Associate professor Lauren Kelly uses Hip Hop and Reggae to teach students

Meet Dr Lauren Kelly, a second generation Jamaican, who is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University Urban Social Justice of Teacher Education, where her role is to train teachers.

Dr Kelly, the daughter of Jamaicans Crafton (Tony) and Olivine Kelly, has authored a book called ‘Teaching with Hip Hop In the 7-12 Grade Classroom: A guide to Supporting Cultural Development Through Popular Texts’. The book serves as a guide for educators in the teaching of their students.

She began her teaching career in Japan, then spent a decade teaching in New York City classrooms. Throughout this time, she constantly sought innovative ways to have her students more involved and committed to learning.

“I recognized that during my school years, the curriculum did not reflect my life experiences and so I wanted to ensure that my students had experiences that reflected their lives, things that they could relate to so, I found that Hip Hop, and in some cases Reggae, reflected the life experiences that they could relate to,” said Dr. Kelly.

Dr. Kelly mentioned that in cultures where it’s applicable, reggae and hip-hop texts can be used interchangeably. She emphasized that the goal of using Hip Hop and Reggae for teaching, particularly in urban areas, is to foster understanding about diversity, integrated communities, and racial dynamics, and to observe how students respond to these various societal trends.“Teaching impacts the lives of students and the community,” she said noting that both genres are a multiplier and impact life in a profound way.

Furthermore, when describing the implementation of using Hip Hop and Reggae for teaching, she mentioned that students and teachers select texts, which can include song lyrics, images, or videos, for classroom discussions,“Because the lyrics are more connected to the students, the discussion is centred around the song which is connected to the students’ experience with the teacher focusing the discussion on the objective text. The students get a better understanding of the text because they can critically read and understand it.”

Dr. Kelly pointed out that since music reflects our world, it helps students gain a better understanding of the socio-political impact on their lives, “It is important to use that method than the standard text as students relate more to Hip Hop and Reggae than to The Great Gatsby.”

She has also observed that many students find it easier to discuss life experiences because they can relate to the music of Hip Hop and Reggae used in teaching. Her book, she shared, is a teaching tool that teachers can use in crafting lessons to fit the particular circumstance of their students.

“The book is a guide [but] it’s not a set teaching tool. Teachers can interchange the teaching text that adopt to the life experiences of their students.”

This associate professor is also the founder of the annual Hip Hop Youth Research and Activism Conference. Throughout her time of teaching in New York, she developed courses in Hip Hop Literature and Culture, Spoken Word poetry, and Theatre Arts.

As for research, Dr. Kelly focuses on adolescent critical literacy development, Black feminist theory, Hip Hop pedagogy, critical consciousness, and the development of critical, culturally sustaining pedagogies.

Her work has received national recognition, with accolades such as the 2023 Nasir Jones Fellowship at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, the 2022 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, the 2021 Save the Kids Hip Hop Activism Scholar-Activist of the Year Award, and the 2020 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Writing and Literacies Special Interest Group Steve Cahir Early Career Award.