PRESS CLIPPINGS

Jose Avalus, Nicholas Jaochico and Jeremiah Juzix,
‘Hamilton’ Hip-Hop, by Students
AUG. 4, 2017
NEW YORK TIMES FEATURE

An American history curriculum 
lets young people write the narrative. Fill in the rap.

You can draw a direct line from the founding fathers to issues and concerns of today in these verses. In a curriculum created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, students study how Lin-Manuel Miranda used primary source documents to write raps for his Broadway show on Alexander Hamilton. They then choose a founding-era person or event on which to base their own creation. One presentation from each participating school gets stage time before students attend a performance of the show. As the “Hamilton” national tour expands (next opening: Los Angeles on Aug. 11), so does the curriculum. The institute, which has been integrating history into classrooms for more than 20 years, expects its Hamilton Education Program to reach 250,000 public school students across the country. (NYT)

The Mt Eden Team including Nicholas Jaochico create a Rap that says Crispus Attucks is widely considered the first person killed when British soldiers opened fire on a mob in what became known as the Boston Massacre. With the massacre often described as the “beginning” of the American Revolution, that would make an African-American the first casualty of the war.


LISTEN TO THE PERFORMANCE FEATURING NICO - Beginning at 5:30 in this featured Video clip 


More than 2,000 high school students packed the Orpheum Theatre in March 2017 to see a free matinee preview of "Hamilton" as part of a history education program. Students from each of the 18 schools from the SF Bay Area voted for the best performance to represent their school and be presented on stage at the Orpheum. The teens got up in front of a theater full of their peers, most of whom they didn't know, and sang, recited or rapped about early American history, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The students had researched dense letters, newspaper stories and original documents and interpreted them as original performances, incorporating their own sensibilities and contemporary references.  Even when a few nervous teens stumbled or forgot their lines, the crowd cheered them on.


Some of the teenagers had memorized the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda's the blockbuster musical. Others were just glad to be on a field trip. But each student worked with their history teachers to research original historical documents and write a poem, skit, rap or song about the founding fathers. A panel of actors answered the students questions about both history and careers in show business. The schools at the March 22 included; Castlemont, Oakland Tech, Mt Eden, Oakland High, Richmond High, Tennyson, Ygnacio Valley, KIPP San Jose, Impact Academy, and others.


 


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Produced and owned by VmediaFilmTV.com for Nicholas Jacochico