Writing Our Rhymes Down (W.O.R.D.)

W.O.R.D. is a youth-led literacy program that works with marginalized youth in Montreal. Through the use of positive hip hop music and culture, we educate, engage and empower youth; therefore, we facilitate the improvement of literacy and critical thinking skills while providing a safe environment for self-actualization.

Our main focus lies in helping learners achieve their respective goals while engaging their families, communities and the larger educational system. W.O.R.D. enhances literacy skills while creating a safe space for self-expression.

 Lynn Worrell – Coordinator

 Tyndale St. Georges Community Centre, 870 Place Richmond Montreal, QC H3J 1V7

 Telephone: (514) 931-6265

 James Lyng School, 5440 Notre Dame W. Montreal, QC H4C 1T9 

 Telephone: (514) 846-8814

• Local
• Servicing Little Burgundy and NDG

Youth, ages (15-22) 

Established: 2007

not provided

• To provide a supplement to the traditional classroom, encouraging literacy development and empowerment by using hip hop as a tool for engagement in sites across the city of Montreal
• To provide each participant with the resources to write, record and produce their own original hip hop song, using various forms of media
• To promote positive hip hop culture through education and discussion, and by acting as an intervention between negative media messages and the reality of inner-city youth in society

W.O.R.D. creates a safe and nurturing environment for its participants so that they may strengthen their critical thinking skills and increase their self-awareness. Our methods were developed drawing from extensive research on the growing number of successful youth-led programs around the world. W.O.R.D.’s two successful pilot programs at Tyndale St. Georges Community Centre and James Lyng School in Montreal between January 2007 and May 2008 have provided us with a rich store of experience that has, also, contributed to our program’s strong foundation. Because these youth don’t, typically, thrive in traditional classroom environments, W.O.R.D. is a welcomed alternative. By using hip hop music and culture as curriculum, we provide a rewarding and valuable alternative to normative educational praxes.

W.O.R.D., ultimately, is about complementing traditional curricular approaches to literacy, enabling youth empowerment and criticality by using hip hop music and culture as a means of engagement. And, we provide each participant with a variety of resources so that they may write, record and produce their own original hip hop song using assorted media. Last but not least, our interactive lessons that stimulate dialogue and reflection prompt our participants to think critically about negative media messages and the ways in which they may or may not inform and/or reflect their lives.

We believe that the best way to engage marginalized youth is by allowing them to speak – to make their voices heard! We promote positive hip hop culture via our dialogic educational approach; thus, we address negative media messages and the ways in which they may or may not inform and/or reflect the lives of our participants.

We believe that youth living in poverty and/or with violence enter the normative educational system at a disadvantage. These youth may end up resenting education and feeling disconnected from the achievability and importance of positive community involvement. We believe that there is a strong need for innovative programming that speaks to marginalized youth – that encourages them to speak up for themselves and ultimately, provides them with the skills and tools required for success

W.O.R.D. is a youth-led literacy program that works with marginalized youth in Montreal. Through the use of positive hip hop music and culture, we educate, engage and empower youth; therefore, we facilitate the improvement of literacy and critical thinking skills while providing a safe environment for self-actualization.

We believe that the best way to engage marginalized youth is by allowing them to speak – to make their voices heard! We promote positive hip hop culture via our dialogic educational approach; thus, we address negative media messages and the ways in which they may or may not inform and/or reflect the lives of our participants.

W.O.R.D. provides its participants with a needed nurturing environment to strengthen their critical thinking skills and self- awareness. W.O.R.D. methodology was developed through extensive research of the growing number of successful youth-led programs around the world. We are grounded in an understanding of the power of the word to provide tools for self-actualization. Our two successful pilot programs at Tyndale St. Georges Community Centre in Little Burgundy, and James Lyng School in Montreal between January 2007 and May 2008 have provided us with a base of experience that has created a powerful program basis.

We believe that the best way to engage inner-city youth who have not thrived in the traditional classroom environment is to speak in their voice, on their terms. W.O.R.D. uses hip-hop music and culture as programming and curriculum to provide a rewarding and valuable supplement to traditional classroom learning.
This focus is well aligned with Quebec’s new reform to education, as it satisfies two of the Broad Areas of Learning, specifically those relating media literacy, and citizenship and community learning. We focus on achieving the goals of the individual learner, and engaging with the education system, the community and the family to support success.

Length of Program: 6-9 months

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Affiliates: Digital Literacy Project