Dallas Music hath value in teaching teens health lessons Matthew Clarke, M.D., left, and John Clarke, M.D., produce, write, perform, promote and distribute rap CDs on health topics. But it also is a key to the inner world of adolescents and a way to teach teens about health and social responsibility. Matthew Clarke, M.D., a community-based family physician in New York City, and his brother, John Clarke, M.D., chief family practice resident at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in New York City, described their program to educate adolescents on medical topics through rap music Sept. 21 at the Assembly. They not only talked about the program, they also performed some of the music.
Music is important to the identity of adolescents.
It plays a large role in their socialization, and it helps them define important social and subcultural boundaries. Rap music is the sound of choice for most adolescents, he said. About 71 percent of rap music CDs are bought by white kids, he added. The Clarke brothers wanted to counteract the negative messages and images music videos send to teens and young adults about violence, substance abuse, sex and suicide. So they conducted a study among 125 high school students in Queens, N.Y., and concluded that rap music would be an effective way to reach this age group.