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Does poverty have an impact on elementary school children?

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What is poverty?Poverty is considered to be doing without the resources that provide people with the basic necessities. Examples of these necessities include shelter, three meals a day, medical treatment, etc. (Jensen, 2009)

There are six different types of poverty: situational, generational,absolute, relative, urban, and rural.(Jenson,2009)

For the purpose of this PowerPoint presentation only the situational and generational poverties will be discussed.

+What is the difference between generational and situational poverty?According to Ruby Payne in her book A Framework For Understanding Poverty generational poverty is living in poverty for at least two generations. Situational poverty is not having resources due to a particular experience such as a death, chronic illness, divorce, loss of a job, etc. (Payne, 1996)

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Characteristics Of Situational Poverty•People in situational poverty often have a higher level of education. • They are more likely to have a support group to help them such as family members and/or supportive people in the community.

• Many times they have an attitude of pride and do not want to accept help or charity.

• Usually temporary.

(Payne, 1996)

Characteristics Of Generational Poverty•Parents typically have less education.

•The mother is usually the most powerful position.

•People are possessions.

•Live in crowded homes with multiple people/extended family.

•Discipline of children is usually physical violence. Punishment is aboutforgiveness and penance not changing the behavior.

•Men and women less likely to marry when they have a baby. Many maritalarrangements are common-law.

•Do not plan for the future. The future does not exist except as a word.

(Payne, 1996)

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According to the National Center for children in Poverty, families are considered poor if their income is $22,050 for a family of 4.

They estimate that almost 15 millionchildren live in poverty.

Black and Hispanic children are morethan twice as likely to live in poverty thanCaucasian or Asian children.

In 2007 children living with single motherswere more than five times likely to live in poverty. (Wright, 2011)

(Wright, 2011)

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(Wright, 2011)

12% (157,738) of white children live in poor families. 36% (182,169) of black children live in poor families. 41% (115,449) of Hispanic children live in poor families. 15% (7,277)* of Asian children live in poor families. 30% (7,014)* of American Indian children live in poor families.

(NCCP, 2011)

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Risk factors, what are they and how do theyaffect people in poverty?Risk factors are things that happen to families such as sickness, divorce, unemployment. They affect all people regardless of theirsocio-economic status; however, people in poverty can have up to sixrisk factors at a time. This makes everyday living very difficult. The four primary risk factors that families in poverty are: Emotional and social challenges -live in unstable households Acute and chronic stressors -children often feel isolated and unloved Cognitive lags -fewer books at home -watch more television than their peers Health and safety issues -neighborhoods higher crime rate -homes more crowded & physically deteriorated

(Jensen, 2009)

+So how does all of this affect students in the elementary classroom?* Students who live in poverty are absent from school more often. (Jensen, 2009)

*Concentration and memory can be affected in children who have chronic stressors in their life. (Jensen, 2009)

*Students who live in poverty are at a higher risk for behavioral and emotional problems such as ADHD, aggression, getting along with

peers, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

*Students living in poverty are twice as likely to repeat a grade than those who do not live in poverty.

*Lower reading and mathematics achievement scores for children ages five to eight living in poverty. (Gale encyclopedia of Ed., 2002)

*Children who have lived in poverty for an extended time scored six to nine points lower on cognitive ability and school readiness than students who have never lived in poverty. (Gale encyclopedia of Ed., 2002)

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Children are born with six emotions: joy, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness, and fear. All other emotions must be learned.Children raised in poverty lack some crucial needs such as safe, predictable environment, strong caregiver who gives unconditional love and support and enrichment activities.Teachers may believe that students’ emotional and social deficits are a lack of respect; however, they do not have the skills and they need to be taught.

Figure 2.1. The Emotional Keyboard

(Jensen, 2009)

+According to USA Today a new study finds certain brain functions of some low-income nine and ten year olds is reduced or disrupted in some way. The area affected is the language development, the ability to plan, remember details and pay attention in school.

(Toppo, 2008)

+ According to Pat Gracia, author of Child Poverty Issues, children with limited computer access, books and learning resources fall behind students of the same age who have daily access to these resources.

Once children fall behind academically, they have trouble catching up, which many times leads to frustration, behavior problems and eventually dropping out of school.

Children in poverty have a higher risk of having behavior or emotional problems such as: impulsive behaviors, lack of social skills, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. This can also lead them to make poor decisions when it comes to drugs, crime and sex. (Gracia, 2011)

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http://video.tvguide.com/Nick+News/Nick+News+Americas+Forgotten+Children+The+Rural+Poor/1622266?autoplay=true&partnerid=OVG *

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What can be done to help students living in poverty?

-Teachers need to be trained through staff developments in what may be expected behaviors from students in poverty.

- Improving school readiness through Pre-Kindergarten programs.

-Teachers need to have high expectations for all of their students. If you don’t think they will succeed they more than likely will prove you right; however, if you challenge them and encourage them you can help to prove to them they can achieve.

Provide the tools to students for them to understand the abstract representational reality and the sensory world by using mental models.

Teach the students how to plan. What they need to do to make sure they get their work completed on time.

Teach students about formal register and how this is different from their everyday speech.

Help each student to think about their future and what they want to do with their life.

Instruct students in the understanding about the different set of rules for school and work. Have discussions how these differ from the rules at home, basketball court, etc.

(Payne, 2009)

+ Jensen states it is ineffective to expect teachers to demand respect from their students. Students from poverty do not have the skills or background to show it. He suggests teachers do the following things.

* Give respect to the students first, even if they don’t deserve it.

* Share decision making with the students.

*Avoid demeaning sarcasm.

*Discipline through positive relationships. Avoid negative directives.

(Jensen, 2009)

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Interventions that can help at-risk students* Brain cells production can be increased with physical activity.

* The arts improve skills such as attention, processing, and cognitive skills.

* Music can improve math in the area of geometry as well as enhances memory.

* Playing chess helps improve skills in reading and math.

(Jensen, 2009)

+Teachers need to develop relationships with all students especially ones that are living in poverty.

According to Payne, people that have made it out of poverty into middle class say they did because they had a relationship with a teacher, counselor, or coach that encouraged them.

A successful relationship is developed when emotional deposits are made to the student, the student is respected and emotional withdrawals are avoided.

Schools help to build relationships by promoting student achievement, caring about the students, being role models, and insisting on successful behaviors in school.

(Payne, 1996)

+Eric Jensen suggests for schools to help poverty ridden students to Succeed they need to following factors: S H A R E Support of the whole child. Schools need to find ways to meet the students’ social, emotional and health related needs before trying to address their academic needs.

Hard Data-don’t just accept the state or district’s data but schools should generate their own data.

Accountability teachers are accountable for their actions and be evaluated with quality data. Give them some say so in the processes of the programs.

Relationship Building- staff collaboration and collegiality are essential. Staff needs to treat students with respect.

Enrichment Mind Set- stop thinking remediation and start thinking enrichment.

(Jensen, 2009)

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Ways to Build Staff-Student Relationships

*Avoid raising your voice unless it is an emergency.*Do what you say you are going to do.*Acknowledge a change of plans if you need to make one.*Take responsibility for any mistakes you make, and make amends.*Be consistent and fair to all students; show no favoritism.*Offer support in helping students reach their goal.*Positively reinforce students when they do something right.*Show that you care more than you show authority or knowledge. (Jensen, 2009)

+ Interventions that do not work with students- Only focus on the basics.-Maintain order through force.-Exclude physical education, art, and music from the daily schedule.-Increasing classroom discipline.-Very little interaction among students.-More heavy-handed lectures.

(Jensen, 2009)

+Unconventional ideas to help children living in poverty succeed -Use the last portion of the school day to complete homework. This way teachers are available to answer any questions that may arise.

-Keep students with the same teacher for two or more years. This builds long-term relationships between teachers and students. This allows more education to take place because they teacher is not trying to get to know the student and have to assess where he/she is. (Payne, 1996)

+ What does the future hold? With today’s economy as it

is more families are being affected by the economic downturn and threats of foreclosure.

It is thought that the poverty rate for children will soon rise from 21 to 25 percent the highest since the Great Depression.

+Marian Wright Edelman wrote an article in which she told a story of three young teen boys who were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. The first one said he wanted to work at McDonalds, the second wanted to be Spiderman. When he was asked what he wanted to be in real life he could not think of anything. The third boy drew a picture of a boy on the ground and said he was going to be dead before he grew up. (Edelman, 2011)Unfortunately these statements are not uncommon among the poor. We as educators must work together to help change their future.

+ Resources Edelman, M. (2011). “Held Captive”: Child Poverty in America. Retrieved April 3, 2011 fromhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/child-poverty-america_b_817513.html  Gale Encyclopedia of Educaton: Overview of Poverty and Education. (2002). Retrieved April 3, 2011 fromhttp://www.answers.com/topic/overview-of-poverty-and-education  Gracia, P. (2011). Child Poverty Issues. Retrieved April 19, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/info_8241822_child-poverty-issues.html

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching With Poverty In Mind What Being Poor Does to Kids’ Brains and What Schools Can Do About It. Alexandria, Va: ASCD. National Center for Children in Poverty (2011). Demographics of Low-Income Children. Retrieved April 11, 2011 from http://www.nccp.org/profiles/state_profile.php?state=NC&id=7

+ Nick News (2008). America’s Forgotten Children Videohttp://video.tvguide.com/Nick+News/Nick+News+Americas+Forgotten+Children+The+Rural+Poor/1622266?autoplay=true&partnerid=OVG  Payne, R. (1996). A Framework For Understanding Poverty. Highlands, Tx: aha!Process, Inc. Payne, R. (2009). How the Environment of Poverty (Having Fewer Resources) Impacts Cognition and Learning. Retrieved April 2, 2011 fromhttp://www.ahaprocess.com/files/Article- HowPovertyImpactsCognitionandLearning.pdf  Toppo, G. (2008). Study Poverty dramatically affects Children’s brains. Retrieved April 3, 2011 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-07-childrens-brains_N.htm

 Won, J. (2011). Poverty and America’s Children. Retrieved April 11, 2011 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heres-life-inner-city/poverty-americas-children_b_846251.html

Wright, V., Chau, M. and Aratani, Y. (2011). Who are America’s Poor Children? Retrieved April 3, 2011 from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1001.html

I work at a Title I school and plan on using this PowerPoint presentationas a staff development for my staff. Due to our school population, we allneed to understand where our students are coming from and why they actthe way they do. By working on this as a staff, we can develop goals that wewant to work on and interventions we can do to help our students.