This CNN article posted by Stephanie Smith on Friday, September 27, opens with a brief introduction to what is called, "Hip Hop Public Health". This organization uses hip hop and rap to influence children and educate them on health-related issues and decisions they should recognize and make. Neurologist Dr. Olajide Williams- the founder of this organization- partnered with Doug E. Fresh and other established hip hop artists to but fact to catchy music.
Video subjects range from learning how to count calories to recognizing the symptoms of a stroke. And from the numbers stated in the article, they are working: "'We found that caloric purchases declined by about 25%,' Williams said." It definitely helped that Michelle Obama has public endorsed the movement, along with her own.
Snippets of the songs were displayed in the video above the article, as well as the children's positive reaction to them. Music has shown to be a great way to captivate children and some adults alike. Hip Hop Public Health could eventually reach the level of educational television, like Sesame Street. If the reaction remains positive and other musical styles are introduced (as predicted), Hip Hop Public Health could even go national. This is organization is using intelligent ways to educate children and bring a new generation of people up with knowledge on health.
It is very interesting for me to see how researchers and teachers are educating people. I want to go into teaching, so advances like this are exciting for me because I want to be able to provide the people I'll be teaching with the cutting edge in educating techniques.
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