Dallas teacher uses rap to multiply her students' successes in math
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Math can be a complicated and confusing subject for some, but one Dallas teacher is using rap to multiply her students' probability of success.
Monique Jackson, who teaches third grade at Steven Parks Elementary, approached her students' struggles as a problem she wanted to solve.
"She's very fun and entertaining," student Da'Marian Holland said.
Jackson discovered that math plus music equals comprehension and fun.
"Nowadays we have TikTok, so they just really enjoy doing all those fun dances and whatnot," she said. "So I said, 'if I could somehow incorporate music and math and vocabulary...'"
Jackson raps her lessons, dropping beats and knowledge with every rhyme.
"As soon as she starts singing, we start singing," Holland said. "That's how much we love it."
Jackson is changing the variables in her classroom, and her students are exponentially improving.
"It's like I'm super happy, especially when I know I'm starting with her because she's like the best teacher I ever met," Holland said.
"I got onto it and it started getting easier and easier for me," Kiro Conner, said.
"It helps us remember what we're doing," added Alexander Herrera.
Jackson remembers her personal struggles with the subject when she was young. She found a common denominator in music and wrote her first rap over a weekend in November. The students loved the song so much that they requested more – and she delivered. Now the district is using her bars to break down lessons.
"It excites me to see that they are not just learning, but they're loving to learn, and you can see that from their faces, their body movement," Jackson said.
"This class made me like math," Conner said.
Jackson said she'll drop her next single soon, a rap about multiplication.
