Sticky Situation: Navigating Teacher Identity and Cultural Contexts in the Hip-Hop Classroom

• In Event: "You Ain't Gotta Lie to Kick It": Exploring Teacher Identity in Hip-Hop Education

Abstract

Objective
Inviting HHBE into classrooms without encouraging the teachers in these classrooms to self-reflect can lead to difficult moments for both the students and the teachers. Hip-hop pedagogues must confront the racialized, gendered, classed, and sexualized identities that may impact their teaching of hip-hop. According to Gay and Kirkland (2003), “teachers need to have a thorough understanding of their own cultures and the cultures of different ethnic groups, as well as how this affects teaching and learning behaviors” (p. 182). This paper critically examines the role of teacher identity in teaching hip-hop in secondary schools and attempts to foster necessary dialogue about differential methods of teaching popular culture for teachers from diverse backgrounds.

Conceptual Framework

As a form of culturally relevant pedagogy, hip-hop based education (HHBE) is often embraced as a means of connecting classroom material to students’ lives outside of school. However, hip-hop also has relevance for the teachers in these spaces. Bolgatz (2005) explains, “… distinguishing between personal experience and popular culture is artificial: Popular culture is part of our personal experiences” (p. 50). While this can make it easier for teachers to relate to their students, it can also cause tension in the classroom. Gay and Kirkland (2003) explain, “… teachers knowing who they are as people, understanding the contexts in which they teach, and questioning their knowledge and assumptions are as important as the mastery of techniques for instructional effectiveness. Critical racial and cultural consciousness should be coupled with self-reflection .…” (p. 181).

Modes of Inquiry and Data
The data discussed in this paper is derived from a qualitative teacher-researcher case study that this author conducted in a class entitled, “Hip Hop Literature and Culture,” a semester-long English elective in a public high school in New York. The data for this presentation focuses on teacher-researcher memos and transcriptions of audio-recorded class discussions.

Conclusions and Significance
Flores and Day (2006) argue that “too much investment of one’s emotional self may lead to personal vulnerability, feelings of inadequacy at being unable to engage everyone in learning all the time, and in extreme cases overwork and breakdown” (p. 221). As a black, female teacher in a hip-hop in a classroom that was racially diverse, this author struggled frequently with negotiating her identities with her role as a facilitator. There were moments in which she was hesitant to speak about or point out issues of race or misogyny out of concern that this might turn students away from engaging in dialogue. Teachers need tools for navigating these moments of tension in order to create opportunities for critical engagement.


References
Bolgatz, J. (2005). Talking race in the classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Flores, M. A., & Day, C. (2006). Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: A
multi-perspective study. Teaching and teacher education, 22(2), 219-232.
Gay, G., & Kirkland, K. (2003). Developing cultural critical consciousness and self-reflection in
preservice teacher education. Theory into practice, 42(3), 181-187.

Author

• Lauren Kelly, Teachers College, Columbia University