Teacher Thomas Mayfield had a significant problem with his fifth-grade students in 2010. His students would tell him they were not good at adding and did not know how to regroup and borrow. They also admitted to being bad at subtracting, even in fifth grade.
Mayfield admitted it was frustrating as he wanted them to learn more. However, he knew it was crucial to try something new in his teaching approach, especially since most of his students are not just struggling outside the classroom but also outside the school.
Most of his students were from single-parent homes, incarcerated parents, are mostly economically disadvantaged, and have other problems at home. He knew these all too well because he grew up in Fort Worth.
Mixing rap and teaching
Mayfield knew he had to change his teaching style to be more familiar and inviting. So he brought rap music to class.
He made rap music about decimals points, multiplications, and motivational songs like passing the STARR test, the major end-of-year big exam. He wrote songs like Black History Month and Little Girl Magic to help build the student's confidence, NBCDFW5 reports.
The songs, he said, interject into students' minds and psyche that they can do whatever they want to do. It also encouraged the students to dream. He always reminded his students that "hard work turns into heart work before you know it."
According to Mayfield, adding rap into his classroom built confidence and made the students feel like they were more welcomed and invited into the school.
Successful teaching strategy
Mayfield said that teaching math through music became a successful strategy, as students' results that year were promising, WQCS FM says.
The state's score increased, and he got more students in class. Their productivity also went up. To his surprise, kids started caring about coming to school. Their attendance increased, and parents began participating in different events when they usually did not see them.
For Pareece Morehouse, one of Mayfield's former students, pairing math, a difficult subject for her, with music was game-changing.
She recalled doing homework and just singing the song in her head. "It was really a great way to help me make it through math," Morehouse said.
Morehouse said that Mayfield inspired her to do better in school. She was also featured in some of Mayfield's music videos.
The district recognized Mayfield's efforts. He got promoted for the 2021-2022 school year to coach teachers at J.T. Stevens Elementary School in Fort Worth.
Last year, he created jingles for teachers nationwide so they can capture the attention of students while in Zoom class.
Reach out to them
According to Mayfield, his co-teachers would wonder how he got 90 percent of his kids to pass, considering that half come from broken homes and have several domestic problems. He would tell them to spend time getting to know them.
He said that students would be productive in their work if teachers reached out to where they are and took note of their interests. NPR says it may be music, shoes, sports, or anything important that resonates with them.
