Diversity In The Classroom

Fifty years after the declaration of war on poverty, an increasing number of children still grow up in poverty in this country. Poverty is now more determinative than race as a predictor of student educational success (Reardon, 2013). The achievement gap between the poor and the more economically advantaged child has actually widened over the last three decades (Reardon, 2013). If we are to provide all children with equal and excellent educational opportunities, it is imperative that we utilize the most effective strategies and enhancements to overcome the educational disadvantages that poor children experience.

The children who live in poverty tend to do worse in school than other students. When they are in school and at home they are not concerned about what the teacher is teaching but about where their next meal is coming from. They do not get the help they need at home because their parents are at work and they have to take care of their siblings. If the child has a learning disability they do not get the proper help or even know about it because they do not have the money to get someone who can teach the child how to perform well with this disability. . They will get placed in a classroom where instead of the teacher teaching them, they call them stupid and don 't teach them anything. They also tend to hate the teacher because they are downgrading them.In the movie freedom writers it tells the story of a school who had a class just for underprivileged children. They hated the teacher when she came because they felt like she was just like they other teachers. When they saw that she actually cared they began to listen to what she was teaching. The schools they attend are low funded school. These schools underpaid teachers and make them feel like they don 't have to teach to their full potential. They books the children receive are torn, have missing pages, and are so old they have outdated information.

Students who come from an impoverished family will struggle. The factors that Barton has addressed in these pages are just a drop in the bucket. Many of these students come to us dealing with things we could never imagine having to deal with. As educators, we need to make sure we are standing in the gap for those kids on a daily basis.

In her article, Bearers of Hope, Julie Landsman (2006) reviews the tools and techniques that educators must have to be successful when teaching students that have poor living conditions. The number of students living at poverty level or below poverty level condition is rising. These students do not have access to the resources that other children may be able to obtain. Due to this factor, people seem to place limitations on students that have no control over the circumstances in which they have been placed. These children are capable of learning and succeeding. Teachers have to believe in the potential of their students and make accommodations for each student’s situation.

Is the rising poverty rate of America negatively affecting the education of high school students across the nation? Unemployment, parents’ level of education and a profound list that continues has shown to impact a child’s education. In 2013, “a majority of of children attending our K-12 public schools [came] from low-income families” (Suitts 35). Poverty-stricken students are more likely to receive poor grades than those living above the poverty line. What seems to be affecting the grades of these impoverished students? The constant need to support their family financially, physically, and emotionally. Teachers may be unaware that some students face these hardships throughout their daily lives. They need to understand that students of lower socioeconomic statuses may not prioritize homework over taking care of their family during a time of need. Teachers should be more aware to better serve and understand their students. There is crucial evidence that supports that socioeconomic status does affect the education of those living under the poverty line, but some researchers believe that it has no effect on students’ education at all. Teachers should be more aware how socioeconomic status affects the grades of high school students.

Poverty is something that significantly impacts the lives of many people. Cuthrell, Stapleton, and Ledford (2010) stated in the article Examining the Culture of Poverty: Promising Practices that the number of children in the United States living in poverty is nearing 13 million. Cuthrell et al. (2010) also stated this means one of six children is poor. These statistics justify that poverty is a pivotal issue educators need to understand to benefit those students that are living in poverty. In the article The Importance of Making the Well-Being of Children in Poverty a Priority it states, “children from low-income families are more likely to suffer from preventable illnesses, fail in school, become teenage parents, and become involved in the justice system” (Prince, Pepper, & Brocato, 2006, P. 21). This shows that there are many obstacles and barriers that people living in poverty will have to face and overcome. It is very important that both people living in poverty and those that work with individuals that live in poverty become educated on how to conquer these obstacles. School Counselors are going to play a large role in helping students that are being raised in poverty. They will not only help the students that are living in poverty, but the school staff and parents as well.

The population increase across the United States has also significantly impacted the socioeconomic status of the student population. The low income and poverty level of students has been increasing. In 2013 approximately 21 percent of school aged children were living among poverty. ( ) This is a vast amount of students within the population that are affected. Living in poverty can have a significant impact on the education of the student. An educator needs to be aware of the challenges and obstacles this may have on the students’education.

Educators are perhaps the best super humans out there at this point in age. They constantly have to change and adapt new skills to keep up with new technology, psychological upgrades and environmental traumas that impact students. In Eric Jensen’s Teaching with Poverty in Mind provides new techniques future and current educators should use to combat the impact that poverty has on students, mentally, emotionally and physically. Jensen’s text has strengthened my opinions on education as well as added new views towards my future career as a high school educator.

These authors from Southern Arkansas University and University of West Florida examined the gaps in achievement between underprivileged and privileged students in the United States. They evaluated various studies relating to poverty negatively impacting student achievement. This article illustrates how poverty develops a specific culture and standard of living and is a growing concern in America. Lacour & Tissington address academic success of underprivileged students and how it directly affects their performance caused by the lack of resources available for student achievement. Poverty signifies the extent to which a person forgoes resources. These resources may include financial, mental, physical and emotional support. Accordingly, Lacour

Beegle suggested that a teacher’s ignorance of socioeconomic status (SES) creates a lack sense of belongingness (2003). Having a low SES affects more than just a person’s education, it affects their accessibility to health services (Shah, 2014). Poor individuals “have little representation” in the political arena, this easily contributes to the hardships of escaping poverty (Shah, 2014). My teaching experience includes a few poverty stricken public schools, therefore, I was able to partake in necessary developmental training programs that allowed me to see poverty from a student’s insight. During one of the most memorable professional development trainings, participants were forced to complete schoolwork without using their dominant hand, read a passage in dim lighting, and other related tasks that mimic the struggles poor children face on a daily routine in the classroom. [add

When reading this article, “How Poverty Affects Behavior and Academic Performance,” it triggered several different emotions personally, professionally, and academically. I find it so fascinating that the research shows how socioeconomic status has a significant impact on students which makes complete sense. The information contained in this document can be applied to the classroom by practicing the action steps, the author suggests that can bring about positive transformation for children in the lower socioeconomic bracket, but these ideas can be applied across the board that may be beneficial for all children (Jensen, 2017). Teachers who are attuned to students needs and use emotional intelligence, can look past the surface issues and assess

With the amount of poverty in our nation, it seems that it is the least of our concern. If we put as much effort in ending poverty as we do in fighting each other in a race war, we might actually get somewhere on both grounds. Though there are many studies that have been done on the difference of education level among race or ethnicity, one thing has been proven, “no matter the color or ethnicity of the child, studies have proved that students who live in poverty score well-below average” (Lacoure and Tissington) socially and academically. Children that suffer from poverty are “one point three times more likely to have developmental delays or learning disabilities than those who don’t live in poverty (11 Facts about Education and Poverty in America).” Child poverty can affect a child’s foundation of life-long skill that they will use as building blocks in creating relationship with teachers and their fellow peer. Through poverty the intellectual ability and brain growth of a child can be interfered with if a child’s emotional needs are not met, in-turn creating hardships that will follow them throughout life.

Purpose of the Research: Making sure educators and teachers recognize the trials they will have to overcome when trying to educate children of poverty (Payne, 2008).

Harold Hodgkinson (1999), a noted demographer, labels poverty as the “universal handicap,” with social class more important than race. Poverty is a reality in our world, and they are a lot of children that are affected by it. Low-income children have a hard time learning how to read because they do not have the necessary support at home. Most of this kid’s parents, work 2-3 jobs to provide their children with a house, food, etc. Since the teacher can control this situations happening at home, she/he needs to find ways to help the student in the classroom. However, this doesn’t mean that low-income parents do not care about their kid’s education. Most of them do value literacy, they just do not have the extra time to help their kids at home.

Teaching children of poverty can be very challenging. These children are more likely than their peers to experience poor nutrition, parents with low educational attainment and underemployment, broken families, child abuse and neglect, drug abuse, teen-age pregnancies and high rates of dropping out (Holt & Garcia, 2016). It has been my experience that these students are a little rough around the edges which may cause an educator the inability to see beyond the exterior of the child thus treating them more harshly than their peers. Being employed in a Title 1 school, I have had the pleasure of working with students and families whose major source of income is welfare. They often came from a single-parent household and arrived at school improperly dressed and usually hungry. I found that meeting the child’s basic needs helped them focus on school and took some of the stress off of their parents as they knew their child was in a safe, caring place. One thing that was vital in our classroom was firmness and consistency. Unfortunately, many teachers and schools do not possess the knowledge and experience required for success in these more challenging schools. Impoverished students often do not care about their education nor did their parents seem to care how their children perform in school (Holt & Garcia, 2016). I feel this can be attributed to distraction from just trying to survive. In order to have greater success in the classroom of impoverished students, teachers need to