funding for this project is generously provided by the mott foundation. collaborative partners:...
TRANSCRIPT
Funding for this project is generously provided by the Mott Foundation.
Collaborative Partners: GISD, MCC, MMC, MDE
46 Million Americans… 15% of the population live in poverty.
• 80% of America’s wealth is owned by 4% of the population.
• 40% of it is owned by 1% of the population.
QUESTIONS:
What do you believe causes poverty?
Where do your beliefs come from? • Were they passed down from your parents?• Did you learn them from your community?• Do you have your own experience with poverty?
How are your experiences and exposure to opportunities, while growing up, different than students and families you serve?
Are you armed with relevant facts about poverty?
Are you able to suspend judgment and understand people are making the best decisions possible from their perspective?
16 Million U.S. Children… 1 out of 5, live in families that struggle
to put food on the table.
• Nationally, the average welfare check for one parent and two children is $478 per month.
• Twenty years ago, it was $408. • The average disability check is $600. • Less than 2% of the federal budget is allocated
for welfare.
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans experienced a
stint of poverty between 2009 & 2011.
The suburban poverty rate in the U.S. in 2012 was 11.3%
Rural poverty has exceeded urban
poverty every year since the 60’s.
• 1 in 4 working households in America spend more than half of
their pre-tax income on housing.
• In 2012, the National Low Income Housing Coalition
conducted a study that examined the cost of housing across
the United States, and found that no city had rentals priced
low enough where a minimum wage earner could live
comfortably.
• Youth living in poverty are the least likely to become educated in our nation.
• People living in poverty often experience education as “stress” and see it as a place they do not belong.
A college education appears to be the only
possibility to help people break the walls of
poverty and escape its hardships; yet today, it
is less likely a person in poverty will attain a
college education than it was in the 1940’s.
GENERATIONAL POVERTY:
Two or more generations born into poverty
Family never owned land
Highly mobile
Evictions/Shut Offs
First to graduate from high school
Has never known anyone who benefited from education
High rate of family illiteracy
Has never been respected in a job
Lack of tools/skill set to move out of poverty
Emphasis on survival
Focus is on making it through the day
URBAN POVERTY:
Metropolitan areas of 50,000 or more
Complex aggregate of chronic and acute stressors
Overcrowding
Noise
Violence
Less green spaces
Low air and water quality
Many of the housing options are old and deteriorated; often not well kept
Inconsistent health care
Dependent on large city services which are often inadequate
RURAL POVERTY:
Rural poverty rate is higher than urban rate of poverty
Non metropolitan areas
Much longer distance to services and educational options/no public transit
Fewer job opportunities
More single guardian households
Less access to services, such as health care and disability services
Lack of cultural experiences such as museums and libraries
Fewer opportunities for quality education and post-secondary options
SITUATIONAL POVERTY:
Often caused by a sudden crisis or loss Environmental disasters Divorce Health issues Family death Job loss or economic slowdown
More likely to bounce back and finish education
Often temporary
Can lose health care options which can perpetuate health crises
Major income drop impacting lifestyle
Often surrounded by people who are educated or able to earn a living wage
Attendance is accepted norm
Have not internalized the poverty as a personal problem
Often does not realize the advantage of growing up middle class
RELATIVE POVERTY:Economic income of a family whose income is insufficient to meet its society’s average standard of living
Working, but rarely have money for extras
Live paycheck to paycheck
Often teased or harassed by more affluent students
Often lack financial means to participate in activities of classmatesOften reluctant to have friends over to see their home because it does not compare with most of the other students’ housing.Few have health care
Focus on making it two weeks or through the month
Poverty seen as personal deficiency
CULTURAL POVERTY:
Have little or no financial resources
Face language and cultural barriers
Often struggling to straddle two cultures
Lack understanding of norms of second culture
May slip through the cracks
Extended family may be in another country
Or, may be multiple family members and multi-generational family members in home
Often do better than those born into poverty in America
Poverty is viewed as a system problem
ATTRIBUTES OF STUDENTS IN POVERTY:Poverty can undermine the development of self and the capacity of self-determination and self-efficacy.Strained resources correlate directly with poor school attendance, lower grades and lower chances of attending college.More stressors in family means they receive less positive reinforcement. More stress riddled attachments with parents, teachers and adult caregivers.Often lack a caring, dependable adult. Strains in attachments and added stressors often lead to behavioral issues in school. Fewer books at home, more time watching TV or video games. Transportation issues.
So…. these students are facing: Social and emotional challenges, including depression Acute and chronic stressors Cognitive lags Health and safety issues More limited coping skills Poor, short-term memory
Differences in the Brain Function Between High and Low SES
Brain function was measured by means of an electroencephalograph (EEG) - basically, a cap fitted with electrodes to measure electrical activity in the brain – like that used to assess epilepsy, sleep disorders and brain tumors.
“Kids from lower socioeconomic levels show brain physiology patterns similar to someone who actually had damage in the frontal lobe as an adult,” said Robert Knight, director of the institute and a UC Berkeley professor of psychology. “We found that kids are more likely to have a low response if they have low socioeconomic status, though not everyone who is poor has low frontal lobe responses.”
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/12/images/eeg-brain.gif
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The adjustments we make to support our students dealing with poverty help all our students.
OUR ATTITUDES:
Debunk myths
Know the culture of your community
Have high expectations for all students
Make decisions with your own children in mind
Believe in the student and their ability
OUR BEHAVIOR:
Role model appropriate behavior
Embody respect
Be inclusive
Focus on the gifts, not the deficits
Celebrate successes
Show empathy and cultural awareness
Connect students to mentors whenever possible
SCHOOL POLICY & CURRICULA:
Advisory groups
Embed social skills
Use differentiated instruction
Use all the senses and address all learning styles
Incorporate reading interventions
Utilize vocabulary in all disciplines
Mastery learning/nothing lower than a ‘C’
Be ready to change classroom practice
Address knowledge gaps
Panel:Dan Seder- principal/Bay Middle CollegeLisa Reaume- counselor/Monroe Co.Middle
CollegeKatherine Carr- teacher/Mott Middle College
Team Time:
The Great Inversion – “We’re in the midst of ‘the Great Inversion,’
writes Alan Ehrnhalt (2012) a journalist and analyst at the Pew Center
on the States. Put simply, in the United States, affluent people are
moving back to the cities as lower-income people move out to the
suburbs. The social ramifications of this flip-flop are far-reaching. One
positive outcome is the potential for greater school integration along
race and class lines as both cities and suburbs become more diverse.”
Ed Leadership/May 2013
Resources:2010 Census Bureau Report
Faces of Poverty. (2013). Education Leadership, www.ascd.org
LeBlanc-Esparza, R., & Roulston, W.(2012) Breaking the Poverty Barrier: Changing Student Lives with Passion, Perseverance, and Performance. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree
Tileston, D. & Darling, S. (2008) Why Culture Counts: Teaching Children of Poverty. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree
Payne, R.K. (2001) A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highland, TX: Aha Press.
Beegle, D.(2007) See Poverty….Be the Difference. Portland, OR: Communication Across Barriers, inc.
