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Poverty in the Classroom is making our children suffer. Amanda Taylor November 2, 2007 Introduction Today 13 million children live in poverty. As a teacher this is a major concern because the students in your classroom might not have had breakfast or showers before school.
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Poverty in the Classroom is making our children suffer. Amanda Taylor November 2, 2007
Introduction • Today 13 million children live in poverty. • As a teacher this is a major concern because the students in your classroom might not have had breakfast or showers before school. • The poverty rate is more prevalent in the African American race. • Students who live in poverty are at-risk students and this means that they are more likely to fail in school or in life because of their social circumstances. • Poverty among our children is not only a problem in the United States but all over the world. • We need to make a difference in this world and stop letting the children suffer.
Overview • What is poverty? • What causes poverty? • At-Risk students, who are they and what does that mean. • Individual example shared by someone who lives in poverty. • Effects it has on teaching. • Schools in low income communities. • Statistics • Help groups for children.
What is Poverty? • Poverty effects every age person. Children do not have the choice of being in poverty. • A family is counted as poor if its pretax money income is below its poverty threshold. • Poverty is hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to see a doctor, not having the access to go to school, no job or having a child die because they were unable to be fed. • Many factors go into poverty and deciding what is a basic necessity and what is a luxury. • Poverty effects the world and is more prevalent in some areas compared to others.
What causes poverty? • Social Pathologies cause poverty. Examples of social pathologies are welfare dependency, out-of-wedlock births, nonemployment, or violent crimes committed. • Economic conditions cause poverty. The average income is $20,105. • The final factor is race and ethnicity and this is a major factor. In the state this is represented by the number of blacks and number of Hispanics. These two numbers are added together.
What causes poverty cont’… • Race and ethnicity is a major factor due to poverty because of the social and cultural indicators. Education is a good indicator of poverty. Most that do not finish high school or do not go to college are in the lower class. In some cultures children are made to not go to school but instead work. They live in poverty because of their parents and will continue to live in poverty through adult hood. This cycle will continue until the culture changes. Many races have higher advantages than some races. No one should be discriminated against but if someone is applying for a job and can not speak fluent English then the other person will get the job.
At-Risk Students • As teachers we need to be able to read the signs of at-risk students and determine who they are. Being able to do this means a good teacher and child relationship must happen. • Many factors go into a child being at-risk some of these factors could be single or low educational level parents, unemployment, abuse and neglect, substance abuse, homelessness or dangerous neighborhoods. • One ethnic group is not in this group many ethnic groups consist of at-risk students. • The curriculums are based on lots of things but one major concern being that the child's culture is taken into effect and that not all families are the same.
Individual example • In the article Children of Poverty Americas Ongoing War there was a woman described. This woman relied on seven hundred dollars a month, was on welfare, lived in the projects and had no car. She was trying to raise three children on her own. The struggles she faced no one could understand unless they had been there. With help from a self-help agency, the woman was able to make ends meet and provide a better life for her kids. People all around the world need help and are just like this woman.
Effects poverty has on Teaching. • The number of children in poverty has made our classrooms diverse. This makes teaching and learning much more difficult. • Teachers have to be educated on the culture of poverty and sensitive to the needs of the children that live in it. • These students have social problems with other children and may act out more frequently. • In addition to the student being poor, many of them will not be able to speak English and will more than likley be in minority groups.
Effects on teaching con’t. • Teaching and making sure that children who live in poverty succeed, will be more difficult because their school attendance will be irregular. • Students need to understand what social class is and the cultural differences between them and their classmates. • Teaching students that are in poverty make planning and preparation a must. As the teacher your job is to motivate the students and make them aware that they can do or be anything they want to be
Schools in poverty • Students in high poverty schools scored significantly low on test given. The class room sizes are much higher in high poverty schools and their rate of graduating drops dramatically compared to a wealthier school. • Teachers in these schools drop their expectations on what the students have to do. The problem is that the schools that are considered high poverty schools will stay this way because they are in neighborhoods like the projects and minority neighborhoods where the situation will never change.
Statistics • Based on race there are 33% of black children, 29% of Hispanic children, 10% of white children and 9% of Asian children living in poverty. • In 1996 millions more Americans lived in poverty than in 1964. • About 15 million children –one out of every four- live below the official poverty line. • 22% of Americans under the age of 18 – and 25% under age 12 – are hungry or at the risk of being hungry • Everyday 2,660 children are born in poverty; 27 die because of it.
Statistics con’t… • Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless populating, representing 40%. • In 1995 49% of adults did some type of volunteer work to help the children. • There are 25% of people in the United States that did not receive a high school diploma.
Help Groups for children and families in poverty. • Head start is a wonderful preschool program for at-risk students to help parents out. • The AFDC stands for Aid to Families with Dependent Children. • Habitat for Humanity helps build homes for families who can not afford to buy one. • America’s Second Harvest provides free groceries for families that can not afford them.
Conclusion • There are millions of children living in this country that are in poverty. • The highest race is the African American race. • Poverty is causing conflicts and diversity in our classrooms and we must be educated on this horrible problem going on in the world today. • From this PowerPoint I want people to know that if you were placed in a high poverty school that you should give the students the same opportunities that you would give a student who had money. These children need to know that there is help. Race and being a minority does play a major role in economic issues but the world is changing and learning everyday.
Websites • The Effects of Poverty on Teaching and Learning. http://www.teach-nology.com/Articles/teaching/poverty/ This website is useful for teachers. On this website different articles are available for things happening in the classroom. • The Fight Against Poverty. http://www.timeforkids.com This is a website mostly for parents helping them understand world problems going on with children today. • Study of Poverty. http://www.cato.org This is a website for psychologists to better understand research projects that have been done on issues like poverty.
Websites con’t • National Poverty Center. http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/ This would be a great website for educators looking up statistics on poverty. • Children in Poverty, America’s Ongoing War. http://heartandminds.org/articles/childpov.htm This was an educational website for anyone wanting to educate themselves better on issues. This was an organization.
Print Resources • Comprehensive Multicultural Education Book, Theory and Practice, Sixth Edition Author is Christine I. Bennet. This is a great book to educate students and teachers on issues that different race, cultures and ethnicities face. • Approaches to Early Childhood Education, Fourth Edition, By Roopnarine and Johnson. This is a great book that goes over how to teach things and issues that will some up when you are a teacher.
