In world music ensembles such as African and African Caribbean percussion ensembles, the Gamelan ensemble, and the Latin marimba ensemble, members may sing a song, play instruments, and dance simultaneously. This practice is known as music multitasking. For musicians in Western art music traditions, music multitasking can be a challenge. This…

In order to bring music of Puerto Rico to the general music classroom, it is important to understand the sociocultural and sociohistorical context of the music. The traditional genre of plena shares cultural threads with West Africa, Spain, and indigenous (Taíno) culture. Commonly known as "El Periodico Cantado" (the singing newspaper),…

Background/Context: With the incessant wave of anti-Black and anti-immigrant sentiments, the extant political situation in the contemporary United States presents an ideal space, place, and time to investigate Black immigrant students' experiences and examine the ways in which dominant racial and linguistic ideologies shape their literate…

If an educator is to take a critical stance, teach students to do the same, and design lessons that engage students in thoughtful discussions and actions surrounding issues of social justice, then discussions of politics, race, culture, economics and systems of power are crucial to this work, and the use of hip-hop is a worthwhile endeavour. In…

To demonstrate the significance of cultural crossings in Texas and how cultural exchanges can inform teachers and students in the areas of history, fine arts, geography, and social studies, the author constructed a Summer 2013 teacher workshop for Texas K-12 teachers through the Smithsonian Affiliated Institute of Texan Cultures. The author…

"Cultural Collision and Collusion" addresses the complexity of problems that surround youth culture and school culture. By broadening the scholarly dialogue and examining and disseminating relevant research to practitioners, the book seeks to provide insight into youth culture and some manifestations of popular culture (e.g., hip-hop). In…

For David E. Kirkland, the New English Education locates English language arts in the realities of youth, where texts emerge from students' lives, and the notions of reading and writing in English classrooms are open to revision. Kirkland reflects on how "postmodern Black experience, especially as seen in hip-hop, gives English teachers one way of…