Educator and CEO Dr. Carol O’Connor Interviews with Dr. SaFiya About ‘Relevance in the Curriculum: Reaching the Reluctant Reader’

Today at 5pm on Beauty, Brains & the Bottom Line, Dr. SaFiya Hoskins interviews Dr. Carol O’Connor, author of the forthcoming, Relevance in the Curriculum: Reaching the Reluctant Reader.

Dr. O’Connor states:

     “Many students report that they do not read outside the school setting, and large numbers do so reluctantly – if at all – at school. A great deal of literature has suggested that relevance is a critical factor in promoting student engagement, While objections are frequently raised regarding fears of “dumbing down” the curriculum, the opposite is true if teachers can engage students through content that is interesting, appropriate  and challenging.

            Utilizing elements of popular culture and a variety of media to engage youth has been shown to boost the performance of under-performing students, and to effectively reach those most likely to fail. Through this engagement, students can be moved through materials and tasks of increasing complexity, and regain the intrinsic motivation most had as young children.”

Dr. Carol O’Connot is a K-16 educator and president of Rhyme-N-Reason Foundation, an international hip hop education organization with offices in Cape Coast, Ghana and Jackson, Mississippi.

Beauty, Brains & the Bottom Line is a one-hour news/talk radio program hosted by Dr. SaFiya D. Hoskins to deliver thought-provoking discussion and analytic dialogue on health, education, and today’s biggest stories. Personification of a Venn diagram, author, scholar and artist Dr. SaFiya presents a multiplicitous and insightful perspective. By means of forthright commentary and intimate interviews she invites you to join the conversation. From politics to popular culture; Beauty, Brains & the Bottom Line transcends gender, age and class to provide a unique and necessary point of view on topics that matter to you.