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Dressed in a white jacket and wayfarers, Alice Friedle strutted toward the center of the gymnasium floor, while the Poughkeepsie Middle School students watching her from the bleachers erupted into cheers and laughter.
Not one to pass up the opportunity to play the diva, Friedle grabbed the microphone and confidently began rapping, interspersing her monologue with dance moves that sent the crowd into hysterics: “Reading books can make ‘ya look good/ I’m the smartest kid in my neighborhood/America’s Choice is my plan/If you read all those books, then you’ll feel like a man.”
A student rapping contest kicked off the second annual America’s Choice 25 Books Campaign at the middle school. Beatrice McCormick, a “design coach” who helps teachers implement the America’s Choice program in their classrooms, addressed the students: “The purpose of this launch is to encourage you to read widely on a variety of topics and an array of subject areas, resulting in the growth of vocabulary you will need to be successful in high school.” Each student is required to read 25 books by the end of the year under America’s Choice, a set of guidelines proposed by superintendent Laval Wilson to help the schools improve.
Goal is to motivate
Like a pep rally for literacy, McCormick said the Rap for Reading contest on Oct. 29 would “motivate (students) and get them interested” as they begin their reading assignments. She said the launch would “galvanize their spirit and acceptance of reading – make it a popular thing.”
Student rapper Tyreck Douglas agreed. Douglas, who donned a heavy metal chain and a colorful hat to resemble the flamboyant rap star Flavor Flav, said the event was a good way to “hype (students) up. They like rap music and people dancing and looking funny – like me.”
MyQueen Morris liked taking center stage, as well. “People were clapping for us – it was fun,” she said.
Five rap acts were selected to perform in front of the school. A panel of judges selected a first place winner for a $50 prize.
Emily Duncan, Alix Ciferri and Martha Contrera felt making music was a great way to promote reading. “They should encourage reading on MTV,” said Duncan. “We should be on MTV,” added Ciferri.
Even some of the teachers even got into the action. Joe Marshall, an eighth-grade math teacher, got wild applause as he took the microphone in a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses to perform a rap rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
The National Center of Education and the Economy (NCEE) devises the America’s Choice guidelines, which the Poughkeepsie City School District adopted officially in August 2006. In addition to the 25 Book Campaign, the small learning communities that have been in place at the middle school since fall of last year also fall under the rubric of America’s Choice.
