Earlier this month, an eighth grade teacher at The Charter Schools of Boynton Beach in South Florida was suspended for three days after students were given Lil Wayne lyrics as part of a homework assignment. The incident was recently brought to Lil Wayne’s attention during an appearance on “ESPN First Take,” where he was also given the opportunity to voice his opinion on the matter.
While addressing the teacher’s suspension, Lil Wayne first stated that he’s not embarrassed by anything he’s said on a record. He then informed those watching that he does not agree with the use of his lyrics in teaching a group of eighth graders.
“I’d never be embarrassed by anything I say because I say it and I mean it,” Lil Wayne said. “But I don’t think that kids—I mean, I don’t think that you should be trying to teach it any way to kids because I don’t record it and say it for kids to listen to it, but they will hear it. But it’s a difference between hearing and listening. You know? So, not that it’s okay for them to hear it, but if they hear it then so be it. They hear it. But when you trying to teach them to listen to it that’s a difference and I don’t try to teach them that. I just—I do what I do. And I don’t think that would be right for you to try and teach kids what I’m saying.”
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According to Wayne Owens, The Charter Schools of Boynton Beach headmaster, the eighth grade teacher chose to use Wayne’s lyrics because students found it difficult to identify literary devices in the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare.
“The lesson was for students to learn to identify literary devices,” Owens said in a statement. “The teacher had already introduced Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare. Students were having difficulty grasping the concepts of literary devices such as: pun, simile, metaphor, so the teacher used colloquial material. This material did not meet the school’s standards and was not approved. The teacher recognizes that it was totally inappropriate for a school assignment.”
As part of their assignment, the eighth grade students were asked to underline examples of figurative language in the lyrics to Lil Wayne and Cory Gunz’ “6 Foot 7 Foot.”
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