There is nothing particularly new about teaching through song. I'm pretty sure that the Animaniacs "Nations of the World" (below) is the only reason why I was able to successfully pass a 5th grade African geography test. Hell I'm still singing the musical masterpiece that is They Might Be Giants "Days of the Week" song (work is the last thing on my mind!).
Though I have fond (and in the case of They Might Be Giants, inexplicably recent) memories of these sorts of jingles, there has always been a certain... I'll call it cheesiness to educational songs. Some might go so far as to call it lameness but that might be a bit unfair, given the age group that most of these sorts of materials are being created for. Songs like "Nations of the World" are for children - deigned to help excite, entertain, and educate all at the same time. So from a more adult perspective, they do come off as lacking a certain... sophistication. Of course this begs the question "why are there not comparable educational equivalents for older students?". Wouldnt we all like a catchy little tune to learn to? Perhaps something a bit more our age?
The short answer is "not everyone thinks so", but thats a rant for another time. The important thing is some people know better, and they're doing something about it. Take a listen (player may not load in all RSS readers)
Or perhaps a something more in line with economic principles will strike your fancy.
The group responsible for these songs is Rhythm, Rhyme, Results out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and their efforts are based on a very simple concept. "Textbooks alone have limited ability to engage students. Disengaged students often underachieve." And so they make educational rap music. "The Civil War" might not have the catchy beats of a Timberland produced track, or the lyrical smoothness of Kayne West's latest single. But you know what? For an educational song, its pretty damn good. And its actually palatable to someone over the age of 10. I took a fantastic class devoted to the Civil War in High School. I love military history. And I had a great instructor to boot. But no part of that entire class was as engaging as RRR's 3 minute song (which, I might add, I've listened to 4 times already since this morning),
Is educational rap a magic bullet? Most certainly not. Just as with Educational Games, Educational Music presents an opportunity to supplement - to reach new students, or impact learning in different ways than is possible with existing teaching techniques. But its great to see a company like RRR making an effort to bring music and education together for a slightly more advanced audience.
It might not be 2Pac, but its still good enough for my iPod. How about yours?
Though I have fond (and in the case of They Might Be Giants, inexplicably recent) memories of these sorts of jingles, there has always been a certain... I'll call it cheesiness to educational songs. Some might go so far as to call it lameness but that might be a bit unfair, given the age group that most of these sorts of materials are being created for. Songs like "Nations of the World" are for children - deigned to help excite, entertain, and educate all at the same time. So from a more adult perspective, they do come off as lacking a certain... sophistication. Of course this begs the question "why are there not comparable educational equivalents for older students?". Wouldnt we all like a catchy little tune to learn to? Perhaps something a bit more our age?
The short answer is "not everyone thinks so", but thats a rant for another time. The important thing is some people know better, and they're doing something about it. Take a listen (player may not load in all RSS readers)
Or perhaps a something more in line with economic principles will strike your fancy.
The group responsible for these songs is Rhythm, Rhyme, Results out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and their efforts are based on a very simple concept. "Textbooks alone have limited ability to engage students. Disengaged students often underachieve." And so they make educational rap music. "The Civil War" might not have the catchy beats of a Timberland produced track, or the lyrical smoothness of Kayne West's latest single. But you know what? For an educational song, its pretty damn good. And its actually palatable to someone over the age of 10. I took a fantastic class devoted to the Civil War in High School. I love military history. And I had a great instructor to boot. But no part of that entire class was as engaging as RRR's 3 minute song (which, I might add, I've listened to 4 times already since this morning),
Is educational rap a magic bullet? Most certainly not. Just as with Educational Games, Educational Music presents an opportunity to supplement - to reach new students, or impact learning in different ways than is possible with existing teaching techniques. But its great to see a company like RRR making an effort to bring music and education together for a slightly more advanced audience.
It might not be 2Pac, but its still good enough for my iPod. How about yours?
I always knew you were the man, MC Blanc. I love it. And just like all the great rappers, you were clearly ahead of your time.
How was the Relativity Rap received on stage?
This thought occurred to me years ago when we were still "Rappers" instead of "Hip Hop Artists." My performance name was MC Blanc and he was of that "angry wrapper" genre. He was angry not because of his conditions growing up but because of the degradation in rigor of the high school science curriculum. Some "artists" of the time wore clocks (e.g. Morris Day), but MC Blanc wore two clock to demonstrate the effects of relativity (more on this later).
So my idea was to teach the concepts of physics and science in general with rap.
The (Special) Relativity Rap went something like this:
I didn't come here today to talk to you
about molecular clouds or CO2 [read: see-oh-2]
I'm MC Blanc and I'm in your face
to talk to you about time and space.
There was a guy named Al out in Germany
said nothin' goes faster than light -- that's "c"
Time dilates and length contracts
If you don't know why, man, I'll show you the facts!
That's about all I can remember, but you get the idea. Time dilation, Lorenz contraction, all in iambic couplets.
Maybe someday I'll don the "Hammer Pants" and gold lamé jacket again and come out of retirement.
It seemed like a good idea at the time...
This one helped me with AP Euro in my Sophomore year of high school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQycQ8DABvc
I know I can still say, or rather sing, the names of the 50 states in alphabetical order from learning the song "Fifty Nifty United States" in 8th grade chorus for the '76 Bicentennial!