Steven Potter
Abubacarr Darboe records a rap verse at the Central Library.
Kids love rap music. But science? Not so much.
So when Kate Lewandowski, the sixth-grade science teacher at Blackhawk Middle School on the city’s north side, was looking to engage her students more, she tapped an unconventional source for teaching assistance: local rappers.
For the second year in a row, Lewandowski has collaborated with the Urban Community Arts Network, or UCAN, which works to promote the Madison rap scene. Six rappers came into Lewandowski’s three science classes to work with students, helping them craft rhymes and create rap songs on topics like greenhouse gases and climate change.
“It’s been a huge motivator,” says Lewandowski. “I have students that haven’t cared much about science and haven’t put in much of an effort, even though they’re very capable. With this project, I’ve seen so many students like that turning in their assignments, raising their hand in class and asking questions — I haven’t seen that all semester,” she says. “I even called home to tell some of their parents.”
Lewandowski says the project is engaging a subset of students in particular. “The kids I’m seeing more engagement from are the black and multiracial students. A lot of my white students are really into it too, as are the students of other cultures,” she says. “But the white students are really into school anyway; school is a very white culture. The hip-hop culture and rapping encompasses all those cultures, so [this reaches] my students that don’t feel that school speaks to them.” Blackhawk’s student population is 69% non-white, according to school district numbers.
The students aren’t the only ones benefitting from the collaboration. The teaching is a paid gig for the artists, thanks to grant funding from Dane Arts and the city of Madison’s Emerging Opportunities program.
While the students may be avid rap fans, many found that writing a rap of their own was a challenge at first. “It was hard coming up with raps on the topic,” says sixth-grader Abubacarr Darboe, 12, adding that the project helped him understand that the use of fossil fuels has increased the global temperature.
After the in-class writing sessions, however, the students quickly became pros. “The first day, they think they can’t do it, but by the third day, they’ve totally got it,” says Crown Vic, one of the local emcees working with the students.
“Rhymes have been used forever to help kids learn,” says UCAN president Karen Reece. “And music, over the years, has shown to be a great accompaniment to lesson plans — it works in your brain in different ways than just memorizing facts.”
Some of Lewandowski’s favorite rhymes include: “Malaria, West Nile, Lyme disease / If we fix these things we can live at ease” and “H2O, or you can call it water / doubles the temp of CO2, it gets hotter.”
And the program just keeps improving. “Last year was good, but we were all still learning,” she says. “This year, the science content in the verses is better and also the rapping is better.”
In mid-May, the students recorded their songs at the Central Library. The project culminates with an in-school performance on June 3 and a public performance at the Warner Park Recreation Center on June 5 as part of UCAN’s summer concert series kick-off.
