Ā鶹¾«Ę·: How Rapper Darryl āDMCā McDaniels Is Helping Kids Grow By Embracing Their Emotions
The hip hop icon joins experts to talk about the power of social and emotional learning
;)
Education news and commentary, delivered right to your inbox.
Sign up for Ā鶹¾«Ę· newsletter.
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for Ā鶹¾«Ę· Newsletter
Rapper Darryl āDMCā McDaniels has had just about every kind of success a person can have.
As part of the groundbreaking group Run-D.M.C. McDaniels racked up a formidable list of āfirstsā in the hip-hop world, with multi-platinum albums, Grammy awards, rockānāroll crossovers, sold out stadiums, a Rolling Stone cover, and hip hopās first major apparel endorsement.
But McDaniels, who had been creative and introspective since childhood, also battled depression and personal demons that threatened to steal the joy of his success. Now, heās using his influence and ability to rap on command to reach kids with an important message: Your feelings matter.
He takes this message to schools, and works with Nickelodeonās educational arm, Noggin, on a literacy and social emotional learning television series āWhatās the Word?ā He also authored a childrenās book, Darrylās Dream, about a third grader who finds perseverance and confidence in the face of doubt.
Ahead of a panel discussion hosted by Big Heart World, Sparkler, Noggin and Ā鶹¾«Ę·, McDaniels spoke with correspondent Bekah McNeel about his love of therapy and empowering words, and about the ways adults can validate the emotions of children while helping them through the tough parts of growing up.Ā
āA lot of the things we go through as adults start in childhood,ā McDaniels said. Rather than pushing away anxiety, fear, and sadnessāinsisting that children be happy simply because they donāt carry the responsibilities of adulthoodāhe suggested teachers and parents, āLet them be engaged from the point where theyāre at.ā
A lifelong fan of superhero comics, McDaniels reminds kids that when Spider-Man and the Hulk and others are not in their superhero form, their alter egos like Peter Parker and Bruce Banner have to deal with bullies, setbacks, and all the problems regular people face. Even Star Warsā Luke Skywalker, McDaniels said, āHe had parental issues.ā
Parents and teachers, the original heroes in kidsā lives, can also model vulnerability so that kids see how to handle tough emotionsāitās healthy to have negative feelings, because bad and sad things happen. At the same time, the feelings donāt have to stop you from reaching your goals. Being appropriately open and vulnerable with kids also strengthens that adult-child relationship, which will also contribute to the childās success. People admire strength, he explained, but they connect to vulnerability.
Those connections are a top priority for University of Michigan researcher and pediatrician Jenny Radesky, who joined Austin ISD educator Rebekah Ozuna and American Enterprise Institute policy analyst Rick Hess in a discussion following the McDaniels interview. The panelists discussed the state of social and emotional learning in their various fieldsāfrom insight gained during the pandemic to current political pushback, from social media to classroom management.
While there may be ideological and political debate over whether topics like anti-racism and LGBTQ identity belong in social and emotional learning curricula or in schools at all, Ozuna said every classroom inherently has a āculture and climateā in addition to academic instruction. If the culture of the classroom doesnāt acknowledge the real struggles students face, she said, little else was going to break through. This became more clear than ever as students and teachers struggled through the pandemic. āEverything was greatly intertwined.ā
Other educators have told Ā鶹¾«Ę· similar stories in recent years. Here were some of our most discussed and shared articles about social and emotional learning in 2022:
- COVID Recovery: How Social and Emotional Learning Became a Priority for Schools During the Pandemic
- Expertās View: CASELās āConsensus Builderā CEO Aaliyah Samuel on Getting the U.S. āBack to the Middleā on Social-Emotional Learning
- Youth Trauma: Historic Rise in Child Bereavement as COVID, Drugs and Guns Claim Parentsā Lives
- Pandemic Isolation: Virtual Nightmare ā One Studentās Journey Through the Pandemic
- Student Relationships: Remembering How to Be Friends ā One Schoolās Efforts to Use Talking Circles to Help Kids Reconnect
Did you use this article in your work?
Weād love to hear how Ā鶹¾«Ę·ās reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.
Bekah McNeel is a correspondent at Ā鶹¾«Ę·, covering the impact of the pandemic on America's education system.
[email protected]