Introduction: Ruby Payne

General Characteristics Poverty is relative: Poverty occurs in all races and countries. SES is a continuous line, not a clear distinction. Generational poverty is different from situational. These statements are patterns not absolutes. Each SES level has its own hidden rules. Schools and business follow middle class rules. We must understand the hidden rules of those in different SES for them to be successful. Teach and provide support, do not scold for their hidden rules. To move from poverty to middle class, one must give up relationships for achievement. You need education and relationships to move from poverty.

Resources Financial: Money to purchase goods and services. Emotional: Able to choose and control emotional responses. Mental: Having mental abilities and acquired skills to deal with daily life. Spiritual: Believing in divine purpose and guidance. Physical: Having health and mobility. Support System: friends, family, and backup resources. Relationships/ role models: access to those who are nurturing and not self-destructive. Knowledge of hidden rules: knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.

Registers of Language Frozen: Language is always the same (e.g., Lord’s Prayer, wedding vows). Formal: Standard in work and school. Complete sentences, specific word choice. Consultative: Not quite as direct as formal and used in conversation. Casual: Language b/w friends and limited to about 400-800 words in total vocabulary. Strong use of non-verbal cues. Intimate: Language b/w lovers, family members, and sexual harassers

Register: Impact on Interaction You can go down one register in a conversation w/out offense, but not two. Most children in poverty do not use formal register at home or know how to use it. Formal register: middle class “hidden rule.” Writing does not use non-verbal cues, thus MUST use formal register.

Poverty, Key Points Poverty is relative: similar circumstances; poverty or wealth exists in relationship to known quantities or expectations Poverty occurs in all races and countries: the % of the population that is poor is subject to definition and circumstance

Generational poverty (poverty for two generations or longer) Harder to get out of. Lacks Resources Situational poverty (shorter and is caused by circumstance, i.e., death, illness, divorce, etc.) Easier to get out of. Still has Knowledge of Middle Class rules

Hidden rules: the unspoken cues and habits of a group Even though income of the individual may rise significantly, many of the patterns of thought, social interaction, cognitive strategies, etc., remain Schools and businesses operate from middle-class norms and use the hidden rules of middle-class which are not taught in schools or businesses