Maria Rojas
Bringing the Subjunctive to Hip-Hop Culture
Featured Teaching and Learning Practice
Fall 2006
Maria Rojas' featured teaching and learning practice of making education relevant is best described in this vivid fly-on-the-wall narrative written by her colleague, Kevin Beard:
A diminutive woman from Spain enters the Spanish language classroom clad in hip-hop fashion - Kangol hat, multi-finger rings, "doorknocker" earrings and sneakers. She begins a rap that incorporates a grammatical explanation of a concept that is difficult for many to grasp - the subjunctive. Only Maria Rojas could conceive of marrying such a large part of modern day pop culture with one of Spanish language acquisition's greatest challenges.
Yet the intensely rhythmic lyrical form and the abundant use of assonance, alliteration, and rhyme work. The rap's beat is infectious, providing the perfect platform for learning. Maria knows that hip hop music and culture speak to today's students; she uses it to amplify the importance of learning and delivers it with prowess.
Maria's teaching practice has many benfits for the students. It motivates and engages them by combining a popular music genre with a grammar concept that can seem daunting. In an innovative way Maria demonstrates that learning can be both empowering and fun. Moreover, the students' skills are naturally reinforced by contagious delivery of the subject matter. Students will likely walk out of a session with Maria Rojas and exclaim: "Dude! That class was phat!"
This featured teaching and learning practice demonstrates a learning climate relevant to students, making the educational process enjoyable as well as informative.