What does Kanye have to say about the education system as we currently know it? I am not sure exactly, but I take cues of inspiration from listening to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy's opening. Which seems to allude that we as teachers are losing grip of the students, and that the problem is that we think we are able to gain the students attention. I believe this 'Dark Fantasy' is the sad reality of affairs we live in today as teachers. I will break down a few of Kanye's verses in this song that suggest this.
Nicki Minaj opens that :
You might think you've peeked the sceneYou haven't, the real one's far too meanThe watered down one, the one you knowWas made up centuries ago
When we think about this, Nicki begins to suggest that the reality that we are living in is fake. We are ignorant to what really is. We are invited to take the red pill and dive deeper into whats happening. I believe that it can't hurt to see what these stars have to say. We don't have to agree but we ought to listen, because quite frankly if their popularity means anything, our students are listening.
I fantasized 'bout this back in ChicagoMercy, mercy me, that MurcielagoThat's me, the first year that I blowHow you say broke in Spanish? Me no hablo
What I presume here we are witnessing is the idea of success from a person who was fed up for the education system as we know it (obvious from listening to College Drop-Out). What is the very first treasures of success we witness? We hear about his car and the feeling of not being broke. Now if we think about this, students are hearing this and many who listen obviously empathize and agree with this sentiment. We as teachers need to pay attention that our students will be asking the obvious question at times, how will *insert class* make me money? So we as a teacher have to decide how our classrooms will respond. Are we going to respond by teaching towards a job?
Me drown sorrow in that DiabloMe found bravery in my bravadoDJs need to listen to the modelsYou ain't got no fucking Yeezy in Serrato?(You ain't got no Yeezy, nigga?)
If we do teach toward a job, this trivializes most of the efforts and lofty ideas in the classroom. It becomes an effort to just do what is told. However this isn't satistfying.As Mr.Wests points out in the treasures , the money, there is something hollow(creating pseudo-bravery, partying with models etc), he has drown it in something.
Look like a fat booty Celine DionSex is on fire, I'm the king of Leona LewisBeyond the truestHey, teacher, teacher, tell me how do you respond to students
Here Mr.West clearly suggests that he is still trying to drown out the hollowness of the life (in this case with sex). Then he poses the question of how are you going to respond to the students like him? Do you want your students to end up with this mindset as well? He does a great job of suggesting the responsibility is ours. I ultimately belive that he is suggesting that our teaching method has to leave the student fulfilled.
And refresh the page and restart the memory?Respark the soul and rebuild the energy?We stopped the ignorance, we killed the enemiesSorry for the night demons that still visit me
Here he gives characteristics of this fulfilled student. The students memory of the material is alert. There is a soul behind the subject and there is a certain energy at work. Lastly and most importantly, the ignorance that the student had, vanishes.
The more and more I hear this song , I think about the type of ways we teach. I believe that it is most likely that Kanye was taught primarily with drills in mind. His teachers were either teaching mundanley towards a job(when we think about how trivial the money becomes in this song) or just teaching for the sake of teaching ( as we have to take into consideration on the College Dropout where he mentions the best students working for Cheesecake factory). The classroom has to be more than these two things. We as teachers need to be deliberate in our goal. And this goal has to leave the student fulfilled. Otherwise we have the following issue:
At the mall, there was a seanceJust kids, no parentsThen the sky filled with heronsI saw the devil in a Chrysler LeBaron
And the hell, it wouldn't spare usAnd the fires did declare usBut after that, took pills, kissed an heiressAnd woke up back in Paris
Where our students will continue to empathize with Mr.West, and we as teachers will be blind to the disinterest in our students(no parents were there). However we are still thinking that our current ways of teaching are enough. The students will be empty in one way or another (money or the lack of a job) and they will be consumed ultimately by material posessions.
Thankfully the song ends with this just being a vision. However visions can become reality. Lets figure out how to fulfill students in our classroom before the Dark Fantasy becomes real.
Peace, Love, Unity, God Bless and Keep Safe
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Shout outs: Mr.West, Dr.Ellington
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Shout outs: Mr.West, Dr.Ellington
This is an interesting read.
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