CHAPTER 2: Paulo Freire, Bell Hooks, and Tupac Shakur?: Examining Critical/Engaged Pedagogy Using a Hip-Hop Worldview

The educational system in this country is failing our children—namely our children in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities. With the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, both, elementary and secondary schools have been forced to place heavy emphasis on a standards-based, high-stakes education. Based on this premise, schools are charged with assessing and testing the “basic skills” that all students are expected to possess. Supporters of the Act argue that it forces schools to increase their performance and the overall quality of education (Jennings & Rentner, 2006). Additionally, they believe that by creating common expectations for all students, the lagging achievement gaps of racial and low-achieving groups are somehow narrowed (Jennings & Rentner, 2006). However, research has shown that, historically, minority students do not perform as well as students from the dominant culture on standardized tests (Ladson-Billings, 2008). Therefore, it is no surprise that opponents of the Act have noted its discrimination towards students from various minority racial groups (Darling-Hammond, 2006, 2007; Kim & Sunderman, 2005). They also point out the fact that the “basic skills” that standardized tests are designed to measure are based on a “hidden curriculum” that reinforces institutionalized racism (Langhout & Mitchell, 2008)—favoring the dominant culture, while ignoring the voices of minorities. Unable to fully connect with or find the relevancy in standard curriculum and/or pedagogical approaches, these students run the risk of disengaging academically (Langhout & Mitchell, 2008; McMillian, 2003). So what approach can educators utilize to include these often excluded voices? Enter one idea: hip-hop-based education (Hill, 2009).