Rock The School Bells (RTSB) is a conference share in 5 locations around the United States that provides a space for youth and students of all ages to participate and engage in a blend of workshops that enhance students’ ability to think critically about current issues in the world as well as their communities, read and write about topics related to their life’s experiences, display effective oral and written communication, and understand the historical and cultural aspects of Hip Hop and its effect on society and education.
Because standardized education is often mismatched with students’ experiences within their community, Rock The School Bells Hawaii (RTSBHI) is a conference that provides a space for youth and students of all ages to participate and engage in a blend of workshops that: 1) enhance their ability to think critically about current issues in the world as well as in their communities, 2) read and write about topics related to their life’s experiences, 3) display effective oral and written communication, and 4) understand the historical and cultural aspects of Hip Hop and its effect on society and education. RTSBHI invites proposals for workshops focused on, but not limited to, literary arts, dance culture/styles, writing art, Hip Hop history, entrepreneurship, DJing, social justice issues through Hip Hop, the role of women in Hip Hop, and economics utilizing Hip Hop. RTSBHI values the diversity and uniqueness of workshop proposal submissions. As a result, we would highly consider workshops related to health and fitness, sustainability, career and technical education, or social justice.
The theme of Rock The School Bells HI is “Legacy.” We wanted to honor the legacies of Hip Hop that were passed down to us which are also imprints of our stories and personal narratives. Hip Hop is a vehicle of creative expression that allows us to articulate our stories in ways that makes sense to us and our communities.
Theme of RTSBHI was based around “Legacy”
*What is the legacy you would like to leave behind?
*What does legacy mean to you?
*In what ways can our legacies positively impact our own communities?
On October 7, 2017, at University of Hawaii campus, our Creative Director Ken Nishimura was acquired by RTSBHI to create an aerosol workshop for over 80 youths that would be creative as well as educational. The participants were divided into (4) one hour workshops and a additional schedule was also with in the program to have returning students participate in a collaborative mural.
Ken focused on three main points within his program, history of aerosol art, proper usage of the medium and aerosol techniques. Each participant was equipped with a mask and gloves for their safety and was taught how to work as a team. Ken emphasized safety measures by drawing members of the workshop to demonstrate how to keep the environment safe to avoid injuries. Ken proceeded to share aerosol techniques that allowed the youth to learn how to control the medium and create names and shapes during the session. Personal attention and guidance was given to each student as they painted next to one another and supervised by Ken and his assistants. As each workshop was ending, everyone was responsible for safe storage of the medium and a group discussion was created to learn about the values they gained from the workshop.
Values shared by students in the group discussion:
“I learned a lot about line quality and how to achieve clean and precise lines”.
“The history of the art was very interesting, I had no idea of the origins of the art”
“I learned that the term graffiti was a label given to the art form by the media and authorities”.
“I learned how to use the spray cans as a editing tool or an eraser, it was cool”.
“I learned a lot about the spray can and how it works”.
ROCK THE SCHOOL BELLS HAWAII Logo designed by Creative Director: Ken Nishimura
