Learning About Poetry through Rap Music

Last week my work with the Nazareth College/Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection Homework Helper's program has come full circle. I went from a volunteer tutor to being a guest speaker now that my time at Nazareth is finished. Homework Helpers is a program where high school students from the Rochester City School District come on-campus to Nazareth College for a 2 hour educational session. The first hour and fifteen minutes is for tutoring with volunteer tutors consisting of students as well as faculty and staff. The remainder of the time is given to a guest speaker from the Nazareth or Rochester Community.

For my presentation I did a lesson on literary elements that I taught through rap music. I've read my reviews and 89% of the students enjoyed my presentation. Some even wanted me to do another one! This experience shows that there is educational value in rap music if you share that passion with your students.

Here's how I did it. I made a packet with 3 pages that I distributed to the students.

The first page had a list of 10 literary elements and their definitions as well as an example of that element being used in a real rap song. The examples were quoted lines that also cited the artist, song title, and album name. I went over them quickly to start off the lesson.

The second page had 4 excerpts from rap verses by different artists that consisted of 4 lines each. I broke the students into groups and gave them time to identify and locate as many literary elements as possible. Once the time was up, I started with the first verse, rapped it (which really got the students' interest), then asked for volunteers to share what they found. People who volunteered got candy for participating.

The third page had a photocopy of Tupac Shakur's poem "Only 4 the Righteous" from his poetry book, The Rose that Grew From Concrete which contained not only the typed version of his poem, but also an image of the poem that was scanned from his handwritten notebook. This got some of the kids excited. Another poem on this page was Langston Hughes' "I Dream A World." I included this page as backup material in case I went through everything too quickly.

After completing the first two pages of the packet, I gave the students time to write their own raps and poems and gave them the opportunity to share them with the group afterwards. Some students worked in groups, some individually, and others actually pulled their own notebooks out of their backpacks and shared with us poems that they had already written. It was wonderful! Some students were too nervous to read their own work so I gave them the option of having me or a friend of theirs read it for them if they wanted to have it heard.

After the students had time to share, we had a few minutes left so I read "Only 4 the Righteous" which got a few laughs. I didn't have time to do the Hughes poem.

Overall, I had fun giving the lesson and most of the students enjoyed it. I hope that I was able to help make some of the meanings and uses of the literary elements click for some of the students. If nothing else I think the lesson is a great way to start a dialogue about the literary elements. I think in order to be successful with this lesson you need to have a sound knowledge of rap music as well as a passion for it because then you can really connect with students and have meaningful discussions. The best moments for me was during the lesson while I walked around the students to help, I was told a couple times "This is cool, I was just listening to this song on my way here."

Site Update Brings New Biology Resource!

RocTutor.com has just been updated with a new Resources tab! There you will be able to find an archive of our best and favorite blog posts, educational resources we've made, as well as links to useful sites.

Our first resource that has been made available is for the Living Environment Regents course and it covers Biochemical Building Blocks. Check it out by clicking here. You can even download it as a PDF file to print or take with you on your eReader!

RocTutor will be bringing you more resources in the future. If you'd like to make some extra money and help write additional resources, please don't hesitate to contact us!

How to Advertise Your Tutoring Services on Craigslist

Craigslist is awesome because you can advertise for free and your ad will have little competition on the page. I rarely see more than 5-10 ads for tutors on craigslist for each day. Here are some guidelines you can follow to write a great craigslist ad.

1. Stick to advertising one subject in your ad.  A common misconception is that you can get more clients by appealing to a more general population. If there are other subjects you'd like to tutor, make just make separate posts for them. Why? Think about it, if you were looking for a Trigonometry tutor would you click on the post titled "MATH TUTOR" (I got the previous example directly from craigslist) or "Experienced Trigonometry Tutor"? By advertising one specific subject you can appeal specifically to the clients you want to attract. By appealing to everyone you appeal to no one.

2. Be descriptive in your title and location fields. Be descriptive in your title; include the subject you've selected to tutor in as well as whatever adjective describes you best whether it be 'experienced', 'college grad', 'certified teacher', etc. In your location field make sure to tell your location as well as a note stating you're willing to travel (if you're willing to travel).

3. Clearly and concisely state your experience, qualifications, and why you should be hired. You want to have the least amount of text possible while avoiding crappy posts such as: "im in college. chem major. email if interested." After briefly stating your qualifications and experience, tell your prospects in why you should be hired. Make sure that you focus on a quantitative benefit. For example, "I have the knowledge and experience to tutor any student!" is something you want to avoid. If I'm looking for a tutor then it's a given that they should have knowledge and at least some tutoring experience. Instead, use something like: "75% of my students have increased their World History scores by a full letter grade within just one month!" The most important thing is to be honest. Don't promise anything you can't deliver.

4. Provide as many ways to be contacted as you can. I personally provide my email, Facebook profile, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, and cell number (making sure to tell potential clients to call or text me anytime). When I make posts for RocTutor, I also include a link to Facebook, Twitter, and the website. Your prospects will all have different preferred modes of communication and you want to be easily accessible by whatever means they prefer. Make sure you check your voice mail greeting and would be okay with customers hearing it.

5. Price to value. Do not under any circumstances try to advertise your services lower than your competitors. Getting into a price war is a race to the bottom. Instead, go above and beyond expectations and work hard to prove that you're worth the price you ask for. I started charging $15/hr and then steadily increased my rates to $30/hr once I began getting more clients than I could handle. If you're good, the news will spread, and then you can start increasing your rates.

6. If you already have clients, ask them if they'd be willing to be references for new clients. In my experience, my clients have been happy to help me out by volunteering as a reference for me. If you give them your best work they will feel obliged to help you in return. Including references can help to win over skeptical first-time customers and they also let potential clients know that you've been successful tutoring in the past.

If you have any questions, comments, or criticisms please don't hesitate to share them in the comments!

Easy Steps to Finish an Essay on Time

Writing good essays and submitting them on time is easy when you break down the work and organize it into small, simple steps. These steps will require a little work each day rather than an overwhelming amount of work and an all-nighter the day before the essay is due. The steps will be listed below and you can combine steps from different days depending on how long you have to write your essay. Here are the steps:

Days 1-2: Take a day to figure out what you want to write the essay on and what you think your thesis will be. Think about this as you go about your daily routine and as you fall asleep.

Day 3: Write an outline to layout the points and topics you plan to write about to support your thesis.

Day 4: Get a pack of index cards and write each topic/point at the top of its own index card. Arrange the index cards in a logical order. This is the order that the topics/points will be written about in your essay.

Days 5-10: Each day pick a topic or two to research. Print any electronic sources and photocopy any physical sources. Attach them to the relevant index card with a paper clip. Next, write notes and quotes (from the sources) that you plan to use in your essay on the index card.

Day 11: Write your introduction and revise your thesis if you think you can improve it now that you've done research and know the subject better.

Day 12: Write your paper! This will be quick and easy since you can go through your index cards in order and systematically convert your notes into paragraphs using appropriate citations.

Day 13: Proofread your essay for any grammatical errors and to make sure that everything flows well and makes sense. Ask a friend to proofread it too. Finally, make any changes that you see fit.

I hope this helps to make your next essay less intimidating! In general, by breaking complex challenges down into simple, easy to do steps, you can conquer those challenges with relative ease.

Motivational Tools to Help Your Child do Homework and Study

There are a few good strategies that you can try out to help motivate your child or your students to do their homework or study (and with a little creativity, these tips can be applied to other things such as chores)! There are strategies both for the short term and the long term.

A long term strategy is a sticker board. For this, simply post a board or paper in your home and purchase some stickers from a dollar store. Every time your child completes a homework assignment and/or studies, he or she gets a sticker. Choose a number of stickers to be an appropriate goal for the student and once your child has accumulated that number of stickers, allow him to choose a reward such as a pizza party, a gift, or a special trip somewhere. This will give your child daily feedback on their work and help them visualize their progress towards their long term goal.

A short term strategy is an immediate reward. If a long term strategy doesn't work well with your child, you can try to incorporate a short term goal as well. In addition to earning a sticker for a sticker board, he could also receive a small piece of candy or some time to spend on the computer or watching television, whatever is appropriate to you. This method will help to motivate your child to work towards long term goals and, eventually, your child can be weened off of the short term rewards and focus more on the long term.

For older students, reward good grades as well as improved scores on report cards/midterms. If your child gets good grades, give him some extra cash, let him borrow the car, or anything that is appropriate for your situation. Look at poor grades from a positive perspective. Instead of being angry over a C in math, tell your child that if he works hard and improves his grade, he'll not only be better off academically but he also gets another opportunity to earn a reward.

These are just a few drops in the bucket as far as motivational tactics go. If you have any you'd like to share please do so in the comments!

New Years News and Deals!

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great year in 2010 and are excited to get the ball rolling in 2011. I know I am!

I just finished rebuilding the website from scratch to make a lot of desperately needed improvements. I'm very proud because I did it 100% in Notepad++ without using a template this time. If it's of use to anyone, http://www.w3schools.com/ was an indispensable resource on CSS/HTML through this process. Make sure you check out the new website if you haven't already (also, I'd love any feedback and criticism if you happen to be a web designer).

Finally, in celebration of a fresh start and to help accomplish any academic resolutions that you or your child may have, RocTutor is offering a 10% discount on 10 hours of tutoring and a 20% discount on 20 hours of tutoring. All you have to do is mention this blog post when you're purchasing and scheduling your sessions. For new customers, RocTutor offers a free consultation which you can learn more about here. This offer will end on January 31st so make sure you don't miss it!

How to Make Money Tutoring as a College Student

Being broke is part of the college experience but it does get old. Here is how I started making money tutoring while I was in school without having to invest any money out of pocket.

1. Pick a subject you'd like to specialize in. Your major is the best choice. If you have other subjects you're good in that you do on the side (such as writing or playing an instrument) those may also be good choices to include. Advertise a maximum of three subjects that you can tutor in. This will help attract clients because you will appear to be more knowledgeable than someone who lists every subject they can think of.

2. Advertise your services! Craigslist is a great place to start. I still advertise there and it is also where I get the majority of my clients. Another useful resource is UniversityTutor.com which is an online tutor directory. You can create a profile and they allow you three free connections before they ask you to become a paid member. UPDATE (1/6/2011) I just took another look at UniversityTutor and you can be listed for free now; the paid version helps you get to the top of search results. Flyers are also an option. Print some at your campus computer lab and post them locally where you can (libraries and Topps are good spots in Rochester).

3. Base your hourly rate on your experience tutoring. Your education and qualifications are also important factors and should be included in your advertising. If you have limited tutoring experience I'd recommend starting at $15 and hour. As you develop your skills tutoring (or if you discover that you have a natural talent for it) then begin to raise your rates. You should also begin to raise your rates if you're getting more clients than you can handle. As the demand for you increases, so should your hourly rate!

4. Be easy to contact. I make my cell phone number (with the note "Call or text anytime!"), email address, Facebook profile, and LinkedIn profile obviously available in my advertisements and on my websites. I recommend you do the same. Your clients will have different modes of communication that they prefer and you want to be as easy to contact as possible.

5. Specify where you can tutor. I didn't have a car when I lived on campus at school so I suggested that clients meet me at the campus library so we had a quiet room and access to all of the libraries resources if needed. If you have a car, let clients know that you can travel to meet them at their home or a public location of their choice. Depending on the distance you have to travel you should consider charging for travel.

6. Be prepared for anything! You will encounter students that are completely unprepared. This is why you should always have paper, writing utensils, any relevant books you own (or have checked out from the library), and your schedule with you. Bring your college textbooks to refer to pictures or the glossary or check out books from the library that could also be useful. You'll impress the parents and it can enhance your tutoring sessions. Your schedule is important so that you can schedule the next session(s) on the spot.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions or comments you may have. Best of luck to you!

Acronyms as Memorization Tools

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. This is a variation of a popularized acronym, PEMDAS, that students are taught in order to memorize the mathematic order of operations (Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, then Addition/Subtraction). Another example is Kings Play Chess On Fine Glass Surfaces (KPCOFGS) which is an acronym for the taxonomy order (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

You and your child or students can create your own acronyms for any information that needs to be memorized. Often, funny or ridiculous acronyms work best because they are easier to remember and students sometimes even share them with friends. 

The benefit of using acronyms is that by using a simple phrase you know what letter each of the things you needed to memorize began with. Having the first letter as a hint helps to avoid those frustrating scenarios where you can remember everything except the last couple that always seem to be on the tip of your tongue.

If you come up with any acronyms that you'd like to share, please do so in the comments!

There is a place for rap in the classroom.

There are students out there that can barely read, yet they have memorized all of the lyrics to their favorite rap songs. It's very disappointing to hear, but regardless of who is at fault for problems like these, the important idea to take away is the powerful influence that music can have on students. A company called Rhythm, Rhyme, Results LLC took this concept and created Educational Rap which is a cool, modern Schoolhouse Rock. Check out one of their songs below; it's about the States and their capitals.

They have a lot of songs for a variety of courses and I think it's a pretty awesome product.

Additionally, rap and hip-hop songs are poetry. Even popular rap songs can be studied for their inherent poetic nature. In February of next year I'm teaching a poetry class using excerpts from various songs to teach the basic literary elements. I'll make a post on how that goes and upload my lesson plans to the site after I give the lesson. Please share your thoughts on the role of rap in the classroom in the comments!

Changing Educational Paradigms

This video is totally worth taking the 12 minutes to watch. It's by Sir Ken Robinson and it discusses the current state of education in America and makes suggestions areas where it can be improved.

One of the most interesting things in the video is the notion that grouping students by their age is a mistake and that instead we should put kids in various settings based upon what's best for them. Students of varying ages may be at the same skill level in a particular subject for a variety of reasons. Some students work better in small groups, some in large groups, and some independently. We should build classes to accommodate those differences in skill levels and learning environment preferences. It seems so obvious now because that's what we do at Mary Cariola. We adapt the classrooms to the students rather than hoping the students adapt to our classrooms (like virtually all other schools do) and after watching this video I see no reason that indicates this strategy would not be successful for all students.

There are a lot of points made in this video that are worth discussing. Please share your thoughts in the comments!