Examining the Use of Thug Notes in the High School English Classroom

• In Event: Roundtable Session 45
  In Roundtable Session: Antiracist Reading Practice in Curriculum

Abstract

Thug Notes is a supplementary video channel that features a “ghetto” narrator (Sparky Sweets, Ph.D.) giving a critical analysis of classic literature. This paper explores the data collected after Thug Notes asked 200 teachers and 2000 students across the world introduced Thug Notes in their classrooms. The research supports that this model of creative educational content can enrich students’ learning, help students retain themes from the texts and even encourage students to read similar texts by a showcased author. Additionally, Thug Notes seems to work particularly well internationally, in the southern United States, among females, among African American and Latino/a students, and in schools where 60-100% of students are on free or reduced lunch.

Author

• Glenn Allen Phillips, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale