Hip hop is steadily changing the way education is delivered in classrooms instructing students of all ages. Some colleges and universities have adapted the hip hop initiative and culture to their curriculum, hoping to fuse a better communication connection between students and educators.

Not only have colleges and universities adopted hip hop, as a means to educate but elementary schools are now exposing their students to the culture of hip hop as well. Hip hop is an art that so many love and so many hate. Hip hop has always impacted the attitudes, thinking and lives of most of its fans, whether in a negative or positive manner.

Hip hop is often a constructive outlet, for individuals to get away from stress, depression, family problems and other issues. Hip hop is often the perceived sound outline, of an individual life from one extreme to the next. Music allows individuals to tell their story, stories of their cities, countries, childhood, successes and failures. So, hip hop is educational in every sense.

The stories that are told, whether fact or fiction, inform, persuade or motivate individuals to either change or maintain their lifestyle in order to achieve or reach certain goals in life.

Horton’s Middle School (HMS) has successfully merged the future of tomorrow’s leaders and the minds of yesterday’s melody coaches, through their parallel hip hop movement.

Mervin Jenkins is no stranger to either the classroom or the hip hop melody of life. Jenkins is not only a multi-talented musician, he’s also Horton’s Middle School’s (Pittsboro, North Carolina) principal. Jenkins fits into today’s psycho society of multiple personalities in two ways.

Those that know him would agree that Jenkins has two faces. One face depicts a talented gifted musician while the other face illustrates a facilitator, educator and principal.
Jenkins is known to the students of HMS as Principle Jenkins, but to fans and supporters he is know as, ‘Spectac,’ a hip hop personality Jenkins created.

Jenkins has been a hip hop advocate and educational guru all his life. Jenkins attended Benedict College in South Carolina, due to the persistence and instance of his mother, who convinced him to attend the small liberal arts college.

Jenkins grew up in a rural town in South Carolina, called Eutawville. Jenkins love for music started at an early age. Jenkins found himself rapping for fun in his middle school cafeteria. In high school most thought, ‘Spectac’ was ready to take on the big city of music, New York City. Jenkins was indeed ready, ready for hip hop, ready for college and ready to be a leader.

Jenkins holds a masters degree from Charleston Southern University, where he studied Secondary Educational Leadership. Jenkins is leading a new generation of young people through his speaking program titled Life Through Music.

Jenkins talks about his longtime dream of being able to help others achieve. “I’m trying to come to terms with myself,” Jenkins says. “There are bigger fish to fry and education is one of those.”

Jenkins uses the culture that controls most of radio and television to relate and bridge the gap between student and teacher. HMS uses hip hop in context to the extreme to help children in all subjects.

Jenkins stated, “As far as academics, reading and writing is the foundation, so we definitely want the kids to be well-versed in both those areas. At the same time I like the idea of making it fun for them as they learn.”

Some would agree that often, teachers or persons of educational authority are reluctant to ask the kids what things would help them to learn and better understand especially, if hip hop or rap music was a response.

Even though music is one of the leading leisure activities followed by students, hip hop still has not earned its keep in the world of institutionalized education. Some institutions of higher education, including Saint Augustine’s College and North Carolina Central University offer courses in hip hop.

HMS offers students an array of cultural arts programs that inspire students to utilize their creativity. Students are not only exposed to the typical educational curriculum, but they are exposed to hip hop, poetry and spoken word as well.

Jenkins stated, “When I was in school I don’t feel like teachers made that connection for the most part you had some that did but a lot that didn’t and the situation has not changed very much. We try to bring things to the classroom that kids would be motivated about like music. Music was not brought to the classroom we went out and found it and that’s certainly my connection so I still use it when I talk to children.”

Horton Middle School’s mission statement reads the following: Horton’s Middle School is to develop self-confident, respectful, successful learners. Jenkins has helped many aspiring doctors, nurses, judges, lawyers as well as hip hop Mc’s, poets and spoken word artist to accomplish their missions in life. What is your mission and what are, you doing to attain that mission?