying. It just goes to show that when one is passionate about what they are doing, it shows, and this makes other people interested as well. Their passion makes you sit up and respect what they were saying and trying to get across.
I really enjoyed my experience at this seminar, and I have even taken the time to discuss what I was exposed to with a couple of friends and my father, who is a former public high school teacher. There are many aspects that I would like to blog about in relation to this seminar, but there are two main points that I found to be the most personally relevant.
It really touched me when the organizer of Brave New Voices started talking about individual experiences. He reflected on the fact that each person/ student in one’s classroom has their own story to tell and their own experiences. When he said, “remember that your story is a story, but it is only A story, and not THE story.” And, “that if there are 16 people in a classroom, there are 16 different stories.” This is something that I hope stays with me throughout my personal and professional life. I want to work on the fact that I find it difficult not to judge situations from my own perspectives. Attending this seminar, made me open my eyes and realize that it is time to truly work on this downfalling. It is so important to acknowledge other forms of expression.
The second point I wanted to touch upon, is the when Professor Parmar was talking about the different manners that she incorporates this culture into her English programs, and how she meets specific requirements. I am learning more and more about the QEP right now, and it seems as though this makes learning more rigid and that it is harder to incorporate creative or alternative forms of pedagogy into the classroom. Although I understand that her methods are geared towards the norms in NY, her methods and various suggestions, made me realize that there are still many ways to go about things and have the students learn while still maintaining and promoting their individualism. As mentioned by many other students, the poems that she used were amazing. I would have never thought that using questions or scenarios focused on Hip Hop culture would evoke such powerful and insightful responses. Her section of helping students find their voices touched me. While going through elementary and high school, I was always the sort of reserved and shy student. There are times now where I still have reservations. Professor Parmar spoke about the importance of having teachers administer means by which different students can exercise their right to be heard. I can still remember the few teachers who helped their students, including me, tap into that inner fire. As pointed out by the Professor, it doesn’t take much to do this. It can be as simple as telling the students to write a poem that is slightly “out of the box” of normal pedagogical terms. Give them a topic that they can relate to and one is able to see the passion that these students suddenly find in themselves as well as the subject matter.
Although I am not sure how natural I would be in implementing Hip Hop specifically into the classroom, I have been able to take this experience and really learn about the importance of youth independence, freedom of thought, and alternative means of expression. I thought it was really useful to learn about the various teaching strategies that are so easily incoporated into a regular classroom. For example Professor Parmar’s suggestion about asking students to relate their own experiences to thos found in Romeo and Juliet. All of these sorts of ideas and the promotion of using strategies to reach all students, and all learning styles helped me gain critical knowledge towards my teacher training. In turn this enables me to give my future students the potential to have a better educational experience.
The problem with this whole role model business is : what is a role model? Although all of us know what a role model is, I’m pretty sure we have different definitions of what a role model is and what it entitles for the person being the role model. When I looked up role model, a wiki article explained that the term was first used for medical students: these students looked up to more experienced med. people as an example. I honestly think that anyone can be a role model. As soon as someone finds interest in a particular person and their behaviour, skill, and whatnot, the person is questionably a role model. How are we to judge what other people look up to? Since the media world is so wide, athletes are considered more and more like celebrities. With product endorsements and the merging of two different media circles, of course more people will idolize and look up to athletes. Not only that, athletes are revered for their skill. Of course I look up to athletes. As a snowboarder, I am greatly impressed by, say, Shaun White’s abilities in pipe. I would love to do what he does one day. It’s fascinating to watch someone play a sport you do and realize how good they are. And what’s wrong with people looking up to these athletes? We can’t just generalize and say that these athletes aren’t worth looking up to. Of course most of them have become sell-outs due to their skill–skill, recognition, endorsement, more recognition–it’s part of the package. And although it sucks to say that some people don’t make good role models, since they have so much public attention on them, they should make an effort not to participate in things that the media with knit-pick at. Once again, anyone can look up to anyone else and see a role model. The athletes just have it worse because they have that many more people looking at them and hoping they will fail. And what for? Just for a scandal to stir things up.
Response to Cynthia Di Rienzo on the Hip Hop Conference
I also enjoyed last Thursday’s conference on Hip Hop and Spoken Word. The young artists were very inspiring and extremely talented. I strongly agree with Cynthia, it was amazing to see such a strong female representation amongst the artists/performers. I was happy to see powerful, confident and talented young women being active producers of Hip Hop culture. Unfortunately, female representation has significantly decreased on the popular Hip Hop scene over the last decade. I think it’s a shame for everyone who enjoys female Hip Hop music and for the younger generation of girls. As a young teenager, I remember feeling empowered and inspired by my favourite female Hip Hop artists. As mentioned by Cynthia, Hip Hop, poetry and spoken word are means of expressing creativity, emotion and truth. The presentation by Priya Parmar was very insightful and helped us understand how we can use Hip Hop to reach and motivate our students. She described how the use of Hip Hop doesn’t necessarily diminish the quality of education; it simply provides educators with interesting teaching tools and an opportunity to understand their students.
DIFFERENT TOPIC: THE HIP HOP SYMPOSIUM
I attended Thursday night, the Hip Hop conference and I enjoyed the experience. Honestly, I was debating for a long time if I should attend because I was not sure that it appealed to me. To my surprise, I learned a lot about how hip hop can be use in the classroom to motivate young minds to speak about their experiences. The Slam high poets were simply amazing to listen to. I think it takes a lot of courage to stand in front of an audience and their poems were simply phenomenal. The way they use words and the deep meaning of each poems got me thinking on my perceptions of the world and its issues. The poem about body distortions and how we continually criticize our body with media images was eye-opening. I really like the speech given by Hodari Davis because he made the audience realize how Hip Hop can reach a high number of students. In addition, Hip Hop activities in the classroom will enable students to tell us their stories through poetry. Moreover, it was great to see such talented people perform and I do not regret coming. I was exposed to something new and learned a lot from it. Thank you Shirley
In response to Sonia, regarding the topic, Celebrities.
I too think about these questions ALL the time as i look at perezhilton.com, just jared.com and all the other gossip websites DAILY, sometimes more than once…or twice. We live in a society where girls want to wear what Kim Kardashian is wearing, boys shave their beard when Brad Pitt does, and Kabbalah seems like the cool thing to do because Madonna is doing it. We are celebrity obsessed, but why? The scariest part about our obsession is what is happening to them. Honestly, most of them are going crazy because of the media and paparazzi. Look and Lindsey Lohan, the Olson twins. They all weigh less than 100 pounds!!! I can remember all of these girls and how adorable they were in their younger days. The world fell in love with these sweet little innocent girls from the beginning and now look what happened to them. They feel guilty for eating a grape…all day. But, whatever, their skinny, that’s what we want to see, so what do we care?
As ashamed as I am to admit it, I care! I care whether Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopt a new baby, I care how many times Lindsey visits rehab, and I care that the Kardashians just came out with a new fashion line.
Like Sonya mentioned, maybe it is because they are in the public eye, and we take pleasure in judging their daily activities and wrong doings because it makes us feel better about our selves. I believe this could be a possibility however, for me, i know i care about all these issues because its far more entertaining then doing my homework, and over the years after watching these celebrities moves its like you know them, you know all the hardship they have gone through and all of their accomplishments. There lives are kind of like a story, and it is exciting to see what will happen next.
Perhaps it’s because they’re in the public eye and we take pleasure in scrutinizing their daily activities because their wrong-doings make us feel better about ourselves.
oops the last sentence was not ment to be included!!
Respnse to Amy MacLachlan Says:
New Topic: The Bachelor
On the topic of role models, something like “ The Bachelor” shows can worry me about what young children are watching. Do girls out there want to be a part of what is in fact illegal in America but somehow encouraged on the Bachelor show: polygamy. Fifteen million viewers watched the finale of The Bachelor, including myself. The odd thing that happened to me when I watched the show is that even when Tenley had her heart broken -she looked absolutely devastated, I couldn’t help but laugh. I was laughing because I was so uncomfortable with the situation. It was such a sad moment to watch. But I just had to believe that it wasn’t real – because it was so awful.
This new phenomenon of the bachelor actually, isn’t so new because the show is on the 11th season and counting. It is obviously a very appealing show to the viewers of the world. Why do shows like this entice us so much? Do we like to watch people’s hearts breaking? Do we like to watch polygamy? And to be honest, I hope that these girls are not actually falling for him and that they are just acting to be on television. Because if the bachelor actually created real emotions it would just be devastating not to mention completely unnatural. The environment of the show takes place in a fantasy world. The girls are at a spa all day and go on magical trips throughout their time on the show. They think they are falling for a man who is giving them jewelry, luxury, and fake happiness that is actually provided by the show. They don’t have to deal with real-life problems. They only have to worry about their physical and emotional chemistry –whatever that may be on Fantasy Island.
Are these people our new role models?
In today’s world athletes and sports stars are looked up to by everyone of all ages. Everyone loves them. They look great in the eyes of the public. They appear on TV and they perform with such talent with the entire world watching. No wonder we make heroes out of our favorites. They are seen, as heroes because they can do things that most people can’t. They hit fastballs at crazy speeds or defy gravity and throw down a slam dunk. Their words are repeated and broadcasted throughout the world and their faces have appeared on the front of cereal boxes. The athlete as role model is definitely not a new issue. But if you examine these athletes while they’re not on the court or on the field, you can see what they are really like. Athletes have many positive and negative sides that affect their public face and both benefit and harm their abilities to become role models. Look at Tigar Woods, his scandal has been made public for the entire world to see. Many young golf players looked up to him, however off the golf course, he clearly has many issues that should not be modeled. These figures are visible to us on a weekly basis. Because of their talent, salary, and positions as leaders, it’s inevitable that we admire and identify them with such integrity.
There are a few interesting topic on this week discussion; i have decided to talk about the athletes as role model.
Now days, it will be rare to hear a child say that his or her idol is one of his parents. I think it is because they are very influence by media and are also raised by the television that they now have as idol only athletes or actors. They will want to be like the person they see on television. There is one think I like that many people on the blog raised; the emphasis of being good athletes and good person. I think we look too much at the famous people’s life. We should focus on what they had accomplished. I find that what might happen to Michael Phelps just because he was taking in picture while smoking marijuana. People said he wasn’t a good example and they want to take all his medals away from him. People go too much in his private life and I don’t think that smoking pot should be a reason for taking all his medals away. He worked hard to achieve his goals and as a human being; he can do some stupidities. I think that stories like that should tell us that we as viewer should use our common sense to judge what part of this guy or other athletes or celebrities we want to look up at.
We should not judge them for what they are, but what they have achieve that make us so proud of them.
**Response to: The Bachelor**
I am also a big fan of this past season of The Bachelor. This season has been the most talked-about one in years for The Bachelor. From the scandal of one of the candidates, Rozlyn, and one of the producers of the show, to the most hated girl in the house and winner of the show, Vienna, there has been controversy on whether everything has been planned out to attract more viewers or if it’s really reality.
The saddest part of the season was to watch the last few girls have their heart broken on TV. It seems ridiculous to watch because as a viewer, you’re trying to feel what she is feeling and, it sometimes brought tears to my eyes. Although it may seem inappropriate to display these dramatic parts of one’s life as part of entertainment value, we have to remember that these women/men sign contracts in order to participate in these types of shows. They might be very emotional or portrayed as villains, but coming onto a show like The Bachelor, these things are likely to occur as the producers of the show probably pick the most dramatic candidates.
Another major factor on this show is the portrayal of the actual bachelor (in this case, Jake). The show always displays him like a perfect, successful, humble, sweet, and handsome man. During every heart-to-heart and every heartbreaking moment, his expressions were always different from his previous ones. He seemed so well-spoken and unbelievably in touch with his feelings, (kind of creepy). No kidding the women will “fall in love” with him, because he has to put on this act and never seems to have a temper, and he’s the only male specie available to them. When this season’s bachelor, Jake, would speak of his feelings, I couldn’t help but wonder “WHO IS TELLING HIM WHAT TO SAY”?! I guess I’ll never know if it’s really him, or someone who works on the show that guides him so he can look like a sensitive and ideal bachelor.
DIFFERENT TOPIC
HIP HOP CONFERENCE
I really appreciated the Hip Hop conference on Thursday night. I have always been a fan of hip hop, from my early high school years to know. I’ve always known that hip hop was a culture however I didn’t realize how important it was to kids and how much it affects them. The adolescents that performed are so talented, I was very impressed. The group from Cote des Neiges was amazing! The following morning, I shared the music and voices I heard that Thursday night with an older group of students I give swimming lessons too. We chatted for a bit about what I heard and I urged them to look up the group online and try to hear clips of their music. I think this group is a great example of how it is possible to be heard and to get your thoughts and feelings out there.
The SLAM poetry was amazing! I loved it! I really think this type of poetry is a great way to express yourself. I was wondering how they learnt to put together such powerful poetry and turn it into something exciting and fun to watch and listen to. I would love to incorporate this type of learning in my classroom.
***Different Topic****
Hip hop conference
Like many others in the class, I was not sure what to expect from the conference but I thought it ended up being an excellent mix of academic discussion (eg. critical pedagogy) and practical demonstration of countercultural trends in the classroom. Like Anne-Marie and others have noted, it was refreshing to see such a strong representation of female performers and speakers from the hip hop community since the media often tends to focus on the male members of the community only. I particularly enjoyed Priya Parmar’s presentation where she discussed how hip hop and poetry could be used in the classroom with a view of developing students’ critical thinking skills. By allowing students to write using a hip hop language and style that they are familiar with and respect, Ms. Parmar effectively provides a voice to some students who would not be comfortable expressing themselves in more traditional forums or methods. Moreover, because many of today’s most well respected hip hop artists (eg. Dead Prez) are constantly questioning hegemonic values and beliefs, the genre of hip hop provides an excellent background to promote student awareness of media literacy issues in their own lyrics/writing.
I like how Valerie gave the definition of what a role model and stressed the difference between an individual having the ability versus the obligation to look up to an accomplished person. I think that we idolize these individuals so much that we lose sight of the fact that they too are human beings with flaws.
What does it mean to be a pro NBA star? That you can get a shot from half court every time or that you’re a loving parent, you don’t drink or smoke and you’re in bed by 11 pm? These people are stars because they have a specific talent that the average individual does not. We have a tendency to give these celebrities “superhero status” but the reality is that they’re not superhuman. They are just like us, they have flaws, they make mistakes and they pay for the mistakes that they make.
I think that it is our job as the public, and hopefully parents one day, to differentiate what aspects of a celebrity we/our children should be looking up to. It’s up to us to specify that a basketball player has an amazing jump shot; he is not necessarily an amazing person. It’s fine to be in awe of someone’s skills, it does not necessarily mean that we need to be in awe of that person as a role model in life.
I liked what Shannon Summer’s post had to say about looking up to athletes for their athletic abilities and nothing else. As someone who isn’t really a fan of sports, I just do not see the big deal in crucifying people like the Canadian women’s hockey team and Tiger Woods in the media. Their job is to perform and as long as they do that, what goes on once they have “punched out” is none of our business and we have no right to feel as though these athletes have let us down, because as Charles Barkley put it “it is not [his] job.”
While I understand that many people do not see this way and somehow feel robbed when someone in the lime light does something bad, being disappointed because they cheated on their wife or snorted cocaine is different than saying they let you down not because of their actions, but because it was their job to be your role model and they failed. Just because someone is in the public eye, does not mean that they are expected to be perfect. You can love an actor because he or she is cute and you think they are talented and want to follow in the footsteps of their career, but don’t get all pissed off and swear to never see their movies again just because they showed their lady bits while getting out of a car or was caught with a prostitute in the passenger seat of their BMW.
These people get such high expectations placed upon them by fans and the media but it really is true to say that it is not their job to be my role model. I have great parents who do have this job and so well that I do not feel the need to look to any outside sources such as athletes and celebrities for any guidance other than my movie picks and wining Canadian gold.
Miley Cyrus was also quoted in an interview as not being responsible for raising people’s kids. Here is the link: http://www.celebitchy.com/87285/miley_cyrus_im_a_role_model_not_a_parent/
This is the same situation as Tiger Woods. Although athletes are different from talents and I also believe we should give some respect to both athletes’ and talents’ privacy, it is also true that they are well known to the public. Personally, I am not into sports, and I don’t know much about sports. However, there are people who love sports and want to become athletes themselves. For those, there may be some athletes who are idols for them; who they look up to or who they want to become like. We cannot say anything about those who became disappointed on their idols. Any athletes or talents are equally same as us and they deserve privacy. However, young students or fans might expect more from them. They might like them because their idols (athletes) because they have a belief that they are different from them. Although athletes may feel they are not guilty of their actions outside of sports, which I believe that they are not guilty as well, I also believe we cannot help those fans who may be disappointed.
(Response to the Hip Hop Conference)
Although I went to the Hip Hop Conference for the bonus points, I do not regret it because it was exciting and very different from the boring conference I thought it would be. I really liked the first guests; their raps were amazing and exciting. I liked how they went up the stairs and came back down the stairs while they were rapping. However, poetry slam (I think it was called this) was difficult for me to understand. The words were going too fast, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on and the wordings were hard to understand. Especially in the poem about Repunzzel, I didn’t get the whole meaning of “sister”. Although I did not understand anything, as a student in an Education major, I learnt that poetry slam is a good method for students to learn and use to show their emotions. It was amazing to hear that students, only in grade 10, were able to write their poetry slam and even that the shy students were able to express themselves. After the conference, I wanted to write one for myself too.
**Different Topic Hip Hop Conference**
I attended the Hip Hop conference on thursday night and was simply amazed by the talent of those teenagers. It also made me realize how we usually overlook the talent that some of our pupils. Over the years, hip hop culture has had such a negative connotation rattached to it and I find it extremely unfortunate as a huge fan of hip hop music, I know the “therapeutic effect” this genre of music has had on me over the past years. This conference made me realize how important it is for us, future educators to know and inform ourselves about the personal music tastes, hobbies and styles of our pupils. The more we know abou them the better the better educator we can become to them. We have a tendancy to think that the youngsters are trouble makers who areunmotivated, that we always have to provide them with work to do in order to keep them busy, to assign them specific topics because they lack inspiration or opinions. Little do we know: this generation can speak for itself and it has been proven during the hip hop conference. Under the guise of slam, poetry ad spoken word we come to realize that the youth are concsious citizens who realixe what is going on around them, who are capable of thinking critically. We as future educators, play a crucial role in their process of finding that voice to verbalize those thoughts, opinions, fears they might have, We should facilitate the process of finding that voice, in order for them to excercise their right to speak the truth and to speak their minds.
*HIP HOP CONF*
Just as I expected: extremely interesting!!! I’ve always been a fan of hip hop and to see the intensity and level of knowledge that people bring to this genre of music is simply awesome. I know so many people that view hip hop like a poor, ghetto, weak form of art, always refering to drugs, alcohol, and women. While this is true for some hip hop artists, Thursday’s symposium was the proof that there is so much more to it. The talent, the time, the effort that these individuals invested in their passion was inspiring and a great display of entertainment.
The conference reminded me a lot of a hip hop duo that I know through my sister’s fiance. UMR (United Minorities Record) recently launched their first CD. I know one of the rappers personally and recognized a lot of what I witnessed in the conference in the way he treats his “business”. The concept of UMR has always fascinated me. The idea is to join different communities together (french, english, indian, asian, african, etc.) and write lyrics on how they can come together. I prefered this vision to the competitive spin other artists sometimes include in their product (i.e. blood vs crips, black vs white, nation conflicts). The interesting idea behind UMR is they try to get as many different cultures together to professionally lyric about serious matters (sometimes less). Its a nice breath of fresh air to see how they collaborate to make it happen as oppose to using their differences against each other. Its worth taking a look at @ http://www.unitedminorities.net
All in all, a very constructive evening, congrats to Shirley Steinberg for the event.
Hip Hop, Spoken Word, and Youth
I was really excited to attend the Hip Hop conference this week. I like all different types of music, and hip hop and rap actually make up a good part of my music collection. I had a great time at the conference and it is definitely something that I would love to attend again.
I knew that I was going to love the conference as soon as the first group, No Bad Sound performed. They were incredible! One of the guys in the group actually reminded me a lot of the way that Twista raps, which is incredible because he’s unbelievably fast, once holding the record for fastest emcee in the world. One of the things that I also really loved about this group was that they rapped in different languages. The Slam High poets performance’s where all amazing. I found their poems so relatable for people our age and the way they deliver their message though somewhat rapping appeals to our generation who aren’t normally interested in poetry.
I remember someone speaking about how music played on the radio is so much different than the music you find on rap artist’s actual albums. I found this statement so true. The music put out on the radio is somewhat “fluffy” in my opinion. It’s often remixed and a faster beat is put on music in order for it to be mainstreamed and appeal to a wider audience. I was just watching a dvd of Def Jams most popular music videos and I found it so crazy to see how so many great rap songs from the 90’s have been changed. Not only are songs being changed in order to get radio time but when you buy an actual hip hop or rap cd there is a huge difference between the songs you hear by that artist on the radio and the others. The other songs in my opinion often have more substance and a greater message to them where with the radio songs it’s all about the beat.
I liked Priya Parma’s ideas about incorporating learning about hip hop as a culture in the classroom. Music is a very big part of many people’s lives and I think children definitely need to be exposed to as many types that they can in school and this process should include understanding all aspects of it.
I have heard of The Narcycist before, but I had never heard his music prior to Thursday night. I loved his message and his attitude. I was also very impressed by his music video and checked him out on itunes. I feel that I not only had a great time at this conference and found out about some really cool artists but it was a great learning experience. I’m happy that McGill held this conference and I hope another one is arranged in the future.
Different Topic- Hip Hop
I attended the hip hop conference and it definitely was not what I expected! It was like a mini concert…really cool and interesting. My favorite part was the SLAM high poets. At first, I thought they were just going to stand up and read a poem off of a sheet of paper, so I was skeptical. After they had performed I was in shock! I had no idea they put so much emotion into their poetry. It was easy to see that they really felt what they were saying and that they lived through every moment of it. This style of performance art is extremely underrated and I think if it was broadcasted more, weather it be on TV or the internet, a lot more people would get involved and enjoy it.
I didn’t realize that hip-hop was so different from rap. It’s a completely different culture and lifestyle then what I thought. I was pretty impressed that The Narcissist was there! I was also happy to hear from the author of the KRS One biography. I’ve heard a lot about him and how he’s influenced the world of hip hop. I had a wonderful time and I hope McGill hosts more fun conference like that!
*Different Topic*
As the Academy Awards are approaching tonight, I found that there are some really good and unique films that are nominated this year. However, as is always the case, there is so much more focus on “who will wear what” and “who will be going with who” on T.V. and in magazines, as opposed to the amazing roles these actors brought to life. A lot of this materialistic attention goes to actors and actresses who are not even nominated. As a fashion-lover myself, I can understand the need to get dressed up for such an occasion, like the Oscars, from head-to-toe, arm-candy included. However, what makes the media think I care about predicting what the stars will wear or show up with, I’ll see for myself when I actually watch the Awards tonight. I understand trying to predict who/what will win, but predicting what they’ll wear is nonsensical and a big waste of time. I have seen this happen on a few different tabloid-news programs, as well as countless magazines, and this has also been happening for as long as I can remember. From the gowns, to the jewellery, purses and shoes, media outlets love spending more time talking about these things, than the actual movies.
Given that there were some remarkable films nominated this year with some great actors, there has been some great interviews leading up to tonight’s ceremony. Avatar is the movie that has forever changed movie making and Precious is a heart-wrenching story with an amazing cast, these are two of my favourite nominations this year that I hope do well in their respected categories. I prefer to focus on the talent and the art that went into making these great films.
Even CTV is guilty of Oscar fashion predictions, check out the link below….
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100305/Ent_oscars_fashion_100306/20100306?s_name=oscars2010
While I agree with a lot of the points people have raised on this blog and in class, when we were discussing whether athletes should be considered role models or not, and truly believe that their private lives should be kept private, I think that in order to find a solution to the problem of children and teenagers choosing wrong role models we should focus more on them and less on the said “role models” in the media. Growing up I was quite a rebel and anti-trends so I never really looked up to celebrities as role models, but I can recall going through phases where I would virtually imitate girls and women that I knew or even characters in films in the process of finding my identity. None of these girls or women was famous, or had a great amount of exposure in the media at that time. Even the film characters that I looked up to weren’t from famous movies but I tried my best to pick up things from their personalities and incorporate them with mine. Whether they were good (like dancing) or bad (smoking cigarettes), certain things were appealing to me back then for whatever reason, and today I know that looking for role models is just a part of growing up and building your identity.
I think that maybe instead of focusing so much on the never ending debate whether celebrities should be considered role models or not, maybe we should start teaching to children how to make informed and good decisions, rather than blaming a famous athlete or actor for corrupting them.
I believe that an athlete who participates in the olympics, or who is known by many people around the world, should not be obligated to be a role model for people who are watching them. I think that it is great to have athletes out there who are POSITIVE role models for young children, but that does not necessarily mean that athletes should have to act a certain way in the public eye. I think that athletes are just doing their job like everyone else in the world, but it just so happens that they have many people watching their every move. I agree with my peers when they say that it is up to children’s parents to guide them at tell them what type of people they should be looking up to; athletes should not have to have that responsibility. I think that Charles Barkley has a legitimate statement, when he says “just because I dunk a basketball, doesn’t mean I have to raise your kids.”
Ì attended the hip hop conference on Thursday and as Camille said I’m glad that the extracurricular marks motivated me to go. I have always been into hip hop but always into more of the commercial stuff. I never thought of hip hop as a state of being and how anyone who has a story to tell can actually take part.
No bad sound opened the show; they were so talented that I got right into it. The guy from the audience who was pulled to beat box was so good I even forgot that a person was doing it.
Reenah Golden introduced her group of poets from Slam High with a piece called DO YOU BELIEVE.? It was a motivating piece. And the three young people that followed were class acts as well. Again it was very different then I expected. Just a few days prior to this a friend of mine had asked me to join her in attending a poetry slam and I declined the offer thinking that it would be so utterly boring. Attending this hip hop conference changed my frame of mind because it made me realize that the stories these people tell are actually quite intriguing and interesting.
Although the part of the conference that did not have poets was a little long, it did shed some light on the impact that poetry can have on students. It seems to be a very good outlet and lets those who normally fade into the background shine through and have a voice. I think that this type of poetry implemented in the classroom could do nothing but good and that it also brings about a new aspect of hip hop that many do not know about.
**I loved Habib’s performance in The Narcicyst’s new music video P.H.A.T.W.A., really top notch.
DIFFERENT TOPIC
“Hip Hop Conference”
What can I say, I am SO GLAD I took the time to go out and see the Hip Hop Conference! I saw so much raw energy, but what really stuck out to me the most was the SLAM HIGH poets. There was a young man, who just spoke so strongly from his heart. His words were incredible and moving. It was something I have never heard before like that in my life. It was refreshing to see such young adults be so involved in literacy like that. I recognized a rapper that was in a podcast for Tyndale Community Centre, where he works with the children’s literacy program bringing in hip hop and rap in the community, getting the students involved in creating their own raps/rhymes. The Slam High group displayed a level of creativity I have never seen before. It was interesting to listen to, and it was so entertaining because it was relevant to everyday life. It was their stories from their perspectives; it was their freedom of expression! It was refreshing to hear their ideas.
Also, I loved the energy in the room, because everyone was getting involved in their messaged and in their words. It was an experience that I enjoyed a lot! I also liked the representations of women and how strong they were with their words. They did a piece on male supremacy or their own oppression as females, and embrace themselves as human beings with dignity and respect for themselves, it was so amazing! They seemed so strong and relaxed when doing their performances. I was quite impressed at how much work that takes in order to memorize and create their own poems. That was something that made a huge impact on how I now view poetry and how powerful and fun it can be with your students. It’s something that we can implement in our own classrooms. I liked that they didn’t believe in censorship too, because it was so raw, that’s what made it authentic!
THE HIP-HOP CONFERENCE
To begin with, I really enjoyed the conference Thursday night. There were a good variety of presentations, each interesting in their own way. My favorite was without a doubt the SLAM high poets. The first woman who came up and gave her “do you believe” rendition was amazing, very inspiring. Then the two girls who came up and did a duet were very good. The best though was the young man in the red shirt. He definitely had something genuine to say. My mother, who accompanied me to the conference, said “he seemed like someone who must have bottled up all his emotions for a long time and now he gets to express them through poetry”. I think the letting youth have a voice and express it in such a way is amazing. Those who organize the competitions are really dedicated and really have these teens in mind. In addition to the overall experience being enriching, it also gave me a great idea for my unit plan, and I am very exited about it!
****Hip Hop, Spoken Word, and Youth****
On Thursday, March 4th, I was present at the “Hip Hop, Spoken Word and Youth” lecture. I thought that night was interesting and eye opening. I have never heard slam poetry or seen it preformed. The poems seem to take on a new life when they are preformed by the people that have written them (students from slam High: Sharease King, Kara A and E Dot). I think it is amazing that teachers are giving students the platform where they can express what is on their mind like the way that Hadari Davis has done with Brave New Voices.
Being someone that went into the lecture with very little knowledge regarding Hip Hop, I was glad to hear that there is a program that we as teachers can get a taste of what bringing Hip Hop into the classroom would look like and get the help and guidance in executing the topic in the classroom.
These days we are always being told that we should include students’ stories and interests in the classroom/curriculum but we are not being shown how. Programs like Lyrically minded will help teachers execute the program successfully.
We can talk the talk, but walking the walk is more important … teach us the walk, so we can teach others.
**New Topic: Commercialization and gender roles at the gym**
Until taking this class, I hadn’t notice small details such as language used to describe male and female athletes or the use of color in commercials to reach out to men or women. I still don’t notice many of these things and am quite content with being entertained however I now understand what is going on around me and ask questions about what message this is giving me.
I recently noticed the amount of commercialization at the gym. Everywhere I look I see women in lululemon athletics gear. Women are always primped and looking their best when they go to the gym wearing their expensive workout clothes whereas men can wear any old type of sweats and no one looks twice. Whenever I go work out and am not wearing something that has a label on it, I feel as though I stand out quite a bit. To be honest, it does affect me however I keep telling myself that I’m there to stay in shape and not look good. Why is it that men can wear whatever they want and be sweaty and gross yet women have to keep up the appearance of looking good and not sweating?
The mythology that a good athlete automatically indicates that they are a good person doesn’t really persist as much as it’s suggested in the blog question or in our society. That said, I believe athletes do in fact remain role models and their ability to perform on the ice or track enables them to maintain a special place in the public discourse. The reason for this is not because they are noble human beings but rather because we admire their talents and skills. With the intrusive nature of modern media it is almost impossible for extensive details about athletes’ personal lives to remain secretive and out of the spotlight. As a result, every time an athlete is faced with some form of personal problem, be it legal, marital or financial, the general population finds out about it. However, that does not mean that just because we find out that one athlete is not necessarily a noble human being and worthy of being a role that they do not exist. Take last week’s blog on Tiger Woods as an example. Over the past few months it has become evident, due to his extra marital affairs, that while he is a good golfer, he is not a dignified person. That said, for every golfer like Tiger Woods who is not worthy of our admiration and being a role model there are numerous who are. The same can be said for athletes in every sport. Many of whom, contribute to charities, in many cases their own, spend countless time volunteering and helping out in the community.
The case that was brought up about the Charles Barkley commercial where he declares that he doesn’t want to be a role model goes to show that every athlete is different. Some cherish the role of role model and will go out of their way to be a good example for children while others seem to want to be left alone and don’t embrace their position as role model. That said, I think the stance taken by Charles Barkley, is rather immature and while it goes to show that he shouldn’t be a role model to children, it doesn’t relinquish him from a public responsibility to be a good example. He is an athlete that made millions upon millions of dollars by being in the public eye and having people spend their money to watch and support him and his team. While children shouldn’t necessarily look up to him, he should have the common courtesy to act in a civilized manner and try to avoid acting poorly and setting bad examples for kids.
Concerning role models, I agree with Daryl Elie and a few others that anyone with the spotlight on them for their talent, and, more importantly, who has gained wealth and influence because of it, is expected to act, at the very least, like they are grateful for the opportunity. Just a show of respect towards the people around them, like their families, is more than enough to fulfill the role model role (which, I think, makes the whole controversy around the women’s hockey team celebration very petty indeed). After all, sports people, in particular, need the support of their friends and families in order to undertake such a grueling lifestyle. I think the thing that gulls some people about Tiger Woods is that he was pretentious and hypocritical in his role as a role model, showing off the perfect wife and kids while, at the same time, feeding his addiction. On the other hand, if someone openly rejects the role model role, people will learn not to expect it from him/her.
I liked the way Joseph Romano began his impression of the Hip Hop conference with the question of why anyone would participate in a competition with no prize? This question points to the sheer subversiveness of this art form, which makes a prize seem trivial, irrelevant even. The slam poets are not just showing off their talent, they are sharing something about themselves, the way they look at things and how they empathize with others. It’s entertaining and profoundly personal at the same time. I was especially moved by the young man’s empathy for the look-obsessed woman and the empathy shown by the pair of young women towards their male counterpart’s struggles, something along the lines of “bearing the weight of the world in their pants.” (What was once a fashion atrocity for me now has new meaning). I’m impressed with the excitement and pride that this art form inspires in kids and adults alike, which, I think, Curry Malott and Brad Porfilio in the Media Reader eluded to when they described critical pedagogy that incorporates hip hop and punk rock as “a sense of empowerment needed to transform our dull reality.”
This week’s topic is about athletes and whether or not they make good role models. My response to that question is yes and no. Let’s take a look at how they make good role models. First, these men and women are sacrificing their lives and their bodies for one objective only; achieving perfection in their sport. Plus, these persons successfully achieved what they set their mind to which is something people can look up to.
That being said, does that mean that these men and woman are perfect or that they can’t make mistakes? I don’t think so. People need to understand that celebrities are normal human; they breathe, eat and defecate like all of us. The fact that these persons sweat and bleed like all of us it’s kind of reassuring don’t you think. In the end it proves that when you try hard enough you can achieve your goals even if you are a mere human like all of us. Isn’t that what a role model is for? I would like to make a last remark on what happened with the girls’ hockey team at the Olympics; you go girls! Keep smoking those cigars and drinking those beers you earned it!
***HIP HOP CONFERENCE****
I’m so happy I went to it it was super interesting! Listening to the abilities the speakers had to put words together in such a powerful, meaningful way was amazing. I work with youth in Duffcourt Lachine and it was good to get some ideas about taking interests and a culture like Hip Hop and incorporating it into their education and development.
I find it interesting how the media portrays Hip Hop. It’s as if they would rather expose youth to mindless banter about money and cars, speaking about women in an extremely degrading way, rather than play real Hip Hop that has meaning and relates to many. The media is willing to corrupt its public rather than having them be inspired. The Narcycist spoke of being a politicized artist. It seems as if any politicized song is not allowed to be played.
***HIP HOP CONFERENCE***
I was really impressed and very surprised after experiencing the Hip Hop conference. I can honestly say that I had no idea what Hip Hop was truely all about, and I certainly did not realize the incredible expression of personal, social, political, emotional, sexual views(and many others).
I was most impacted by the Slam Poetry portion of the conference. I was impressed at the courage and confidence the performers/artists displayed at going up and saying what was in their hearts and minds. This type of outlet is not only greatly benficial to them, but also gives the audience a new and fresh way of thinking of viewing certain raised issues or topics. The media has certainly fed me very different views of what hip hop was, not the wonderfully freeing and empowering tool that it is.
As Leanne mentioned earlier, it was exciting to realize that Hip Hop can be used as a wonderful teaching tool in the classroom, and it certainly is of great interest to our youth. Teachers need to change and adapt to the times, as well as capturing their students interests in whatever way they can. Hip Hop will find its way into my classroom!