Understanding Children and Families of Poverty

A dialogue facilitated by Scott Felkey

No

SignificantLearningOccursWithout ASignificantRelationship.

Dr. James Comer

No

SignificantLearningOccursWithout ASignificantRelationship.

Dr. James Comer

Questions to Consider for today’s Session

What do we mean we say Poverty?

Were schools really designed to educate the impoverished learner?

What instructional strategies are important to address when working with children of poverty?

How does your PLC support the impoverished learner?

A connectorAre schools operating differently

from the type of belief systems observed in the video clip “October Sky”?

clip..\Documents\Video Clips\Oct sky 2.mpg

What do we know about financial realities in Oakland County

Our current realityLast Updated: August 17. 2011 4:07PM

Report: 36% of Michigan kids live in jobless households

State ranks near last in U.S.; child poverty also a growing problemKaren Bouffard/ Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Lansing— Unemployment has taken a toll on children in Michigan, with 36 percent living in families in which neither parent has a full-time, year-round job, according to a report out today.

Michigan has more children living without a working parent than 46 other states, according to the 22nd annual Kids Count Data Book by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Alaska tied Michigan, and only Kentucky at 38 percent and Mississippi at 39 percent had more kids in households that lack secure parental employment in 2009. From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110817/METRO/108170383/Report--36--of-Michigan-kids-live-in-jobless-households#ixzz1VrIAk7Ua

GroupGroup

LOWEST 20%

Average Income In 2004By Household

Average Income In 2004By Household

$0-$18,500

SECOND 20% $18,501 - $34,738

MIDDLE 20% $34,739 - $55,325

FOURTH 20% $55,326 - $88,029

HIGHEST 20% $88,030+

*TOP 5% (partOf highest 20%)

$157,185+

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Percent Economically Disadvantaged with MME Spring 08 Percent Met - Math

Rxy = -.927

Percent Economically Disadvantaged with MME Spring 08 Percent Met - Reading

Rxy = -.942

Third Grade Reading Proficiency

Sixth Grade Math Proficiency

Eighth Grade Science

What is Poverty?

Group Discussion and Interaction:Definition relative to people,

impact, implications for education.

Share

What is Poverty?

“The extent to which an individual does without resources.”

Ruby Payne

Resources and DefinitionsFinancial

Emotional

Mental

Spiritual

Resources and DefinitionsPhysical

Support Systems

Relationships/Role Models

Knowledge of Hidden Rules

What does it all mean?Poverty is more about other resources than it

is about money.Educators have a tremendous opportunity to

influence the non-financial resources. “It costs nothing to be an appropriate role model.”

Role models/relationship have the biggest impact on life long learning.

Support systems make the biggest difference in school success.

Emotional Resources have the most significant impact on life long stability.

ClipThe Perfect Classroom

Hidden Rules

There are hidden rules for survival in the different classes:◦Poverty◦Middle Class◦Wealth

Hidden Rules of ClassHidden Rules of Class

Noise level higher

Important information is passed non-verbally

Value to the group is the ability to entertain

No respect unless you are personally strong

A wider range of behaviors is acceptable

Driving force for decision making are work and achievement

Material security is valued

Choice is the key concept in the lifestyle

Connections and legacies

Artistic and aesthetic values

TimeTimePoverty

Present most important.Decisions made for the

momentbased on feelings or survival.

Middle ClassFuture most important.Decisions made against

future ramifications.

WealthTraditions and past historymost important. Decisionsmade partially on basis of

tradition/decorum

PovertyBelieve in fate. Cannot domuch to mitigate chance.

Middle ClassBelieve in choice. Canchange the future with

good choices now.

WealthNoblesse oblige.

WealthOne-of-a-kind

objects,legacies,

pedigrees.

POSSESSIONSPOSSESSIONS

Poverty People.

Could you survive in middle class?COMPLETE THE QUIZ:

Put a check by each item you know how to do.

______1. I know how to get my children into Little League, piano lessons, soccer, etc.______2. I know how to set a table properly.______3. I know which stores are most likely to carry the clothing brands my family wears.______4. My children know the best name brands in clothing.______5. I know how to order in a nice restaurant.______6. I know how to use a credit card, checking account, and savings account—and I understand an

annuity. I understand term life insurance, disability insurance, and 20/80 medical insurance policy, as well as house insurance, flood insurance, and replacement insurance.

______7. I talk to my children about going to college.______8. I know how to get one of the best interest rates on my new-car loan.______9. I understand the difference among the principal, interest, and escrow statements on my house

payment.______10. I know how to help my children with their homework and do not hesitate to call the school if I need

additional information.______11. I know howto decorate the house for the different holidays.______12. I know how to get a library card.______13. I know how to use most of the tools in the garage.______14. I repair items in my house almost immediately when they break—or know a repair service and call it.

Let’s take a quizLet’s divide in halfThis half of the room take the

poverty quiz found on handout 40 the other half take the wealth quiz found on handout 42.

Now find a partner who did not take the same test as you and discuss what surprised you and why.

COMPLETE THE QUIZ:Put a check by each item you know how to do.

______1. I know which churches and sections of town have the best rummage sales.______2. I know which rummage sales have “bag sales” and when.______3. I know which grocery stores’ garbage bins can be accessed for thrown-away food.______4. I know how to get someone out of jail.______5. I know how to physically fight and defend myself physically.______6. I know how to get a gun, even if I have a police record.______7. I know how to keep my clothes from being stolen at the Laundromat.______8. I know what problems to look for in a used car.______9. I know how to live without a checking account.______10. I know how to live without electricity and a phone.______11. I know how to use a knife as scissors.______12. I can entertain a group of friends with my personality and my stories.______13. I know what to do when I don’t have money to pay the bills.______14. I know how to move in half a day.______15. I know how to get and use food stamps or an electronic card for benefits.______16. I know where the free medical clinics are.______17. I am very good at trading and bartering.______18. I can get by without a car.

Could you survive in poverty?

Could you survive in wealth?COMPLETE THE QUIZ:Put a check by each item you know how to do.

______1. I can read a menu in French, English, and anotherlanguage.

______2. I have several favorite restaurants in different countries of the world.______3. During the holidays, I know how to hire a decorator to identify the appropriate themes and items with which to decorate the house.______4. I know who my preferred financial advisor, legal service, designer, domestic-employment service, and hairdresser are.______5. I have at least two residences that are staffed and maintained.______6. I know how to ensure confidentiality and loyalty from my domestic staff.______7. I have at least two or three “screens” that keep people whom I do not wish to see

away from me.______8. I fly in my own plane or the company plane.______9. I know how to enroll my children in the preferred private schools.______10. I know how to host the parties that “key” people

attend.______11. I am on the boards of at least two charities.______12. I know the hidden rules of the Junior League.______13. I support or buy the work of a particular artist.______14. I know how to read a corporate financial statement and analyze my own financial

statements.

POVERTY MIDDLE CLASS WEALTH

POSSESSIONS People. Things. One-of-a-kind objects, legacies, pedigrees.

MONEY To be used, spent. To be managed. To be conserved, invested.

PERSONALITY Is for entertainment.Sense of humor is highly valued.

Is for acquisition and stability. Achievement is highly valued.

Is for connections. Financial, political, social connections are highly valued.

SOCIAL EMPHASIS

Social inclusion of the people they like.

Emphasis is on self-governance and self-sufficiency.

Emphasis is on social exclusion.

FOOD Key question: Did you have enough? Quantity important.

Key question: Did you like it? Quality important.

Key question: Was it presented well? Presentation important.

CLOTHING Clothing valued for individual style and expression of personality.

Clothing valued for its quality and acceptance into the norms of middle class. Label important.

Clothing valued for its artistic sense and expression.Designer important.

TIME Present most important. Decisions made for moment based on feelings or survival.

Future most important. Decisions made against future ramifications.

Traditions and past history most important. Decisions made partially on basis of tradition decorum.

EDUCATION Valued and revered as abstract but not as reality.Education is about facts.

Crucial for climbing success ladder and making money.

Necessary tradition for making and maintaining connections.

DESTINY Believes in fate. Cannot do much to mitigate chance.

Believes in choice. Can change future with good choices now.

Noblesse oblige.

LANGUAGE Casual register. Language is about survival.

Formal register. Language is about negotiation.

Formal register.Language is about connection.

FAMILY STRUCTURE Tends to be matriarchal. Tends to be patriarchal. Depends on who has/controls money.

WORLD VIEW Sees world in terms of local setting.

Sees world in terms of national setting.

Sees world in terms of an international view.

LOVE Love and acceptance conditional, based on whether individual is liked.

Love and acceptance conditional, based largely on achievement.

Love and acceptance conditional, related to social standing and connections.

DRIVING FORCES Survival, relationships, entertainment.

Work and achievement. Financial, political, social connections.

Hidden

Rules

Hidden Rules Clip

Gold Lame’

Bottom Line •Kids from poverty are different•Brains adapt to suboptimal conditions•But brains can and do change everyday•You can facilitate that change•For others to change, you must change•It takes focused, smarter actions•Those from poverty can graduate•It will take a 100% “no excuses” mindset

As a PLC how are you addressing the needs of your impoverished learner?

No

SignificantLearningOccursWithout ASignificantRelationship.

Dr. James Comer

No

SignificantLearningOccursWithout ASignificantRelationship.

Dr. James Comer

Deposit Made ToIndividual In Poverty

Withdrawals MadeFrom Individual In Poverty

Appreciation for humor and entertainment provided by theindividual

Acceptance of what theindividual cannot say about aperson or situation

Respect for the demands andpriorities of relationships

Using the adult voice

Assisting with goal-setting

Identifying options related toavailable resources

Understanding the importance ofpersonal freedom, speech, andindividual personality

Put-downs or sarcasm about the humor or the individual

Insistence and demands for fullexplanation about a person orsituation

Insistence on the middle classview of relationships

Using the parent voice

Telling the individual his/her goals

Making judgments on the valueand availability of resources

Assigning pejorative charactertraits to the individual

Creating RelationshipsCreating Relationships

DEPOSITSDEPOSITS WITHDRAWALSWITHDRAWALS

Seek first to understand Seek first to to be understoodKeeping promises Breaking promises

Kindnesses, courtesies Unkindnesses, discourtesies

Clarifying expectations Violating expectations

Loyalty to the absent Disloyalty, duplicity

Apologies Pride, conceit, arrogance

Open to feed back Rejecting feedback

Chart taken from Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Rita Pierson, Ed.D

“The Power of Relationships”

Reading and Poverty Reading problems contribute significantly to the

perpetuation of socio-economic, racial and ethnic inequities.

"You know if you look at where we are today, the bottom line is for a country like America to be leaving behind about 38-40% of its youngsters in terms of not learning to read is unconscionable.  What makes it equally or doubly unconscionable is if you disaggregate those data: 70% approximately of young African Americans kids can’t read. 70%!  If you look at Hispanic kids, 65-70%! The fact of the matter is when we do our studies and we identify kids at risk for reading failure, we know that the majority of those kids who are at risk and who will hit the wall as they learn to read are kids from poverty."

- Dr. G. Reid Lyon, Branch Chief, National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (Children of the Code interview)

A brutal fact!43% of Americans with the

lowestliteracy skills live in poverty and 70% have no job or a part-time job.

Only 5% of Americans with strong literacy skills live in poverty. 

National Institute for Literacy

"Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children."

Dr. Todd Risley

Correlations with Socioeconomic Status and Race:

Now, the interesting thing is that when look at the amount of talking the parents are doing, and the amount of extra talk they're doing over and above business talk, nothing is leftover relating to socioeconomic status. It accounts for all the variance.

And there's nothing left for race either. Remember, we stratified by African-American, and nothing left. All the variation in outcomes are taken up by amount of talking, the amount of talking in the family to the babies before age three.

In other words, some working poor people talked a lot to their kids and their kids did really well. Some affluent business people talked very little to their kids and their kids did very poorly.

RREEGGIISSTTEERR

EEXXPPLLAANNAATTIIOONN

FROZEN

Language that is always the same. For example: Lord’s Prayer, wedding vows, etc.

FORMAL

The standard sentence syntax and word choice of work and school. Has complete sentences and specific word choices.

CONSULTATIVE

Formal register when used in conversation. Discourse pattern not quite as direct as formal register.

CASUAL

Language between friends and is characterized by a 400- to 800-word vocabulary. Word choice general and not specific. Conversation dependent upon non-verbal assists. Sentence syntax often incomplete.

INTIMATE

Language between lovers or twins. Language of sexual harassment.

Joos, 1967Can go one register down in the same conversation and that is socially accepted.

LANGUAGE AND STORY

1. When students speak in casual register, have them say it two other ways in formal register.

2. Give information to parents and students in story form.

What can you do in the classroom?

Research about language in children from ages 1 to 3 years stable households by economic group.

Number of words exposed to

Economic group Affirmations (strokes) Prohibitions (discounts)

10 million words Welfare 1 for every 2

20 million words Working class 2 for every 1

30 million words Professional 5 for every 1

Source: Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children (1995) by Betty Hart & Todd R. Risley

Registers: FROZEN FORMAL CONSULTATIVE CASUAL INTIMAT E Kaplan Discourse:

FORMAL CASUAL

To survive in poverty, one must rely upon non-verbal, sensory, and reactive skills.

To survive in school, one must use verbal, abstract, and proactive skills.

It is possible to have a brain and not have a mind.

A brain is inherited; a mind is developed.

–Attributed to Reuven Feuerstein

Dr. Rita Pierson“The Role of Language and Story:

Guess What Happened to Jack?”

Powerful PracticesBuild Relationships of Respect (Resilience)Make Beginning Learning RelationalTeach Students to Speak in Formal RegisterAssess Each Student’s ResourcesTeach the Hidden Rules of SchoolMonitor Progress and Plan InterventionsTranslate the Concrete into the AbstractTeach Students How to Ask QuestionsForge Relationships with ParentsRecognize Effort/ Confront the mythPre-telling and Retelling

Learning Achievement Coalition Oakland LACO

http://www.lac-o.org/SitePages/New%20Page.aspx