Poverty Impact On Education

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.

The U.S. is among the richest countries in the world today, yet millions of people in America still live below the poverty level. The number of Americans living in poverty is increasing day by day as well as the number of children. Poverty in America has become a great threat to children’s wellbeing as they are affected emotionally, socially, and even in their school performance (Wood 720). Poverty in America is mainly caused by lack of jobs. Many people who live in poverty in the United States is due to lack of jobs and getting jobs with minimum wage. Another cause of poverty is due to the rise in the cost of living. Poverty exists in America despite the fact that is among the richest nations in the world.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, over 16 million children (22%) in the United States live below the federal poverty level, which is $23,550 per year for a family of four. Research has shown that a family requires an income of about twice that amount just to cover basic needs and expenses. Using these statistics, 45% of children in the US live in low-income households. Most parents of low-income children are employed, but unsteady employment accompanied with low wages leave families struggling to make ends meet. The effects of poverty on children are numerous and long lasting, such as impaired learning ability as well as social, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. Childhood poverty can also contribute to poor physical and mental health. Research has shown that poverty is the greatest threat to s child’s well-being, but public policies can make a difference when they are implemented effectively.

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

“In the United States, child poverty rates are higher than rates for the adult and elderly populations.” (Katherine Magnuson and Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal 1) As poverty rates increase, more children are involved. Children, uninfluenced by the evils of the world, are pushed by these harsh living conditions and treated unfairly by others. Growing up in poverty can lead to lasting effects, and those effects include education issues, physical health is proven worse, and inadequate behavior. As an adult, these issues can turn into whether or not survival is promised.

Poverty is quite an issue not only in third world countries but also here in the United States. Interviews were conducted with 74 families with school-age children, including 44 families living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and 30 families living above 150% of poverty (Heymann 5). Over 14 million U.S. children lived in poverty in 1997 (Sherman and Sandfort 555).

Statistics stated, “There are about 15 million children within the United States, which is 21 percent the children who family has an incomes below the federal poverty threshold. (Child Poverty, 2017). Most of these children come from a hard working families, but low wages have their family just struggling to make ends meet. Poverty is define as the being poor or a person condition of having little or no money, goods and no support system. The government system placed most family in an area which the crime rate is high, the property area is cheap, low education score, the area population is high and the area cost of living is cheap. (Ward, 2015). Poverty can impede a child behavioral, emotional, learning ability, social ability, health and mental

More than forty-six million people in the United States live below the poverty line today. One in five of these millions of people are children living in poverty. Living under hardship can affect a child in his social and emotional behavior in many ways. The children miss out in their childhood due to their family not being able to provide sufficient necessities they need. In addition, poverty dispossess of a child to develop physically and mentally in order to survive and do well in their future, which it can make it difficult for a child to set their own goals in life. Poverty can also affect a child's academic behavior and can lead to problems later on in their life. It gives the child little hope to excel in their own future. Thankfully

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the United States in 2006, the poverty rate for all individuals was 12.3%. For children under the age of 18, the incidence of poverty was 17%, and for children under the age of 5, the rate as 20.4%. Poverty do not discriminate, is continuous and it work in patterns. Poverty is the extension to which an individual does without resources. These resources can consist of financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships, and knowledge of hidden rules .The lack of these resources affects the children development in the way they analyzed and find a solution to real problems. Educators ought to understand how children with non-financial resources develop the roles of language, the hidden roles, and the systems of support.

The total rate of poverty in the United States of America in 2014, according the U.S. Census Bureau, was fourteen point eight percent or forty-six point seven million people. For the aforementioned report poverty was defined as being below the federal poverty line (DeNavas-Walt & Proctor, 2015). The National Center for Children in Poverty, also using 2014 data, state that children under the age of eighteen represent twenty-three percent of the population while comprising thirty-two percent of individuals in poverty. Furthermore, the same report put the population of children under three years of age at eleven million (Jiang, Ekano,& Skinner, 2016). This number, and the implications that surround it, are mind boggling. Children born into low-income families face more challenges throughout their lives than children that are born into families with higher incomes. These challenges typically lead to poorer outcomes thoughtout the life span. The challenges, as well as the poor outcomes they wrought, are particularly evident in education.

It can be argued that an individual’s economic status is one of the most important aspects of a person’s place in society, almost more than race, gender, or religion. Poverty can be defined as a state of being extremely poor. In the United States and many other areas throughout the world there are many individuals who lack enough money to provide the basic necessities of life. Poverty is a chronic condition and so many children who grow up in it will face the effects over their lifetime. I see the main effects of growing up in poverty being poor health, a high risk for teen pregnancy, and the lack of education.

Poverty is a prevalent problem all around the world. Though it affects everyone who has to go through it, children tend to have a rougher time than most, especially when trying to receive an education. Extensive research has uncovered the numerous negative effects poverty has on children that directly affects their schooling. From where they live, to their ability to pay attention in class higher-income children have the upper hand over poor children. Government programs tend to fail in helping low-income families with children support themselves and many programs have been shut down. Even when in class, poor children have a harder time retaining information and paying attention, so their education is at risk.

Poverty also can contribute to the poor and mental health of many impoverished children. These children lack the rights to proper healthcare and are not provided with the required care and treatment to be physically well. A deprivation of resources and proper parenting causes children in poverty to feel discouraged, thus, inhibiting their academic growth.

In today’s world people need to compete globally for jobs and one of the most important factors in getting a good paying job is education. However, even the best schools cannot overcome some of the obstacles placed in front of the students that walk through their doors. Poverty, chaotic home environments, discrepancies in exposure to technology, and lack of funding for schools all negatively impact the effort to educate children.

Poverty is a considerable social problem; with a significant impact on those who suffer within. Growing up in poverty “reduces a child’s chance of growing up to be a healthy, well-adjusted, and contributing adult in our society” (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 59). Poverty is families having to struggle to afford necessities. Poverty does not know where your next meal is coming from or having to choose between paying rent and seeing a health care provider. The impact of poverty affects one’s ability through physical, social, emotional, and educational health. Even though individual overcome poverty it still extends across cultural, racial, ethnic, and geographical borders. Children represent the largest group of poverty in the United States. “Growing up in poverty places a child at a profound disadvantage and substantially lowers the chances that the child will mature into a well-adjusted, productive, and contributing