Ratchetdemic: Reimagining Academic Success by Emdin, Christopher

"Ratchetdemic will inspire a new generation to be their authentic selves both within and beyond the classroom."--GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan

A revolutionary new educational model that encourages educators to provide spaces for students to display their academic brilliance without sacrificing their identities

From the nationally renowned educator and New York Times best-selling author of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y'all Too

Dr. Christopher Emdin advocates for a new kind of student identity--one that bridges the seemingly disparate worlds of the ivory tower and the urban classroom.

Because modern schooling often centers whiteness, Emdin argues, it dismisses ratchet identity (the embodying of "negative" characteristics associated with lowbrow culture, often thought to be possessed by people of a particular ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic status) as anti-intellectual and punishes young people for straying from these alleged "academic norms," leaving young people in classrooms frustrated and uninspired. These deviations, Emdin explains, include so-called "disruptive behavior" and a celebration of hip-hop music and culture.

Emdin argues that being "ratchetdemic," or both ratchet and academic (like having rap battles about science, for example), can empower students to embrace themselves, their backgrounds, and their education as parts of a whole, not disparate identities. This means celebrating protest, disrupting the status quo, and reclaiming the genius of youth in the classroom.

Author: Christopher Emdin
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 08/10/2021
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.40w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780807089507

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/07/2021
Library Journal 08/01/2021 pg. 82

About the Author
Dr. Christopher Emdin is the Robert A. Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Professor of Education at the University of Southern California; where he also serves as Director of youth engagement and community partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. He is also Scholar/Griot in Residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He previously served as Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education and Director of the Science Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. The creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and the Science Genius program, he is the author of the New York Times bestseller For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y'all Too and Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation. Connect with him on Twitter @chrisemdin or on his website, www.chrisemdin.com.