Harnessing the Power of Hip Hop to Help Kids Learn Math
June 15, 2006
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Harnessing the Power of Hip Hop to Help Kids Learn Math
A new company called Spark The Mind helps kids learn multiplication facts through the use of popular hip-hop beats.
TOLEDO, OH June 15, 2006 — How do you remember learning your multiplication facts when you were in school? Class pay attention. 12 x 5 is? Anyone? 60 … good. 12 x 6? Boring to say the least. Students today are from a video and music era. Not all kids can memorize their math facts the old-fashioned way. However, ask a kid all the lyrics of a popular hip hop song and they can recite every complicated lyric from memory.
Teaching children that are struggling with their memorization of basic math facts can be a monumental task for today’s teachers. Recently, in Toledo, Ohio, a frustrated teacher, Christine Smith was trying to find ways to teach her 4th – 6th grade students their multiplication facts, to no avail. While talking with multi-platinum music producer–engineer Alex Nesmith (known throughout the music industry as “Al E.Cat”), he commented that, “…it’s funny that kids can memorize these complicated hip hop lyrics, but cannot remember their basic math facts.” That was when a light bulb went off for Ms. Smith. She exclaimed, “what if I use music to teach my students?” She asked Al E.Cat if he would work with her to create math songs using popular beats. The first production with the students from Paul Lawrence Dunbar Academy turned out to be such an overwhelming success that the two formed a new company called Spark The Mind.
Visit www.sparkthemind.com to see recent clips from their latest recording of the 12s multiplication song over the popular E40 track “Tell Me When to Go”. See the sparks fly as students learn their facts as well as have lots of fun creating, performing and learning.
Through the musical recordings and performances of their own student body, Spark The Mind plans to offer schools ways to advertise via broadcast radio, CD-ROM, educational videos and the Internet. Spark The Mind’s overall focus will be finding innovative ways to help children learn in the classroom through the use of music.
About Spark The Mind:
Christine L. Smith is a highly decorated elementary teacher in Toledo, Ohio with a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Toledo. She also received a Bachelor’s Degree of Science. Her innovative methods of teaching improved her 6th grade student’s math scores on the Ohio Achievement Test from 0% passing in 2004-2005 to 48% passing in 2005-2006.
Alex “Al E.Cat” Nesmith is a multi-platinum producer-engineer whose music discography includes artists such as Keith Sweat, Akon, Twista, Outkast, Avant, Ronald Isley, Jamelia and Charlotte Church. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and an Audio Engineering Degree from Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts.
Contact:
Christine L. Smith
Spark The Mind
1200 Abernathy Road
Bldg. 600 Suite 1700
Atlanta, GA 30328
(T) 770.551.8180
(F) 770.551.8105