Teaching the Drake/Kendrick Beef – Last Prequel – “Poetic Justice” – Even When They Were Friends There Were Issues

[This post is part 4 of a series on teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – click here for part 3 – “Hiiipower” and “So Appalled” – How Kendrick Signifies on Kanye] A final lesson I did leading up to my students studying the beef itself was about Kendrick Lamar and Drake co-performing on the 2012 song … Continue reading Teaching the Drake/Kendrick Beef – Last Prequel – “Poetic Justice” – Even When They Were Friends There Were Issues →

Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel 2 – “Hiiipower” and “So Appalled” – How Kendrick Signifies on Kanye

[This post is part 3 of a series on teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – click here for part 2 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context] Here’s a question - a literal AP Lang question - that Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 song “Hiiipower” could have been answering, from the 2010 exam: In his … Continue reading Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel 2 – “Hiiipower” and “So Appalled” – How Kendrick Signifies on Kanye →

Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context

[This post is part 2 of a series - click here for part 1 - Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept] I don’t know if Drake intended to set off the firestorm that eventually happened when he called himself the GOAT on “First Person Shooter” … Continue reading Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context →

Part 2 – If We Shouldn’t Teach Students to “Read Literature Like a Professor,” Then Where Should We Start?

“You come from a long line of great poets, some of the greatest poets since Homer.” -James Baldwin, “A Letter to My Nephew” “Literacy is a process of moments. It isn't a set of skills to be acquired or un-acquired. When students sit down to read or write a text, they are involved in a … Continue reading Part 2 – If We Shouldn’t Teach Students to “Read Literature Like a Professor,” Then Where Should We Start? →

Why We Shouldn’t Teach Students How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Kendrick you do know my language, you just forgot ‘cuz of what public schools had painted” —Kendrick Lamar, “Momma” (2015) A year before COVID, I had a student named D. He was enrolled in my school’s on-level junior English class, which was generally a decently racially diverse class - D was one of like 7-8 … Continue reading Why We Shouldn’t Teach Students How to Read Literature Like a Professor →

Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept

[This post is part 1 of a series - click here for part 2 – Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context] This last year I developed a unit that presented students with one of the most genuinely difficult challenges I’ve ever presented in 17 years of … Continue reading Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept →

Playing Video Games in AP English Literature and Composition – Part 2 – How?

The “is a video game literature?” argument is interesting and I do appreciate reasoning about it - but also, I think we can gain some interesting perspective on real academics at real college institutions - and reputable ones too - who have already settled the argument in their own heads and explored what it would … Continue reading Playing Video Games in AP English Literature and Composition – Part 2 – How? →

Playing Video Games in AP English Literature and Composition – Why?

[This post is part of a broader project I'm calling "Pop Culture Pedagogy" where I write about ways pop culture finds its way into my classroom] Recently, I mentioned attempting to integrate video games in my AP class (along with hip-hop, and movies) in an online forum. Someone sarcastically compared this to having students read … Continue reading Playing Video Games in AP English Literature and Composition – Why? →

The Second Krabappel – or – What is Composition?

[This post is part of a broader project I'm calling "Pop Culture Pedagogy" where I write about ways pop culture finds its way into my classroom] [after class the next day] Bartocrates: You emailed my parents without telling me? Ms. Krabappel: Yes? B: I feel violated. K: I’m supporting you, it’s part of my job. … Continue reading The Second Krabappel – or – What is Composition? →

The Krabappel – or – What Is “AP Literature and Composition” – A Socratic Dialogue in Two Parts

[This post is part of a broader project I'm calling "Pop Culture Pedagogy" where I write about ways pop culture finds its way into my classroom] Part 1 - What is Literature? Edna Krabappel: Okay class, please turn to page 357 of Tedious Times, where we left off yesterday, analyzing Dryprose’s prophetic critique of education … Continue reading The Krabappel – or – What Is “AP Literature and Composition” – A Socratic Dialogue in Two Parts →