This is my new series where I introduce you to some of the past material I’ve written. I have written skits for special events at church and I have also written short stories, some of which I admit are half-done. Did I tell you, I once created my own entertainment magazine in high school! But I won’t be sharing my little paper bootleg magazine. At least for now. Anyway, welcome to Tannika’s Writing Vault and enjoy!

Here is an article I wrote when I was in college studying English: Professional & Technical Writing with a concentration in Journalism. It was subsequently asked to be published on a Hip Hop site but I can’t seem to find the site anymore.

Hip-Hop As A Learning Tool

By Tannika Moore (c) January 4, 2007

Today is Wednesday. It is a little past three in the afternoon and a young group of students are talking and laughing with each other while awaiting today’s instruction.

Like any teacher, Mr. Alexander Fruchter gathers his teaching materials. But instead of a teacher’s edition and a grade book, he pulls a couple of CDs out of his bag and plugs in the portable CD player. He loads in one of the CDs and presses play.

After the chorus, Evidence (member of Hip Hop group Dilated Peoples) begins spitting 16 bars of rap lyrics on “You Can’t Hide, You Can’t Run”.

“On to me, I’m on to you, it’s no mystery

Better think fast, the future just was history

This is where the plot thickens, regardless of wealth

Cause the worst person to run from is yourself…”

As today’s worksheet, Fruchter gives each student a print out of the song’s lyrics and a Hip Hop quote of the day written response sheet.

If Hip Hop was a person, it would be the most popular football player (maybe Basketball player) in high school, sought after by ten college recruiters. Hip Hop isn’t a person, but it is popular and it continues to grow.

It has travelled from the 1973 block party in New York to the university lecture halls and has finally stopped off at a class of third to eighth graders on the South side of Chicago.

While a host of universities like Stanford add Hip Hop courses to their registration books, Fruchter has opted for a more familiar classroom setting.

“My goal is to teach elementary and high school students in the city. These kids are starting out on their academic career and I feel that these kids can benefit more [from this course],” Fruchter says.

But Fruchter makes it clear that this is not a course simply on Hip Hop history and culture. “I don’t consider this as Hip Hop academia and I’m not saying I am a Hip Hop historian,” Fruchter says.

Instead Fruchter says that this is a course that uses Hip Hop to communicate to the children and teach them psychology and sociology. He also uses this course to enforce reading and writing.

“I call the course ‘You Can Quote Me On That’. It is primarily a psychology and life skills class. But it also teaches poetry techniques, critical thinking skills as well as reading and writing.

For 24-year old Fruchter, teaching grammar school students is nothing new. He went through the Teach for America program where they recruit candidates who will commit to teaching for two years.

After being certified, Fruchter started teaching full time, in 2004, first as a summer school teacher in Los Angeles and then as a second grade teacher at Charles R. Henderson on Chicago’s South side Englewood area.

Fruchter made the switch to fifth grade in 2005, at Henderson. So, to most of the 15-20 students that show up to his “You Can Quote Me On That!” course, Fruchter is a familiar face.

Stay tuned for part 2…