Teaching and Engaging with Poverty in Mind

How well will you score?

1.  Poor people value education about the same as middle class.  T or F
2. Most poor are lazy and lack ambition. T or F
3. If you gave the poor money, everything would change.  T or F
4. The parents must do more for our kids to learn better. T or F
5. Our schools already do their part; it’s now up to the kids to do more.  T or F

Gorski, P. (2010). The myth of the “culture of poverty”. In K. Finsterbusch (Ed.), Annual editions: Social problems. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Answers are provided at the end of this article.  

On October 19, 2016 approximately 200 area educators gathered at the Premier Banquet Center for an energizing and inspiring day of learning with Eric Jensen. The focus for the day centered around educating students of poverty.  Eric’s work is based on years of brain based development research, as well as the socio-emotional aspect of students of poverty.  Eric provided staggering statistics on poverty in the United States, and in particular, poverty data on children.  “51% of all students in U.S. Public Schools are poor. With New York State having an average of 48%.” (Suitts, S. (2015). “A New Majority.” Research by Southern Education Foundation). While the numbers are daunting, there is hope. 

The first step in making changes to education is to raise awareness of the needs of children in poverty.  Eric’s presentation helped to shed light on the reality of poverty in our country.  The 21 area schools, 2 local universities and CA BOCES Staff realize the local impact of poverty on our students.  The next step is implementing small changes in schools and classrooms to meet the needs of children of poverty.  Eric provided suggestions for schools and classrooms to help students graduate: 

• develop and maintain quality relationships with students
• give students more control in their learning environment
• teach stronger coping skills
• learn stress management skills
• develop effective professional learning communities
• boost reading and vocabulary
• build thinking and memory
• teach emotional responses
• foster positive emotions daily
• build hope and optimism
• provide better feedback
• teach growth mindest

What is your district, school or classroom already doing to meet the needs of your students of poverty?  Where does your district, school or classroom need additional resources and support?
CA BOCES Instructional Support Staff is providing workshop offerings for districts, schools or classrooms to foster changes in instruction to meet the needs of students of poverty.  We are offering a Poverty CLC that will meet 3 times throughout the year:  December 8th, February 5th and May 18th.  We are also offering a Poverty Simulation Training for districts.  Dates are to be determined based on district needs and availability.   In addition, Eric has several books and other resources on his website:  jensenlearning.com.  

By:  Karen Insley, CABOCES

Quiz answers 1) T, 2) F, 3) F, 4) T/F, 5) F