Studies have found that millennials are greatly influenced by mass media such as films, music and hip hop culture which serve a function in identity formation, lifestyle choices, and perspectives on critical areas of their lives. For many students, especially minority urban youth, hip hop texts serve as a basis for the formation of notions of self within and outside of formal educational spaces. An important shift in the focus of teacher training discussions is the move toward a willingness to make inquiry student-focused, rather than predominantly teacher-focused. In addition to the political and legal mandates imposed by No Child Left Behind legislation, there is a moral imperative to investigate and develop ways to best meet the needs of all students, especially those most in danger of truly being left behind. In 'A Hip Hop Pedagogy: Effective Teacher Training for the Millennial Generation, ' Dr. Carol A. O'Connor explores factors contributing to the enhancement of teacher preparedness and provides answers to the questions... How does formal teacher training prepare teachers to meet students' needs? How does experiential training affect teacher preparedness? How do the characteristics of students from diverse backgrounds impact teacher preparedness? What recommendations do teachers propose to inform practice and enhance preparedness? The significance of Dr. O'Connor's timely study lies in its likely contributions to policy, practice, and the amelioration of the harmful neglect of student needs. It also may result in the refinement of existing theories of learning, the generation of new theories, and may serve as a starting point for additional research in these areas. These contributions to the body of knowledge are expected to occur within a current societal context where greater accountability for performance and achievement is expected of students, teachers, and administrators.
About the Author: Carol O'Connor is the president of the Rhyme-N-Reason Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists talented youth from Jackson, Mississippi, to Cape Coast, Ghana, focusing on education via hip-hop. Ms. O'Connor has spent most of her life in education, teaching both high school and college level English courses. Her PhD work at the Jackson State University focused on hip-hop and education. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a M. Ed from the University of Guam. She has lived all around the United States and abroad in Ghana, Ethiopia, Dubai.