Sometimes as educators, you need to look outside of the classroom and beyond the walls of the school to find people who can inspire students and yourselves as teachers in ways you could not have imagined. Our schools are in communities full of people with talents that can benefit teaching and learning. Educators can seek these resources within their community to enhance their pedagogy and their students’ experience with the curriculum. Additionally, teachers can learn from and connect with their surrounding community.

Imagine bringing a hip-hop artist into the classroom. How would students react? What if this artist grew up in the same city as your students and walked through similar hallways and neighborhood blocks?

Finding inspiration in unexpected places

This was the case for one middle school teacher, Idella, who created an after-school writing program that stemmed from a larger learning community of teachers who meet monthly with professors from a local university to discuss best practices in writing pedagogy. This learning community consists of K–9th grade teachers, school psychologists, creative writing specialists, current and former administrators, current and former professors, and a poet in residence. The poet in residence, local hip-hop artist Andre Saunders, was brought into the program through a connection with his former elementary school teachers who are members of the learning community. These teachers had maintained contact with Andre over the years and, after listening to what their students were interested in, were not afraid to reach out and engage with hip-hop and poetry in their classrooms even though this was something outside of their typical practices.

Andre Saunders is someone who cares deeply about giving back to his community. He shares his gifts and talents of writing and creating music across Philadelphia. He is a performer and community activist. As conceptualized by Rudine Sims Bishop in "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors," students benefit from seeing themselves reflected in the curriculum and having the opportunity to learn about those who are different. If this is true for our libraries, the same should also ring true for the people who enter our classrooms and educational spaces. Andre’s familiarity with the city and similar background to the students he works with makes him an ideal role model.

Idella joined forces with Andre to create a voluntary after-school program with students interested in honing their craft of writing. To her surprise, 12 students turned in their permission form the next day. Idella attributes this motivation to engage to Andre’s presence in the program. The students were intrigued by the opportunity to work with Andre. This level of high interest showed the need for programs such as this with community members that can motivate and engage students and build their social network.

What makes this partnership impactful? Andre earns a living as a writer. The students were excited to learn from Andre because he was a practitioner. He shares his work with them, which reflects his life experiences. This vulnerability and practical application help students see how the writing process is more than just a school assignment. It helps students see how writing connects to creating music, social activism, self-expression, and other true authentic purposes for writing. Andre shares his story, which invites the students to share their lives in creative and purposeful ways. He allows the students to choose their own methods of delivery and style when expressing their thoughts, be it through lyrics, poems, essays, spoken word, and even video and audio presentations. Andre never limits the students by providing them with prompts. Instead, he provides themes or concepts to help students find their voice. The students perceive Andre as a mentor who takes time to listen, critique, and provide feedback. He also inspires them, showing them what he has accomplished coming from a similar background to them. The students find his laid-back methods of communication and strategies for teaching effective. All students feel valued in his presence.

Benefits for both students and educators

Idella shared that Andre’s participation did more than just inspire the students to join but has also had a positive impact on their writing. When looking through the students' writing journals and presentations, one can see a dramatic improvement in the students' overall writing performance over time. The students have taken Andre’s challenge to stretch their vocabulary, to be succinct, and to vividly present images through words.

Not only did the students grow through this partnership, but so did Idella, a veteran teacher! She stated, “Teachers like me often like to control the narrative. We usually start with objective and outcome expectations. I have learned to trust Andre’s process. Thanks to Andre, I no longer feel the need to provide prompts for every writing assignment. I also learned that student choice is very important. Letting students choose often allows for better outcomes than when I teach writing with a perceived end in mind.”

We think of teachers as the drivers of instruction, but we often overlook people in our communities who have unique gifts and talents that could inspire both students and teachers. Andre's story highlights the potential for impactful partnerships within our communities. Who might you connect with in your own community to bring similar inspiration to your students?

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