Poverty 21 st Century (Part 3)

1. Poverty 21st Century (Part 3) Jessie Myles, M.S. Sandy Fernandez, M.S. Midwest Equity Assistance Center (Kansas State University) December 13, 2010

2. Introductions • Jessie Myles • Sandra L. Fernandez • Ronna Olivier

3. Introduce the Technology • Webinar page • Left side: Chat box • Box: questions • Questions in the box will be answered during webinar • Poll information for interactive participation

4. http://www.facebook.com Midwest Equity Assistance Center p

5. Objectives • Review • Webinar 1 (Myths/Realities) • Webinar 2 (Deficit / Asset Models) • Asset Based Strategies

6. Myth or Reality(What We Think We Know) • Poor people are unmotivated and have weak work ethics. • 83% percent of the children from low income families have at least one employed parent.

7. Laziness Stereotype: Laziness ah, but: According to the Economic Policy Institute (2002), poor working adults spend more hours workingper week on average than their wealthier counterparts. Gaining employment is due to the lack of skills in many situations. (Rural vs. Urban)

8. Myth or Reality(What We Think We Know) 2. Poor people are uninvolved in their children’s learning , largely because they do not value education. 2. Low-income parent hold the same attitudes about education that wealthy parents do.

9. Don’t Value Education Stereotype: Don’t Value Education Ah, but: Low-income parents hold the exact same attitudes about education as wealthy parents (Compton-Lilly, 2003; Hale-Benson, 1986; Lareau & Horvat, 1999; Leichter, 1978; Varenne & McDermott, 1986).

10. Please post other myths. Why is it a myth?

11. Current Family Poverty Rate

12. “Fulfill the Promise of Equal Education” • U.S. Department of Education (2008-2009), • 44.2% of student in public school were identified as low income • PISA • Fifth largest achievement gap between low-income and their more affluent classmates. • High school students performed 24% below those from higher-income schools • Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2011)

13. Cultural ProficiencyDeficit Approach to Poverty • Our role is that educators we are to correct the deficiencies in students and by implication their parents/guardians. Lindsey, Karns, & Myatt, 2010

14. Deficit Model Characteristics • Dirty • Poor Vocabulary • Lack of Background Knowledge • Unmotivated • Dysfunctional • Unorganized • Equating SES/ intelligence Tileston & Darling 2009

15. Cultural ProficiencyAsset-based Approach to Poverty • Begins with the premise that students from low-income and impoverished communities are educable, and it is our role as educators to find out how best to get the ob done. • That educators know the technical aspects of their roles, whether that is as a teacher, a counselor, an administrator, or a policymaker.

16. Cultural ProficiencyAsset-based Approach to Poverty • Based on the belief that: • Students from low-income and impoverished communities have the capacity to learn at high levels. • Schools have the capacity to learn how to educate all students. • The styles of democracy in United States is most effective when ensuring the rights and opportunities of historically marginalized groups of people.

17. Asset Model • Strong Family Unit (Collective vs Individual) • Motivated/relevance • Culturally responsive classrooms and context for learning • Educational resources • Strong Resiliency • Leadership Tileston & Darling 2009

18. Asset Model • Informational text are patterned vs. literary text. • Developing metacognitive skills. ( Highlighting or underlining significant information)

19. What Can We Do? • Educate ourselves about class and poverty. • Reject deficit theory • Make school involvement accessible to all families. • Continue reaching out to families. • Respond when colleagues stereotype poor students and families. • Never assume that all students have equitable access. • Ensure learning materials do not stereotypes. Gorski, 2008

20. What Can We Do? • Advocate to keep low income student from assigned unjustly to special education or low academic tracks. • Validate students experiences and intelligences. • Make curriculum relevant • Teach about issues related to class and poverty • Teach about antipoverty work • Advocate for healthy school meal programs • Examine proposed corporate-school partnerships Gorski, 2008

21. What can you do in your school/ district/ organization to implement an asset approach?

22. Deficiency TermsWords often used to describe some groups and implied for others • Underclass • Middle Class • Unskilled • Privileged • Subgroups • Underperforming • Minority • Deprived • Superior • Disadvantaged • Normal • Deficient • Upper Class

23. Equity Terms • Culture • Demographic group • Equity • National Origin • Race • Reflection • Student of color • Underserved

24. Transformation Chart • Cultural Precompetence • Technical Teaching • Cultural Competence • Relational Teaching • Cultural Proficiency • Relational Teaching

25. Strategies • Possesses skills of technical and relational teaching • Technical-Educator organize work from a cognitive view • Transition students from retrieving information to using information • Results are important • Relational Teaching- • Develop relationships with students as a starting place • Create trust generating climate • Students construct meaning from their point of view

26. 10 Tenets of Asset Base Learning • Accept and respect differences • Acknowledge choices life. • Stop Distractions • Teach and Use Personal Reflections • Care and invest in others ( Me to we)

27. 10 Tenets of Asset Base Learning • Act responsibly and consider others • Believe and behave knowing that humans are self-righting • Identity what is important, no negotiable, a must have to facilitate learning. • Collaborate and be responsive • Commitment to what is right.

28. What teachers can do to build relationships? • Call on everyone in the room equitably • Provide individual help • Give “wait” time • Ask questions to give the student clues about the answer • Ask questions that require more thought • Tell students whether their answers are right or wrong • Give specific praise Dolores Grayson, 1998

29. Behavior/Special Education • Poor students are 9 times as likely to be place in Special Education. • Cultural linguistic factors • Cultural norms and values • Bias are employed to place students in Special Education. Hoover, 2009

30. Digital Quiz • Do you think students should use cell phones in school? • Should cell phones, facebook, twitter or other forms of technology be used as learning options? • How? • How can you improve instruction with the current technology? • How many students have access online?

31. What Does Poverty Mean to You? Some student voices: pretending that you forgot your lunch, being teased for the way you are dressed, feeling ashamed when my dad can’t get a job, not getting a hot dog on hot dog day, knowing that my mother can’t help with homework

32. What Does Poverty Mean to You? • being afraid to tell your mom that you need gym shoes, • not getting invitations to birthday parties, • not buying books at the book fair • feeling invisible • knowing that my mother can’t read or write

33. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • School supplies – do they need to have everything the first day of school? Could things be spaced out as needed? • Sports apparel – help teams, cheerleaders, dance teams, etc. to make economical choices about matching shoes, sweats, socks, etc.

34. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • Pay attention to sleep needs – if a student seems to need sleep, be sensitive to the possibility that maybe things were crazy at home and sleep wasn’t the top priority. • Graduation “stuff” – start early with the information, advertisements, needs for the graduate so the family can have time to decide what is needed and how to pay for it.

35. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • School pictures – offer a class picture on the digital camera; some parents may be happy with that if they can’t afford the regular class picture; give parents a long notice about picture day and the cost; let parents pay in stages

36. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • Deadlines for homework – give adequate time to get things done at home especially if there are things parents need to purchase; also keep in mind that many parents work in the evening and aren’t able to help with assignments that are due the next day. They need time to plan. • Keep extra clothes on hand for those students who may have dirty clothing because a caregiver just didn’t have time to get the laundry done or didn’t see what they walked out of the house wearing.

37. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • Offer to help parents with the paperwork for reduced/free lunch, insurance, especially if they have little or no English speaking ability. • Make home visits – students feel special and it also give some insight to the family’s situation and makes visiting with the parents in the future much easier. • Have inexpensive supplies that students often run out of on hand in the school office.

38. Ideas of Ways Schools Can Help Families • Computer time and homework help time before and after school – some students have no access to a computer and often an adult may be at work so they can’t get to the library or get that extra homework help they need. • Be understanding of family situations that may keep students from meeting a deadline (part-time job that is necessary, no ride due to parents being at work, fees for something that are late). • Limit or skip reward parties that involve students bringing food/drink from home.

39. Questions/ Thank You • Jesse Myles • Kansas State University (Midwest Equity Assistance Center) • jmyles1234@yahoo.com • 785-532-6408 • Sandra Fernandez, MS. • Kansas State University (Midwest Equity Assistance Center) • sfdz@ksu.edu • 785-532-6408