Hello again, forward-looking world! We’re doubly excited to tell you all about an amazing new book, Education Nation by Milton Chen. Dr. Chen has worked extensively in some of the coolest edu-related organizations around. After working on “Sesame Street,” “Electric Company” and “3,2,1 Contact,” he eventually became Executive Director of The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) – overseeing such innovative, useful initiatives as Edutopia.org.

Not only is Education Nation a powerful synthesis of some of the most promising ideas in education reform (read it!), it mentions Flocabulary as an innovative, proven academic resource. We’re honored, and extend a huge thanks to Dr. Chen for his interest and support.

If you haven’t already, please be sure to check out Edutopia.org for best-practices, teacher-reviewed resources, free content, and much more. Happy end of August, HHC!

We stumbled on to this and were truly delighted – its like an infomercial for Flocab!

Follow Rachel Amburgey, Secondary Language Arts Program Planner for the School District of Palm Beach County in FL, as she narrated www.flocabulary.com, pointing out free teacher resources and focusing on our SAT Vocabulary program.

Thanks to Rachel, Lee and all the Flocab fans in Palm Beach. Next time, let us know in advance and we’ll gladly come by for an interview – and some beach time

Happy Memorial Day!

We need your help. This Saturday and Sunday, Fox News will air an hour-long documentary on the state of American education called “Fighting for Our Children’s Minds.” For the show, host Tucker Carlson interviewed Arne Duncan, Sarah Palin, and Flocabulary co-founders Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison, among others. His purported goal was to investigate the problems in our schools and explore ways to improve them. Flocabulary agreed to participate, believing that we’d get a fair portrayal and our program would be allowed to speak for itself.

Tucker Carlson

But Mr. Carlson doesn’t seem happy to simply report. Instead, in a scathing blog post on his website, he accuses educators who use Flocabulary of putting “dunce caps on our kids.” He calls Flocabulary a “mindless… get-educated-quick scheme.” In a TV appearance Friday morning, Mr. Carlson falsely stated “there’s no actual evidence that this works. At all.”

Disagree? Post a comment on his blog!

Mr. Carlson’s statements are troubling, considering that various independent studies have found that Flocabulary programs boost student vocabulary proficiency, work well in afterschool settings, and even raise scores on state tests. We sent this information to Mr. Carlson, but he decided to ignore it.

Instead, Mr. Carlson takes a five-year-old quote out of context as proof that Flocabulary doesn’t want kids to learn difficult words. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We use hip-hop music as an educational tool to teach and engage students. We are never in favor of dumbing down the curriculum. Furthermore, our programs feature music as just one teaching method. In our vocabulary program, which teaches the words students need to know to pass state tests, the vocab-packed song represents just 1/9th of the overall lesson. The remainder consists of more traditional teaching methods, such as reading and writing exercises.

We are deeply disappointed that Mr. Carlson fails to see the importance of connecting with students’ interests when we teach them. During the two hours we spent talking with Tucker Carlson, we repeatedly told him that we are not seeking to replace the curriculum; we are trying to add to it.

Mr. Carlson seems to think that more of the same is the answer to solving the problems in America’s classrooms. If you feel differently, we urge you to let him and his readers know by posting comments on his blog.

Thanks for your continued support. We’re honored to have a community of educators, parents and students who feel strongly about making education effective and fun.

- Flocabulary

The Show airs Saturday, May 15th at 9:00 PM and Sunday, May 16th at 3:00 PM.

Students across the county – of every background and creed – are graduating this month and next. Their achievements are to be celebrated, lauded, raised higher than the roof. They are the future.

We found TheEbonyKeys’ Graduation Rap that beautifully sums up the triumph and joy of achievement, and of successfully passing a marker in one’s education. Huge props to Chadwick a.k.a “Ebony Bones” for creating some real, and real inspiring hip-hop.

We’re truly excited to tell you about the latest and the greatest from frequent Flocabulary collaborator and master emcee Baba Brinkman: a performance that teaches and preaches the wonders of evolution.

Through a combination of rap, comedy, spoken word, lecture and song, Baba presents the grand theory of life on Earth in unequivocally engaging terms – without sacrificing the accuracy or rigor of the complicated ideas involved.

Flocabulary was lucky enough to see the premiere at the Bleeker Street Theater – there are only a few engagements left, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP!

By the way, we’re not the only ones excited. Check out this sterling review from the NY Times, which describes the performance as “one of the most astonishing, and brilliant, lectures on evolution I’ve ever seen”:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/darwin-got-it-going-on/?hp

“Blog” might be one of the worst sounding hybrid words to appear in the last hundred years, but that doesn’t stop us from reading the good ones. The best blogs are created by individuals who have something unique to say that’s thoughtful and captivating. Need some guidance? Check out our favorites. Have your own favorite? Leave a comment!

Do You Think About Digital Immigrants?
No one wants blogs to replace newspapers, but for some stories, you want to hear voice. Especially when that voice is funny and smart. David Warlick, author and educator, muses everything from revolutionary technologies to educational complacency, and always offers his 2¢ Worth.

Sharing the Best of What’s New
Whether she’s teaching in Singapore or Minnesota, Susan Sedro dives deep into new educational tools and technologies and comes out with some great resources to share. That’s all a part of her Adventures in Educational Blogging.

Sometimes You Need Detention
Need a place to kick and scream about the state of education and the state of the world? Detention Slip is like a group therapy session for educators who care. It’s a place to vent about all the bad things, and share all the good things. You’ll feel better for it, though it is definitely not classroom safe.

Dissecting Hip-Hop and The Media
Flocabulary co-founder Blake Harrison has been lucky enough to give two high school graduation speeches this past year, and in each he mentioned ideas that he gleaned from the always thought provoking Jay Smooth. On his videoblog, Illdoctrine, Jay offers his intelligent, opinionated take on everything from lyricism to the meaning of race. Not always safe for classrooms, but always thought-provoking.

Oort Kuiper created this fantastic, thorough rap – dealing with the marvel and complexity of genetics as we understand it today. The song and the music video serve as an engaging, easy-to-relate-to vehicle, covering tough scientific knowledge.

Produced by Jon Chase (with music by Risk 1) for the Genetics and Merthyr Youth (GAMY) Project, Wales. The GAMY project “has been working with a group of young people aged 16 to 19 years old from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, and we have been learning about their ideas and attitudes towards genetics.” Check them out at www.gamyproject.org.uk

Good looks Oort and everyone who helped make this happen – we love it!

The use of Hip-Hop as an educational tool continues to expand, and the media is taking note. Check out this video and news story from NYC local news channel, NY1!

Students at one Bronx high school rap their way through science class, and say the material is more interesting than ever before. NY1’s Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Read the report and see the video here.

We gladly pass the word along for NYC’s 10th annual TORCH Music Fest – the ultimate talent competition for NYC’s public high school students!

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We are looking for talented teens individually or as a group to audition! Past shows have included singers, dancers, rappers, music groups, spoken word artists, steppers, actors, and comedians…

TORCH Music Fest has been running for ten years and is very popular among NYC high school students…*and our TORCH High School students plan, promote, and produce the entire event*. Truly, this event is for teens, by teens.

I’ve attached all the information. Please take a moment to look at the poster (courtesy of our TORCH students), and the Teacher/Counselor advisory for all the information you may need. Let me know if you have any trouble opening and/or have any questions about the event and how you can be involved!

You can also check us out using any of the following student-run sites:

www.torchmusicfest.org
www.torchmusicfest.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/torchmusicfest
www.formspring.me/torchmusicfest

And for more about all of our work at TORCH : www.thetorchprogram.org

About TORCH Music Fest:
Music Fest is a citywide talent competition and showcase open to all New York City high school students. From conception to creation, the event is entirely put together by the TORCH participants who plan, promote and produce the event. This includes production, set design, marketing, promotions and public relations, web design and creative design. Professionals from the music and entertainment industries mentor and advise the students throughout the project and also serve as judges at the event. Music Fest encourages NYC high school students to express and showcase their culture, creativity and talent. Through the process of preparing for Music Fest, the performers join TORCH students in gaining the satisfaction and sense of self worth that comes from seeing a project of this magnitude through to completion. This project is an excellent example of how TORCH incorporates empowerment within the learning experience through visual and performing arts. Additionally, the project provides an opportunity for TORCH to engage other students throughout the city as they participate as performers and audience members. TORCH Music Fest 2010 is scheduled for June 4, 2010.

About TORCH:
The TORCH (Together Our Resources Can Help) Program’s mission is to transform the lives of underserved New York City public high school students by providing intensive exposure to career training and opportunities in communications and the arts, all while facilitating a meaningful way of increasing the diversity of the workforce in those industries. Through hands-on career focused projects, educational outreach and professional mentors, students are provided with the tools to formulate and pursue educational and career goals.

We look forward to meeting the talented teens you send our way!

Check this out: three 5th graders put together an awesome hip-hop song that big-ups college and higher learning. They collaborated with the celebrated Menahan Street Band (which has contributed tracks to Jay-Z, as well as working with greats like Sharon Jones and the Budos Band) – and were featured on NPR!

Challenge your students to write their own academic (or otherwise meaningful and classroom appropriate) rhymes – it’s a fantastic higher-order thinking activity, and gives your kids a chance to shine while working on their writing skills!

Read the article and listen to the song HERE.

Direct link to the track: “College“