Poverty and Education Judi Sipowicz, M.ED Based on a review of the following works: Eric Jensen, Teaching with Poverty in Mind, 2010; William H. Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge, Turning High Poverty Schools Into High Performing Schools, 2012 Ruby Payne, Framework for Understanding Poverty, 2005 Gloria Ladson-Billings, The Dream Keepers, 2009 Grant Wiggins/ Jay McTighe, Understanding By Design, 2005

no social justice without addressing academic achievement There Can Be…

Poverty is rarely about lack of intelligence or ability It is about not knowing: What the options/choices are; The hidden rules of the middle class; How to use resources to improve their lives.

Poverty Poverty Generational: At least two generations Society owes me Situational: Divorce, death, chronic illness Pride, refusal to take charity

Poverty and Culture Look Different In Every School & Community Rural Suburban Urban

The Effects We See of Poverty In School  Have lots of excuses  Don’t do homework  Physically aggressive  Like to entertain  Partially complete assignments  Only see parts of a page or parts of directions  Not self-starters (no procedural self-talk)  Don’t monitor their own behavior  Laugh when disciplined  Work ethic depends on if they like you  Talks/write in a causal manner  Unaware of middle class courtesies  May dislike authority  Talk back

Data Is Not Destiny Bad News -poor students demonstrate significant cognitive lags. (Gottfried et all, 2003) Good news -Brains are designed to change! Remember:

What We Need To Think Differently A Bedrock Belief: High performing, high poverty schools are all about the kid’s needs, and a “Whatever It Takes” mindset to meet those needs.

Reject the Can’t Notions: that low income parents can’t adequately prepare children for school; that their children can’t perform school tasks at a reasonable level; (Comer, 1980) that these parents can’t be effective partners; that school people are not willing to develop the necessary approaches, interests, and skills needed for kids to succeed academically, socially, psychologically, and morally.

Extensive use of National, State, & local standards to design curriculum/instruction/assess student work; Increased instruction time for reading & mathematics; Substantial investment in professional development for teachers; Monitor individual student performance and provide help to struggling students before they fall behind; Increase parental involvement. Turning High Poverty Schools Into High Performing Schools Tried and True Strategies

Use Activity To Boost Brain Power

It’s What You Do and For How Long High level of personalization-It is all about relationships ! Commitment to education ensuring student mastery of content standards- Whatever it takes! Purposeful planning and instruction Frequent and specific feedback

Students Raised in Poverty Have… … greater exposure to abuse, neglect, danger, loss.

…Learned Helplessness/ Hopelessness as an adaptive response to life’s conditions. (Bolland, Lian, Formichella, 2005) Students Raised in Poverty Experience…

Explicitly teach procedural self-talk. Use confidence building strategies. Explicitly teach skill sets in the order they are needed to be successful.

… a small world view. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

… experience stress that is cumulative. It changes them! Students Raised in Poverty…

Lower Their Stress Be real, if you struggled with something in school let them know how you made it past the struggles. Let them know that there is honor in the struggle and hard work. Introduce the word “yet” “You may not be good at this yet!!”

… low pattern recognition. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

Did you know that: 9x0=0 9x1=9 9x2=1+8=9 9x3=2+7=9 9x4=3+6=9 9x5=4+5=9 9x6=5+4=9 9x7=6+3=9 9x8=7+2=9 9x9=8+1=9 9x10=90 Make Patterns Explicit

… high levels of need for instant gratification. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

… low level skills for planning or setting goals. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

…low skills for making informed decisions. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

… low organization skills. Students Raised in Poverty Have…

Model Organization Be prepared with writing utensils, paper, and folder for finished work. Implement a regular instructional design for the lessons Give genuine and specific feedback for their work

Empower the Students Explicitly teach how to: Resolve conflict peacefully; Handle anger and frustration; Show responsibility and restitution; Demonstrate appropriate social skills; Engage in stress reduction without alcohol or drugs. Is it Kind? Is it True? Promote honesty? Is it absolutely necessary?

Do You Know Your Kids? What is their view of: Money Language Personality Food Clothing Time Education The Future

PossessionsPeopleThingsUnique Things, Legacies, Pedigree MoneyTo be used/shared, spentTo be managedTo be conserved, invested PersonalityIs for entertainment, humor valued For acquisition, stability, achievement Financial, political connections Social EmphasisInclude people you likeSelf governance, self- sufficient For social inclusion FoodQuantity Equated with love Quality Love and duty Presentation Status ClothingIndividual style expressing personality Quality, norm acceptance, labels Artistic sense, Designer TimeHere and now most important. Decisions based on survival Futuristic. Decision based on future ramifications Tradition, history, decorum EducationAbstract value, not realisticCrucial-success- money Tradition, maintain connections DestinyFate that cannot be alteredChoice changes things Noblese oblige Poverty Middle Class Wealthy

LanguageCausal-Survival orientedFormal-NegotiationFormal-Networking Family structureMostly matriarchalMostly PatriarchalDepends on who has money Men’s RolesLover-Fighter*Provider*Status World ViewLocalNationalInternational Love & AcceptanceConditional-who likes you All we have is you and me & my needs come first. Conditional- achievement Conditional-social standing/connections Driving ForcesSurvival, relationships, entertainment Work, achievementFinancial, political, connections HumorRegarding people & sexSituations * added Social faux pas * added

Culturally Competent Teachers…

Characteristics of Culturally Competent Teachers Communicate that their class is a “family,” a community of learners When one does well, we all do well, when one fails, we all fail. Have an unwavering sense of moral responsibility. Plan for and communicate high expectations for student achievement. Ensure that the classroom focus is on instruction. Treat students as competent learners Regularly provide recognition (genuine & substantiated) of excellence both in class and out-of-class. Academics are not used as punishment. Gloria Ladson-Billings, The Dream Keepers, 2009

Characteristics of Culturally Competent Teachers Show passion for acquiring knowledge. Demonstrate a connectedness with all students. Move students from what they know to what they need to know. Plan lessons to purposely and explicitly build skill sets. Facilitate connections to culture and individual differences. Help students understand and participate in knowledge-building. Gloria Ladson-Billings, The Dream Keepers, 2009

Make Every Minute of of Academic Time Count Pre-teach to decrease re-teach. Our goals and assessment for each lesson will be crystal clear. o What do we want students to: Know Be able to do Understand…. What will we do if they experience difficulty? And……How will we know when they get there! Precise intervention given by the most qualified to those who are the most in need!

Increase Student Engagement

Connect Learning To Real Life Bernoulli’s Principle

Action Steps Explicitly teach patterns and skills. Teach in themes (integrate content areas). Group like objectives into units with assessment up front. Identify core concepts, skills and essential questions. Understanding By Design Grant Wiggins/ Jay McTighe

Explicitly Plan Guided Skill Sets How to plan a project (E.g. essay, report); Reading multiple complex texts; Determining the central theme; Developing a thesis statement; Highlighting pertinent data; Choosing quotes; Organizing paragraph order; Develop transition sentences/word choice; Develop a closing statement; Editing & revision techniques; Presentation strategies. Sample:

Must Haves Hope Building: Standards-based Curriculum - Aligned with Common Core and State standard Engaging Instruction – Aligned with Common Core and State Standards Arts, Athletics, and Advanced Placement Retooling Operating Systems Teaching with Poverty In Mind Eric Jensen 2010