History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Los Angeles teacher makes algebra cool with a hip-hop beat
- 06-18-2010
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By Christina Hoag/San Jose Mercury News
The class of eighth graders at a Los Angeles middle school tap their rulers and nod their heads to the rhythm of the rap video projected on a screen. It's not Snoop Dogg or Jay-Z. It's their math teacher, LaMar Queen, using rhyme to help them memorize seemingly complicated algebra and in the process improve their grades. "It gets stuck in your head," says Cindy Martinez, a 14-year-old whose math grade went from a C-average to a B. Queen, 26, is now known at Los Angeles Academy as the rap teacher, but his fame has spread far beyond the 2,200-student school in this gritty neighborhood. He's won a national award and shows teachers and parents how to use rap to reach children. "Math is a bad word in a lot of households," he says. "But if we put it in a form that kids enjoy, they'll learn." (more...)
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