[This past year the author, a teacher at Project Hope, received a mini-grant from the A.L.R.I. to work on this project to develop a curriculum integrating blues, rap/hip-hop, and reggae music with writing. This article is an abridged version of her final report.--Ed.]
I hate writing and I'm no good at it!" The familiar moans and groans filled the writing and grammar classroom every time I gave an assignment to the women at Project Hope. I was perplexed as to why our learners could talk for hours on any subject from the weather to the subtle diversity of mangoes from different countries, but once ideas had to be transferred onto paper, a huge mental block was formed. I was equally astonished how every song on the radio could be effortlessly memorized, but the powers of selective memory made it impossible for many to recall that a "noun is a person, place, or thing" (despite the hundreds of times I have said it in class). Music is familiar to everyone because it is part of our everyday lives. It is a useful tool for extracting voice in writing from our students. If I integrated music into our writing/grammar class curriculum, would it help the learners overcome those "writin' block blues"?
Blues, spirituals, jazz, rap, hip-hop, and rhythm/blues music were my intended media for the curriculum of this mini-grant. To begin the brainstorming process for this curriculum, I searched the Internet to see if any previous experimentation with music and creative writing had been done. The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute's Curricular Resources site (http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum) produced several articles regarding curricula on the history of various genres of music, including blues, spirituals, and rap. Although these lessons are focused on K-12 or college levels, I generated many new ideas based on them for our adult basic education classes. A few useful independent websites were found by entering queries such as "music in the classroom," "teaching blues and rap," or "writing and music" on a search engine. For background knowledge for specific performers, general books on jazz, blues, and rap were obtained from the library.
My original strategy was that this course would be centered primarily on blues music. Since the blues are essentially a "musical story" of a person's troubles and survivals, I felt the learners in my writing class might find similarities between the music and their own personal stories. But problems arose from the first lesson, called "Argh! I've Got the Blues!" (see Sample Lesson, below). The women complained that the music was too old and boring. "That music puts me to sleep," a few women remarked. Even the older women (thirties through fifties), who I thought would enjoy the blues more than rap, did not have positive reactions to the songs. Most griped because the songs were "not only slow, but they are making me more depressed than I already was!" The women were, however, able to analyze Bessie Smith's and T-Bone Walker's blues quite well. The brainstorm exercises we did were successful--many women were able to verbally express what they thought the blues are. On the other hand, I am not sure the women felt blues music to be a means of overcoming troubles or quite the "therapeutic" device that blues musicians feel it is. Regardless of the objections to the music, some women produced blues that were very impressive. One woman wrote "GED Blues," a short essay on the trouble she was having trying to pass the test. Another wrote about the hardships of living in a shelter with other women who have very different backgrounds along with shelter rules that restrict her from leading a "normal" life. A woman distraught from the obstacles to losing weight wrote a poem entitled "Weight Blues."
Given the responses to the blues music, I decided to experiment with rap/hip-hop music. I chose Digable Planets because they have a clear, jazzy, relaxed, hip-hop sound that is more accessible than many of the rap artists today. They are an older hip-hop group that began producing albums in the early '90s. Reactions of the women were, again, of disappointment. The younger women (18 to 30) laughed and said, "This is old school!" A few older women shook their heads and remarked, "I can't understand this rap stuff!" Once again, however, their analysis of the lyrics was insightful and well done. Some women even helped me understand certain phrases of which I was unsure. A "five senses" exercise was not only beneficial for comprehending the themes of the song, but also served to be a good tool for a writing exercise, "Where I'm From."
In early May I noticed a few women were beginning to apply for jobs, scholarships, and colleges. I stressed the importance of giving specific details and stories of personal experience. A few women felt their pasts were not something they thought was appropriate for such an important essay. I played the song, "Everything Is Everything." The women recognized that Lauryn Hill understood that "despite the struggles in our youth, our life experiences are important on how we got to where we are today." Another woman commented, "She's saying that life is a game; before you start to play, you lose if you have negative thinking--negative thinking won't get you anywhere." I proceeded to use an exercise from Writing from Life: Telling Your Soul's Story, by Susan W. Albert, Ph.D., to begin the brainstorming process for writing essays. This lesson seemed to be the most successful (partly because the women adore Lauryn Hill); it was the only time I received an essay from every single woman! This exercise was a good self-esteem builder and also produced many well-written essays.
Some students (mostly from the Caribbean) wondered why I had not been using any reggae music in my classes. Since students were stressed from the usual events of their lives and taking their GED tests, I decided to try a relaxation exercise. The women really enjoy Bob Marley's music, so I did not receive any objections to "Three Little Birds." The brainstorm exercise about "how I relax" was interesting because many women could not recall the last time they really relaxed. With all the chaos in their lives, the only time they had to "relax" was when they were sleeping, and even that time was extremely limited.
Overall, these experimental lesson plans were successful in producing essays from the learners at Project Hope. The biggest complaint was, "What does this have to do with getting my GED?" As a result, I found myself constantly relating the assignments to the skills important for writing a good essay. My other suggestions would be the following: 1) The internet is an invaluable resource for the most current information regarding popular music today. The instructor should utilize it as much as possible. 2) Try to stay as up-to-date as possible with the popular music your students listen to. They tend to be more interested in learning if they already know the songs by heart. 3) Be flexible and open to the learners' suggestions. A participatory approach is best for this type of experimental class.
<biblio>Albert, Susan W. Writing from Life: Telling Your Soul's Story. Putnam Books, 1996. Excellent activities for women to write about their lives. Section on "glories, gifts, and graces" is particularly useful for writing cover letters for jobs and essays for scholarships or college. Great for self-esteem builders.
Andrade, Chalene. "They Lived in Music--Blues Women Sing Their Song." Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute's Curricular Resources, Curriculum Unit 97.05.01 (1997). <http://130.132.143.21/ynhti/curriculum/units/1997/5/97.05.01.x.html> Activity #2, entitled "My Blues," is a useful creative writing activity. Includes a performance piece (play) that might be interesting to read in a literature/history class.
Bissell, Patricia. "How to Blues." Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute's Curricular Resources, Curriculum Unit 97.05.03 (1997). <http://130.132.143.21/ynhti/curriculum/units/1997/5/97.05.03.x.html> Good background information on the blues and how they might be useful in the classroom. Fun "musical" activities, but a knowledge of musical theory and music history is important. Mostly for a K-8 classroom setting.
"Bobmarley.com." Personal home page, 1999. <http://bobmarley.com> Internet website containing extensive background on Bob Marley as well as all the lyrics to his songs.
Colburn, Phil. "I Talk to Me." From The Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, edited by Jack Canfield, et al. Florida: Health Communications, Inc., 1999. A good poem to inspire relaxation and taking care of self.
Cooper, B.L. Images of American Society in Popular Music: A Guide to Reflective Teaching. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Inc., 1982. Provides information on many crucial topics of discussion in music, but outdated for a class on popular music. Most music discussed is from the 50s to the 70s. Some discussion of spirituals, blues, and jazz included.
"Harry's Blues Lyrics Online." Personal home page, 28 May 2000. Incredible resource for just about any blues lyrics needed. Great background and history information on the blues. Good explanation of the blues "language." Constantly updated to provide more blues lyrics every day.
"Hip Hop 101." General College of the University of Minnesota, 2000. <http://www.gen.umn.edu/faculty_staff/sirc/hip_hop.html> Not a very complete page but has good ideas on why it is important to understand rap lyrics. Contains sample essay by college student.
"The Hitlist Network: Hip Hop Archives." Homepage of the Hitlist Corporation, 2000. <http://www.hiphoparchives.com> Resource for hip hop lyrics. Great because it gives a "printer-friendly" version of the lyrics.
Oliver, Paul. Conversation with the Blues. Cambridge, UK, 1997. Very interesting resource for personal narratives of blues artists. Helpful to present these narratives to class to show how the blues has been a "therapeutic" medium and natural process in many Black Americans' lives. Includes compact disc recording of actual blues artists' interviews and clips of their performances.
"The Original Hip-Hop (Rap) Lyrics Archive." Personal home page, 05 November 1999. <http://www.ohhla.com/index.htm> Another invaluable resource for rap lyrics. Constantly updated to provide the latest popular rap lyrics.
Rhodes, Henry A. "The Evolution of Rap Music in the United States." Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute's Curricular Resources, Curriculum Unit 93.04.04 (1993). <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/1993/4/93.04.04.x.html> Lesson plan #2 is an effective writing activity for students to create their own rap. Good resource for summary of rap music. Short, but informative section about women rappers. Information is slightly outdated (no information on such influential female artists as Lauryn Hill).
Williams, Sloan E. "A Guide Through the Culture of the Blues." Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute's Curricular Resources, Curriculum Unit 97.05.11 (1997). <http://130.132.143.21/ynhti/curriculum/units/1997/5/97.05.11.x.html> Detailed curriculum on the history of the blues and how to teach it using a multi-disciplinary approach. Gives background of the blues form--knowledge of music theory is important.
<text>1) Introduction--Discussion of the importance of creative writing in a GED Writing and Grammar class. Class brainstorm: How does creative writing relate to getting your GED? Purpose: For learners to understand that writing is writing and to realize that this is practice in "putting thoughts down on paper." Good practice for "brainstorming," an important skill to have on the essay portion of the writing skills test.
2) What are the "blues"? Class brainstorm of images that first come to mind with this phrase. Prompt questions: When do you get the blues? How do you feel when you've got the blues? What do you do to get over the blues? Why do you think people sing the blues? What kind of people, do you think, sing the blues? How can music express emotions or feelings? Where do you think the blues came from?
3) Listening/comprehension exercise--Boogie Woogie Red: "They Was Always Here" and "So Much Good Feeling" from Conversation with the Blues. Hand out copy of transcript; lyrics are hard to understand. Read narrative aloud after listening to each track. Comprehension question: According to Boogie Woogie Red, why is there "good feeling" in the blues?
4) Listening/comprehension exercise--Robert Curtis Smith: "It's Me As I Is" and Edwin Buster Pickens: "To Have the Blues Within" from Conversation with the Blues. Discussion question: Do these men sing the blues for the same reason you feel blue?
5) Listening exercise--Bessie Smith: "St. Louis Blues." Explain "blue note" and show example ("evenin' sun go down"). Discussion question: In this particular song, why does Bessie Smith sing the blues? Examine expressions and figurative language: "pulls that man 'round by her apron strings," "make a freight train jump the track," and "makes a preacher ball the jack."
6) Listening exercise (great for a Monday morning!)--T-Bone Walker: "Call It Stormy Monday, But Tuesday Is Just as Bad." Writing assignment: When was the last time you had the blues? This assignment does not necessarily have to be done in any particular type of structure; it can be in the form of a poem, short story, or essay.