I am truly a believer that education is the solution to break the cycle of generational poverty. It was such a coincidence that I was assigned to play the role of a public school teacher in the Poverty simulation. This paper explains my actions and decisions as the public school teacher and how my action and decisions could have impacted individuals, families and the community. Finally, I conclude this paper with my recommendation as a business leader to address poverty locally and regionally.
Actions/Decisions
First few minutes into the simulation it was difficult for me to visualize my class mates as suffering from poverty. When I looked at the name tag my class mates were wearing, which had a picture, name and age of a real person, it changed my whole perspective to the simulation. Each of them had a story and it became too real too soon that these were real people out there with real problems. I had a 16 year old girl in my class who was 7 months pregnant and was unable to locate her body friend. Didn’t have a clue of how she was going to take care of her baby, how she is going to pay her hospital bills and what she was going to do to have a sustainable income at the age of 16 to take care of a baby. She was looking to me for assistance and guidance. I was truly overwhelmed with the number of students in my class and only had the time and resource to do just the bare minimum. This girl was an intelligent and good student. As her teacher I had an opportunity to guide
Nelson Mandela once said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (Make Poverty History, 2005). Gwinnett county is third in the country when it comes to a high poverty rate, with 14% of the population living below poverty (Family Promise of Gwinnet County, 2013). As an educator it is important to familiarize with the county of which one is to teach in, and poverty is an issue in Gwinnett county. One must understand the affects of poverty on
Poverty is everywhere in this world especially in education. Poverty in education could come from the location of the school, the child’s home life, how the students feel about school and in many other ways. Poverty comes in all shapes and forms, “An appalling number of American Children live in poverty. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 14.7 million, or nearly 20 percent of children under age 18, live below the poverty line” (When Poverty…). The kids/students bring those debilitating effect with them to school every day.
Many kids in the United States have been affected by poverty at some point in their lives. In fact, one in five children have been affected by poverty. A survey was done within the last year by the Scholastic company that interviewed a group of the State Teachers of the Year and asked them what they thought were some of the effects of poverty. Some popular answers were that it affects the way you perform in school greatly and that we need more anti-poverty programs to help out with these children. Poverty affects the success of students in many ways. These include not having the academic achievement that more advantaged kids did, not having experiences other kids did, and not having the early development they needed.
In conclusion, Beegle, says in her article that people need to know what the poverty is. As well, they need to take Poverty 101 course in their life to address what is poverty in real life. Beagle, says in her article about her life, and how she was born in generations of poverty, and how most of her family members were uneducated. But, she struggled the poverty to earn a doctorate in education leadership from Portland State University. Beegle’s, urges people to get know poverty. By talking about her personal life as evidence of what she meant to say in her article, which is really matter to talk about her experience with
A Framework for Understanding Poverty is a book, written by Ruby K. Payne for the purpose of helping educators impact their students in poverty through opportunities. This book examines experiences from all economic classes in order to evaluate the differences in education among each class. Payne talks about the different types of poverty and the resources needed to be a stable and educated person. Poverty is “the extent to which an individual does without resources”.
In her essay, “All Kids Should Take Poverty 101,” Donna Beegle discusses the issue of poverty. She wants to help people understand and in turn decrease poverty in America. She suggests the solution of educating children in the k-12 system by having them take, “Poverty 101.” In teaching children “Poverty 101” it will help them understand the reality of poverty and not just the stereotypes they believe. Beegle hopes that will help empower those in poverty to help change their situation and will help those who do not live in poverty understand its true causes. Beegle’s solution was effective because she used her own personal stories to incorporate into her argument. Her lack of statistics and facts fail to strengthen the argument.
A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne builds a model for combating poverty by tackling it at the earliest level of perpetuation-in schools. Schools, Payne advocates, should be the first line of defense against encroaching poverty and also the most effective weapon to beat it back. Unlike most economic tools, schools should be fine-tuned and deployed according to strict frameworks. Payne identifies two types of poverty and list eight resources which makes one a candidate. The thrust is thus primarily on how to deal with poverty in schools and how to equip the students with tools and education
Upon arriving to the Poverty simulation, I did not know what to expect. After being able to interact with my peers to understand what it was like to be living in poverty, I got a better understand of what it entails. I quickly wanted to know what the rate of poverty was in Greensboro alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they estimated 268,232 people whose status is poverty in 2013. 29% of that estimate are subjects who are under 18 years old. Out of 268,323, females are about 141,000 of it. The top two races that tend to hold a poverty status are Caucasian and African Americans. The problem at hand is that this status is nationwide.
In this time and age the United States contains a high number of students in the public schools who are under the poverty line. Poverty is defined as the state of being really poor financially. Poverty in the United States has become a complicated problem that causes a variety of diverse challenges for children and their families. Although the economy of the United States is showing great signs of improvement, poverty remains a serious issue. While examining poverty and children education in several articles all authors seem to agree with the fact that poverty does have an affect in the academic development of a child. However, there are several disagreements in other areas. The authors that this essay will be
Poverty is on the rise all around the world especially across the United States. This is a problem that is affecting many aspects of life for both the victim and the people around them. Students living in poverty have to tolerate many unfortunate circumstances on a daily basis which can have a significant effect on their growth, development, and educational experience. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds can still have the same success as the average student, but it takes a little extra effort and a leap of faith. Although it may be challenging for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to achieve success in school and the real world, it is not impossible.
Claim: Noticing a colleague utilizing Ruby Payne’s “Framework for Understanding Poverty,” would be upsetting. Payne’s teachings state that a middle-class educators cannot relate to poor students because they do not understand the “hidden rules” of surviving poverty. It also explains that students do not understand the “hidden rules of middle-class society, and therefor should be taught these rules. This method is an example of a cultural deficit model, which can be harmful to students and their education.
Hunger and poverty are global issues that American is not an exception to. As of 2012, statistical data provided by the government reported that "46.5 million people were in poverty, including 16.1 million children under the age of 18" and households with children are hit disproportionately with hunger (Feeding America, Hunger). This disproportion results in an equally startling deficit in the quality of education for our children. These alarming statistics attest to the fact that poverty has become an epidemic. Educating all students to ensure they become productive and successful citizens cannot just be a desire, but a need. The required reformation to fix this epidemic requires government and community assistance with teacher involvement.
Most people from other countries think about the States as being the land of the “American Dream”. Despite being home of the “American dream”, poverty has become one of Americas most major leading problems. Poverty affects multiple groups of people throughout the United States. Child poverty specifically has grown vastly and has fostered major issues such as educational issues, behavioral problems, and generational poverty. Through the pursuit of knowledge, developing critical thinking skills among youth, creating a relatable educational experience for student, and giving students the tools to brake generational disparities, childhood poverty can be reduced.
Poverty within neighborhoods throughout the United States has increased immensely throughout the past 50 years. In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty compared to the 353,000 Americans who lived in poverty in 1959. (Dosomething 1) Poverty is hardly just defined as a lack of financial resources, it is defined as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom to choose arising from a lack of the capability to function effectively in society. (Poverty and Education 1) For a person to be impoverished or to be living in a state of poverty is to live where they do not have the economic means to provide a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family. A majority of public school students across the country are considered “low-income”, according to a new study by the Southern Education Foundation. Areas of concentrated impoverishment are often characterised by crime, unemployment, and lack of resources. Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty. The shift to a majority-poor student population implies that a growing range of students who attend public schools are less likely to possess support at home, are less often exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend higher education. Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are likely to have to work or care for family
Education has had an impact on almost every single person’s life. Historically speaking that impact may be positive or negative. I believe the impact of education can be positive for every student, and it is the job of the teacher to insure this. In my eyes the goal of education is not to teach us facts or data but to give students access and the freedom to explore important issues and skills in a variety of ways, in order to have them apply this knowledge to the real world. Through doing this within the classroom, educations larger goal is create a better world. In order to reflect on how education creates a better world, I will explore the goals of education in Alberta, life long learning, and the impacts of education on society. Education is a unique field in that it is always changing. Education fosters the growth of society by constantly adapting and progressing in order to prepare model citizens to play a role in bettering the world.