Poverty in the Classroom is making our children suffer'

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Poverty in the Classroom is making our children
suffer.

• Amanda Taylor
• November 2, 2007

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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.

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Children in poverty!
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Effects on teaching cont.

• 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

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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.

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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.

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Statistics cont

• 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.

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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.
• Americas Second Harvest provides free groceries
  for families that can not afford them.

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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.

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Websites

• The Effects of Poverty on Teaching and Learning.
  http//www.teach-nology.com/Articles/teaching/pove
  rty/ 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.

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Websites cont

• 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, Americas 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.

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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.