Hip Hop like any other type of music is meant to entertain the crowd while delivering a certain message and it has quite a large number of listeners. Jamilah Evelyn’s, “The Miseducation of Hip-Hop – Discrimination in Education”, makes valid points on both sides of the argument that the genre of music is harming the educational morals and values of today’s youth. Hip-hop is a music genre or type of music which is associated to deliver some message but it is mostly associated with hardcore or ‘Gangsters’’ who sings or raps the hip-hop lyrics in way of talking their bad side and how they deals with it for example tension and conflicts with other members or with other gangs or even some run-ins with the police.
‘Miseducation’ is the selective getting of information without getting the whole content leading to being mislead in your decision making. In the case of miseducation of hip-hop a person or persons get some few selected information about the hip-hop music and misinterpret it thus altering the real meaning and hence ends up taking wrong move positively or negatively as far as the social context is concerned. This may lead to discrimination in education where the persons surrounding you may create a negative attitude towards your behaviors.
Jason Hinmon experienced a life of his own after he transferred to the Delaware University from Morehouse College. Hinmon was seen as a hoodlum of the hip-hop which leads to discrimination and stereo typing but on my own opinion it was not worth it. There were a number of considerations which must be put in place. On the other hand, Dr. Midgette makes the point when he says “I used to wear bell-bottoms, but I learned to dress a certain way if I was negotiating the higher education maze.” (Midgette pp. 559, 2008) and that there are different ways to dress for different occasions. The educators need to understand that the world is changing and what was being done or practiced in the old days has changed. The music has as well changed and sometimes students’ background plays a key role in this. The way a person is brought up and the cultural background with the kind of music at time has implications to ones behavior. Hip-hop might be seen ‘dirty’ or ‘gangster-like’ and hence having a real understanding of the genre is a great deal.
Hinmon dresses in a way other college mates and the educators feel it was not good, but I think having transferred from another college, there are a number of issues to be considered before making judgment. The former college was part and parcel in shaping the destiny of Hinmon. He also dresses according to the current tread of life. There are some motivations which dictate his course of behavior. Hinmon argues that all you need is to be yourself. Davren Noble, a junior at the University refers to always dressing a certain way as “just keepin it real”, I would argue with his reasoning. Noble says “Why should I have to change myself to get a job? If anyone wants to hire me but they don’t like my braids, then either one of two things will happen: They’ll just have to get over it or I just won’t get the job.” (Noble pp. 563, 2008).
Midgette has the right to maintain that students like Hinmon have to behave differently. Midgette says that some students are even seen reciting songs’ lyrics while walking in college instead of doing something constructive like recalling what will be in their exams paper. He believes that change must be there no matter what. If one wants to be an academia one should behave as one. He argues that regardless of all other underlying conditions change will be brought by what you want your destination to be. Contrary, Midgette needs accept the fact that, most people have different orientation in life and a times there are the ones which determines a person’s character at the moment. There is also a big gap between the times of Midgette young times and the present times where evolution has been everywhere in everything. Hip Hop’s clear meaning needs to be understood and not to discriminate others.
Reference:
Evelyn, J. (Ed.). (2008). The miseducation of hip-hop - discrimination in education. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment