It’s How We Eat, Not How We Learn:

Ensuring Success in Our Title 1 Schools

MATC Synthesis Paper

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Teaching and
Curriculum Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University

Drexton J. Sportel
PID A42221517
Fall Semester, 2018
Introduction:
 Growing up attending Title 1 schools my whole life, I have seen some of the

common pitfalls and issues that plague both the educators teaching in them and the

students learning in the classrooms since my first day of school. Some of these issues

are out of the control of all the stakeholders in the districts, and some are unfortunately

self-inflicted. My life is not an example of “making it out” of a failing school, in a failing

neighborhood, in a failing district; that mindset, I would argue is one of the largest

issues that spans education as a whole in our society, but rather evidence of the

immensely valuable, and often untapped potential that students in Title 1 schools

possess. We need to stop viewing Title 1 schools and the students who attend them as

charity cases, who need to have people swoop in and save them from their “poor,

unfortunate lives” and start to view them as what they are. Untapped potential, that with

more thoughtful and culturally knowledgeable curriculum and teaching force, can

accomplish anything.

I do not write this to come across as conceited or to prove my ability. In fact, I

would consider myself one of the less pure “academically talented” students throughout

my educational career. However, I had many privileges provided to me throughout my

life. Although I was raised in a single parent middle-income household, my mother was

a college graduate, I had access to countless books and other materials that furthered

my desire to learn, and I was able to travel consistently throughout my childhood

introducing me to new cultures, ideas and people. Many of my friends and classmates

were not able to experience or engage in the privileges that I was throughout my

childhood, and therein lies the question that we must tackle as educators: how can we

create a successful environment for all students who reside in Title 1 schools and other
overlooked districts? Not just the districts, to borrow a term from W.E.B. Du Bois, whose

population includes the “Talented Tenth?”

Some will argue that the solution has to come from a level above classroom

teachers. They will say that policy-makers and politicians are the only ones who can

truly create equity in Title 1 schools and classrooms, but that is both a dangerous and

insulting narrative. The backbone and driving force of change in education has always

been and always will be the classroom teacher. We are the agents of change and we

must shoulder this burden, something we are used to doing, if we are going to create

spaces in which all of our students can be successful; however, to accomplish this, we

must be able to not only hold a mirror to the whole of the educational systems, but

ourselves and our practices as well. If we are not willing to admit our own shortcomings

and areas for improvement we cannot hope for a system as a whole to do the same.

Cultural Awareness:

In a country that was founded with the words “All men are created equal” we

know that phrase could not be further from the truth across all levels of American

society, but especially in our Education system. All children have the ability and, more

importantly, the human right to be provided a quality education. Yetit would be foolish to

think that there is a cookie-cutter way to provide that education. All students are not

going to be able learn in the same way, and one of the largest factors in developing

curriculum to reach every student, is culture. Each child that walks through our

classroom door has had countless unique experiences that shape how they learn, view

us as educators, and their willingness to believe in themselves. We, as educators need

to make sure that we are not only keeping these experiences and cultures in mind

during our one-on-one interactions with children, but in all we do in our classroom.

I believe that there is a lack of Cultural Awareness from teachers in classrooms

across the nation. I believe that there is an incorrect assumption about Title 1 schools

and the imaginary cultural awareness that teaching students that are predominantly

from disenfranchised groups creates. As I highlighted in my Problem of Practice paper

(Artifact 1): “The school I currently teach at is a Title 1 school in Metro-Atlanta. Each day

for the past two years I have made it a point to take note of each classroom and its

environment. In a school that it is predominately African-American and Latinx students, I

can count the times on one hand that I’ve seen black or brown faces staring back at me

from the walls of a classroom. To compound this issue, the faces and cultures that do

stare back down at them are those of white people and white cultures.” The fact that

you are employed at a Title 1 school does not automatically make you more culturally

aware then the idea that going swimming automatically makes you a fish. Those of us

who teach in these classrooms are tasked with making sure that our students first, feel

comfortable in their skin and culture, and then feel celebrated in those same elements.

It was in TE 822, Culture in the Classroom and Curriculum that I became acutely

aware of this charge that is so necessary as educators. I came to know the term

‘Multicultural Education’ and its meaning very well. The Glossary of Education Reform

defines multiculturalism as, “any form of education or teaching that incorporates the

histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural

backgrounds” (Education Reform, 2013). I also took time to reflect on just how both

necessary and difficult incorporating multiculturalism can be in my Final Reflection for

this same course (Artifact 2): “I feel that far too many educators treat multiculturalism as

somewhat of a chore, and I don’t mean to come off as holier than thou, because quite

frankly, multiculturalism is a time-consuming, difficult and sometimes frustrating concept

to tackle. However, when I see some educators talk about multiculturalism...I feel as if

they are talking about going to the Secretary of State, something that they have to do, to

keep their classroom functioning and administration off their back. To treat the idea of

multiculturalism this way is doing both your students and yourself a great disservice.”

We must do a better job making sure that our students’ cultures are not only accepted,

but celebrated, and realizing that when this happens our classrooms will become not

only a more safe and accepting place, but also a place where all students have a better

chance of finding success.

Culturally Appropriate Literature and Analysis:

In my opinion, one of the most crucial ways that we can ensure that students of

all different backgrounds and cultures feel not only safe, but celebrated in our

classrooms, is through the books we give them access to. Just as I mentioned earlier

how important it is for our students to be able to look up at the walls in our hallways and

classrooms and see people who look like them staring back down at them, it is equally,

important to pick up a book and find characters and cultures that they feel comfortable

with, or relate to. The books that do not fit these criteria should be analyzed and

critiqued by our students. We need to equip our students with the ability to analyze and

critique: pull out the positives of the novel, while leaving the negative, self-damaging

aspects behind.
 I believe that too often, we as teachers can fall into the trap of stocking our

shelves with the “classics” or the books that we grew up reading. While some of these

books certainly hold-up over time, many of them don’t, for various reasons. One of the

most obvious reasons, is that the text simply is not interesting to many students of the

current generation. Yes, perhaps you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables or Little Women,

but dying on the “I enjoyed these books as a child, so my students will too” hill seems

short-sighted. The second reason is the more difficult to stomach, and as a result even

more problematic for our students. As we look back at some of the books that were so

important to our childhood, we experience a great feeling of nostalgia and that nostalgia

can cause us to experience blind spots to some of the problematic issues throughout

those texts.

This happened to me time and time again in TE 838: Children’s Literature in Film.

In my reflection paper (Artifact 3) on the similarities and differences between the film

and book versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I highlight how I made the

same mistake that I believe is far too common in teachers: “One of the most interesting

things that this course has done is remind me how different texts can seem based on

where you are in life when you read them.” We forget some of the issues that these

books cause because of the blind spots that our childhood present. As teachers, but

perhaps even more as readers, we tend to erase all of the problematic parts of books

throughout our childhood, or in some cases we weren’t even aware of it to begin with.

In my Final Paper for TE838 (Artifact 4) I went on to talk about just how pivotal

this type of literary, critical analysis can be. Not only is it important for us as educators,

but it is also eye-opening for our students. Focusing on Roald Dahl especially, “On the
one hand many teachers I know view him as a quintessential children’s author, whose

books bring joy and happiness to countless students. Now while this certainly may be

the case, there is another side to his books that if we fail to discuss and analyze both

with ourselves as educators, and with our students, we are, in my opinion doing a

disservice to everyone involved. Focusing on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

specifically we see example after example of body-shaming, sweeping generalizations

and stereotypes of certain cultures and genders. Not to mention the complete and utter

lack of any multicultural characters.” As educators, we are tasked with providing our

students culturally aware and appropriate books, but we are also tasked with providing

our students opportunities to think critically. Often, we think of these opportunities as

classroom assignments, inquiry projects, or day-to-day decisions that students make.

However, we can’t overlook the ability for students to make choices about what and who

they read as critical decisions, as well.

I believe that reading not only about your own cultures, but others as well, is

absolutely necessary for academic success However, a child is not defined solely by

their academic success, but the continued development of the “whole child.” This is

another aspect that is obviously important in all schools, but I would argue plays a larger

role in Title 1 Schools. Teachers should be aware of this while they are building their

classroom library and introducing texts to their students. In TE 867: Global Perspectives

in Education, I talked in Artifact 5, which happened to be a project description of a

project I have implemented in my classroom. The project’s premise revolved around

important role books can play not only in celebrating one’s own culture, but others as

well. Focusing finally on students becoming more globally-aware citizens: “This project
will take place in two parts. In the first part of the project your child will take part in a

“book buffet” in which they are able to select a novel that will feature a character that

lives in a place that your student is not familiar with, and comes from a culture that your

student will most likely know little to nothing about. The goal of this project is to help

expand your child’s knowledge about countries, cultures, and ideas that are unfamiliar

to them. Your student will also deepen their understanding of how their actions and

decisions impact others.” We know that books open up doorways to all types of places,

both real and imagined, but we need to ensure that for our students they also open up

doors to other cultures and ideas as well.

Whether it be the books that we stock our classroom libraries with, the books that

we read aloud, or simply the books that we recommend, it is our job as educators,

especially those in Title 1 Schools, to ensure that our students feel not only safe, but

celebrated between those pages. It can be a difficult task, as there seems to be no

shortage of white, male protagonists staring back at us from the covers of books, but

our students deserve to hear the stories of their cultures and people told, both real and

imagined. However, we also know that we do not live in a perfect world, where the right

books are always going to find themselves in the right hands, so equally as important is

providing our students with the ability to analyze literature beyond just “theme, main

idea, and setting”. They have to be able to think deeper than the words in front of them,

sift through the negatives and find, at the end, something that they can take away that

makes them feel special and important, because after all that’s what they are.

Thinking Outside of the Box, Responsibly:

 One of the most essential qualities that all teachers must maintain, especially

those who educate in Title 1 schools, is the ability to adjust and adapt.We know that all

students are different and subsequently must be taught, talked to, and thought about in

many different ways. Working inside Title 1 schools, we know that our students come

from many diverse backgrounds and may have had countless experiences that we may

not be able to relate to. As a result of this, we need to think about potentially

unconventional ways to both educate our students and build relationships with them.

However, while we are considering and contemplating these ways, we need to

make sure that they are not only effective, but appropriate and rooted in the right place.

As I took TE 822: Culture inside the Classroom and Curriculum, I began to think about

how to best balance these needs. Our class focused on how to best to integrate Hip-

Hop into the classroom effectively. In Artifact 6 I discuss, along with some help from

Gloria Ladson-Billings, some of the potential pitfalls that educators can run into while

trying to use a medium like Hip-Hop in the classroom: “Gloria Ladson-Billings discusses

the same idea in Beyond Beats, Rhymes & Beyonce. She warns against teachers using

Hip-Hop recklessly, ‘But I must confess a fear of any wholesale appropriation of youth

culture—especially Hip Hop—into the typical school classroom. This is not because I

have fears about the significance or content of Hip Hop but rather a fear of distortion

and misappropriation of the art by those who do not truly understand it and see it as a

gimmick.’ How do we make sure that it’s meaningful and honest and not, as Ladson-

Billings references, a “gimmick?” Again, I think that it comes from being honest with

ourselves and our students, they need to know that we truly care about the things that
those in the Hip-Hop culture care about and are not simply portraying a facade for our

students and taking the mask off when we leave our classroom.”

As educators, we must understand what type of power bringing unconventional

practices, like Hip-Hop, into the classroom can have. Something like this cannot be

done quickly or without thought, because if done incorrectly, it can have unintended

negative consequences. However, if we are able to do one of the most difficult things as

a teacher, give up some of the power in our classroom, and open our eyes to some out-

of-the-box thinking, we can help reach our students in ways previously unthought of. I

discuss this idea and some of the benefits, especially for certain demographics we find

often in Title 1 Schools in Artifact 7: “One of the first steps as educators to creating the

classroom environment that we strive for is simply opening the floor to our students. A

group of voices, ideas and stories that are missing from our classroom and

subsequently our society, is that of African-Americans. This is hardly new information

and there have been many strides made to create that equity of voices but many of our

Black children’s stories are being drowned out and it is not just their stories being

overlooked. One of major ways that we can get Black students voices heard is to

introduce Hip-Hop into our classroom. Some teachers resist allowing Hip-Hop into their

classroom because of the societal stigma that goes along with it, but they must push it

aside and witness the value held throughout.”

As educators, especially those in Title 1 schools, we must continue to push the

boundaries of what “best practices” are inside our classrooms and how to best teach

and reach every child that walks through our door. However, we must maintain a certain

level of caution as we do this, remembering that the new ideas and concept we bring
into our classrooms need to be rooted in the right ideals and mindsets, and not as a

gimmick or a band-aid used to try and solve a more long term problem. We are tasked

with so much as teachers, that this balancing act can seem just one more daunting task

on a list filled with them. However, creating a classroom that is continually innovative

not just with technology or curriculum, but with practices that are embedded in culture

and student experiences is something that every teacher should strive for.

Conclusion:

There are countless Title 1 Schools throughout this nation, employing thousands

of teachers, and educating millions of children. Each one of them has countless

similarities and even more differences. What should remain constant across every one

of these schools is the quality of education that the students who attend them receive.

We as educators need to ensure that not only ourselves, but our colleagues as well, are

doing everything in our power to provide these students with an educational experience

in which not only their academic successes are celebrated, but their backgrounds and

cultures are as well.

To ensure this, there are obviously countless steps that need to be taken, but the

first is to admit that there are blind spots throughout every level of our educational

system, from the teacher prep programs, all the way to the policy makers in

Washington. Once we have done that, we can go about correcting and remedying these

issues to make sure that all children, no matter what school they attend, what ethnicity

they are, or what they eat for lunch, are able to have a quality, culturally appropriate

education. It is a daunting task, to be sure, but there is no better place to start making a

change in education, in my opinion, than in your own classroom.