I’m part of that generation known as Millennials, and even if we don’t know whether social security will be around when we retire, or if we’ll be able to retire, or if we’ll even have jobs to consider retiring, we know this: We are hustlers. We’re gangsta. We pimp. We grind.
Most of us don’t do any of these things in the literal sense, but my generation has come of age listening to the sounds of hip hop, and we’ve borrowed the language of illegal hustlers to describe our legal hustles. It feels only natural we should also adopt aspects of their code of conduct and apply them to our quest for survival and world domination.
Shake the Dust: Hip-hop and break-dancing for social good
Last week, LA based filmmaker Adam Sjöberg launched a Kickstarter campaign aiming to fund his latest project about hip-hop and break-dancing in developing countries called Shake the Dust.
Making art into a full-time job—indie or industry—can require years of scraping with no guaranteed payoff. It becomes a much smoother path if you’ve got a phone full of friends from whatever art school, enough spare time to hone and promote your work, and family who can support you and who don’t need to be supported. Social capital is still capital, and in our economic system, an art career is a luxury purchase.
Here’s an experiment for the interns, service workers, graduate students, freelancers, and temps: Think deeply about your privilege, your advantages, your family history, that some may have it better or worse off than you do. Then, forget all of it. The success of our economy will come in the form awareness, not tacit acceptance.
Hustlin’: For Millennials, Chat Rooms Are the New Conference Rooms
Millennials are replacing the meeting in a new (but Internet-old) way: “chats.” We’ve taken what we do socially—Gchat, text, BBM, WhatsApp—and transposed it to the workplace. At GOOD, the edit team runs on a group chat called Campfire and trusty ol’ Gchat.
We get it, English majors are poor. But instead of following the money, shouldn’t we be asking why our culture undervalues arts and humanities? College students should certainly know what they’re getting into when they choose to study, say, philosophy or German, especially with tuition costs and student loan interest rates rising. But those figures should be coupled with a few important caveats.
Hustlin’: How I Became My Own Mentor in a Freelance Economy
The fact is, freelance is becoming the new 9-to-5, whether we want it to or not. Tom Fisher, writing in the Huffington Post, reports that “contingent workforce,” meaning the self-employed, freelancers, or “accidental entrepreneurs” laid off from full-time positions, will make up between 40 and 45 percent of the workforce by 2020 and become a majority by 2030.
As the “contingent” workforce grows, we need to embrace the freelance hustle.
1. Written: Let the student write as much or as little as they want. I think the questions should be very open-ended, with no specific right answers, and should be about issues that the student can relate to. There should be less focus on “facts.” That would relieve a lot of stress, and allow them to really show their intelligence. After those questions are complete, have a section of blank pages where the student is encouraged to write about ANYTHING.
2. Multiple Choice: When putting together the multiple choice questions, there should always be a funny option. I think the funny option, and obviously wrong answer, is always a good way to loosen things up. The brightest minds will never work to their full potential when constantly under an enormous amount of stress.
3. Private Vocal Section: Bring in a psychologist or some kind of specialist or even just “the cool teacher” to talk to each student individually. Give each of them an opportunity to express themselves. I remember being younger and having much better relationships with my teachers outside of the classroom than inside. After this portion, I would have the person having the conversation evaluate where the student’s mind is at.
4. Group: Put students in groups and send them out into the world. Have them interview people, maybe do some type of scavenger hunt. Get them interacting with people, but make sure it’s people from all different classes and walks of life. I think it’s important to show kids how similar all people really are.
5. Physical: A physical test would also be good. Physical health shouldn’t be treated as a joke. Students should know how to eat right, how to exercise, and especially how to get exercise even if they aren’t athletic. (HIKES!!!)
Grading: I don’t think a simple number grade is very good. It allows kids to put themselves into classes based on scores and can be very disheartening. At the end of the day, standardized testing is done to get statistics on schools, districts, cities, and so on. I think the main focus should be on the progressive potential of each student. We should be trying to groom kids to have the ability to change the world and see possibility. In closing, I have no idea if what I just said is possible, but this would be an awesome test.
Who says black kids from Brooklyn only listen to (or create) hip hop? Two talented 12-year-olds, Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins of the band ‘Unlocking the Truth" are absolutely destroying played-out musical stereotypes with their serious heavy metal skills. Sure, they get bullied for rocking guitars and black nail polish, but check 'em out and you’ll see that their skill is undeniable.
mattjosephdiaz-blog