BALTIMORE — Kendrick Tilghman who’s the owner of 5 star enterprise said teaching kids how to D-J while learning math was a lifelong dream for him, and it starts with teaching kids how to DJ while simultaneously using mathematical principles.
“We took the few principles of math 5th grade through nine grade. So part to whole percentages, addition, subtraction, multiplication, ratios, you name it. We took the math in the fifth grade through ninth grade section and applied it to DJing the processes of music,” Tilghman said.
Tilghman said exposing kids to mathematics in this creative way while paring it with music often makes kids more excited to learn about math while being entertained. Furthermore, that can potentially translate to increased creative thinking, higher test scores and hopefully higher graduation rates.
“We wanted to make sure that we could actually take what I learned in school in digital logic and apply it to the art form that I love the best which is the art form of Dj’ing. We’re not in the business of creating DJs all we want to do is add a resource that combines with what’s already there to make it more engaging for our scholars,” Tilghman said.
And that’s just the beginning of the many lessons students can learn. Tilghman says some school districts have already started using the kits in their classrooms and it starts with a kit that includes 35 different lessons on dj’ing while simultaneously learning math.
“Some of those schools are using them as rewards, some of them use it as afterschool programming and some of them use it as an educational resource which we like. Montgomery county public schools have purchased 16 of our math thru music kits and we are providing educational programming as an educational resource along with the product,” Tilghman said.
Math and science are two very important subjects and Tilghman believes instructors need to get more creative with how they engage students while teaching it.
“Everybody loves music it’s the universal language, everybody does not love math hence why we put it together to make it more enjoyable,” Tilghman said.
Tilghman says the goal is to impact one million 5th graders with this method. The kits are available for purchase on a case by case basis, but the retail is around $10,000.00 per kit.