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Effects of poverty on children's education
Effect of poverty in education
The effect of poverty on education
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In the film Lalee’s Kin, the school superintendent Reggie Barnes, described how his school district was labeled as the worst by the state because of their performance score on the ITBS test. They were on probation and needed to increase their performance from level 1.8 to 2. As he pointed out, he felt as if the system was built to fail these children. He partly blamed the state for not taking responsibility to provide him with the funds needed to hire more qualified teachers and purchase necessary school supplies to teach their students. He advocated for adequate and identical educational opportunities for students within his school district as the rest of Delta school district had. The state threatened to take over the schools if there was …show more content…
no improvement. He believed in his heart that the issue could only be resolved at local level. As he eloquently put it; the students that the interacted with were unique with many challenges to overcome. Furthermore, he did not trust that the state will have a positive impact on the student if they had taken over. I believe the plantation system affected the livelihood of the citizen of Tallahatchie County. The result of such impact still existed within the community years after they were gone.
Several factors played a role in the school district unsatisfactory performance as a unit. Early on, the people in that community were deprived of their right to be educated. As a plantation state that was producing cotton, Black children were forced to stay out of school during the months of September, October, and November. As the film states, by keeping them illiterate; they could be easily controlled and served the masters’ purpose. The impact of illiteracy negatively affected the families and their communities. Even in the years of 2001, children suffered from aftermath of poverty. Their parents and grandparents were not educated, which contributed to the ongoing cycle of poverty. They couldn’t get the educational support that they needed from home because their parents were not equipped to assist them. The community did not offer any alternate form of resources such afterschool care, tutoring services, and social …show more content…
service.
Because the state did not embrace the community and the private sector did not have any stimulation to invest there. Therefore, the community remained in isolation due to poverty; their educational and economical structures were affected. Mr. Barnes served as the liaison between the students’ school environment and their home environment by promoting good academic practices; by motivating the teachers and students; and by getting their caregivers involved. The condition that the students encountered in their home environment, especially Granny and Main had an impact on the school district as a whole. Poverty affects their academic performance and their community economic development. The children did not receive the care that they need at home; parental guidance was limited; insufficient financial resources to prepare them for school; they did not have the support that is required to achieve academic success. Mr. Barnes advocated for his students to the best of his ability; however, the struggle was in-depth. It required a greater intervention to help resolve the issues with their educational system. It would require the state and community as a whole to assess the origins of the problems they were facing and commit to work in coalition with the families to resolve
them. Discrimination, racism, and oppression have many negative impacts on poor families; they generate a continuing cycle of poverty and misery. Wherever racism and discrimination exist; inequality, injustice, follows. Cruelty is the main substance that fuels the oppressors’ agenda. Poor families are deprived of basic human rights. The right to be educated was taken away from them in order to better control and manipulate them. They were paid $12 an hour based on family size so they could always be depending on the plantations for survival. The cotton picking system crippled Lalee’s family and their community at large. Even though the plantations were shut down, they were still oppressed mentally and economically. They had limited resources within their communities; there were not any employment prospects; the school system was broken; and economic development was non-existent. A large group of the people in the community did not or couldn’t adapt to a different way of living. All they were accustomed to was “picking cotton”; when it ended, it left them vulnerable. Majority of the community was uneducated, and unskilled. Additionally, the community had no employment opportunities and limited community resources. Lalee’s family shares some similarities with urban communities. They encounter the same issues such as lack of education, being unskilled, reliance on public assistance, poverty, large family households, vast number of incarceration, absent parents, grandparents raising their grandchildren and great grandchildren, parental lack of responsibility, substance misuse, and domestic violence. However, urban communities have more resources at their disposal. Most communities have social services and resources to address their needs. I believe the reason the subject of incarceration was often discussed in the film was because most of the men in Lalee’s family and in their community were in jail or had some type of interaction with Law Enforcement. This appeared to be their way of life since the community did not offer any employment opportunities after the plantations were closed. People started to engage in criminal activities to survive, which at time lead to their imprisonment. In Lalee’s household alone, three men were in jail. Redman and Granny’s fathers were serving time and Lalee’ son was in and out of jail. They often spoke of the criminal justice system because their loved ones were within that system. It is obvious the young boys did not comprehend the idea of being behind bars because Red man stated in one of his conversations with Lalee’s that he wanted to go to jail instead of school. Lalee’ son’s involvement with the law clearly had a negative impact on her. Apparently, the jail was located 16 miles away from their community; they made references about going to jail in some of their conversation. It seems like going to jail became a part of their life; it was a norm for male figures in this family and their community. The women did not seem to have high expectation of the men. I think they were afraid of being attached to the men; knowing that they would either leave them or end up in jail sooner or later. I was amazed by one of the women that spoke of being married for just two weeks. When she was sharing her story with the gentleman that was teaching her how to write her name, she did not displayed any emotions of sadness or regrets. She stated that her husband left to go changed a mule and never returned home. She didn’t report him missing; she didn’t look for him or worry that something horrible might have happened to him. It seemed as if she expected him to leave at some point in life. Lalee possessed some of the strongest characters. She was resilient, patient, persistent, caring, resourceful, and courageous. She found a way to be independent and cared for her children, her grandchildren, and great grandchildren even though she had limitations. She faced her challenges with grace and love. Granny played the role of a parent to her younger siblings and cousins. She helped her grandmother run their household and still manage to go to school ready to learn. In addition, she was brave and courageous when she decided to move with her paternal grandparents in order to satisfy her educational needs. Neglect was one of the traumas portrayed in the film. I feel like all of the children were neglected by their parents and caregiver. Their parents failed to provide them with basic needs such as food, clothes, and shelter for them. They also abandoned their children and failed to assume their parental responsibilities. In addition, Lalee tried her best as a caregiver to care and provide for them; however, the home environment that they were exposed to was deplorable. Historical trauma affected the community as a whole. I believe after slavery was abolished and the plantations were closed, the community was not able to adapt or adjust to their new reality. They were molded into being cotton pickers and were brain-washed to serve that purpose. They were forced to work for less than the minimum wage; over the years, the resentment and anger caused a wound within them. Lalee, her sister, and other member of the community shared how they didn’t like picking cotton. How the masters used to wake them up at 4AM with the sound of firearm to go start their day in the cotton field. They started as young as 7 years old and getting paid $12 monthly per family. Lalee experienced traumatic grief and separation. She lost three children, but she talked about her son George that died in a car accident and of her son Richard that was in and out of the criminal system. She expressed that she loved these two the most; I think she loved their father through them. She suffers lost when Richard was arrested the last time for cocaine possession, but she believed he won the money playing casino. When Granny moved out of her home, she also had difficulty coping with it.
Another school in the same district is located “in a former roller-skating rink” with a “lack of windows” an a scarcity of textbooks and counselors. The ratio of children to counselors is 930 to one. For 1,300 children, of which “90 percent [are] black and Hispanic” and “10 percent are Asian, white, or Middle Eastern”, the school only has 26 computers. Another school in the district, its principal relates, “‘was built to hold one thousand students’” but has “‘1,550.’” This school is also shockingly nonwhite where “’29 percent '” of students are “‘black [and] 70 percent [are]
The schools in Kozol 's essay dealt with lack of funding compared to other schools in New York. For example, Kozol states that the education of a third grade child, in nineteen ninety seven to nineteen ninety eight, in an inner city New York costs the New York Board of Education roughly eight thousand dollars per year. However, if you put that same third grader in a school in the white suburbs of New York, she would receive an education worth about twelve thousand dollars. Kozol adds to this by explaining that the prices on both sides have only risen (Kozol 208). A principal details the restraints on the school the lack of funding has brought, "the principal poured out his feelings to me in a room in which a plastic garbage bag had been attached somehow to cover part of the collapsing ceiling. 'This, ' he told me, pointing to the garbage bag, and then gesturing all around him at the other indications of decay and disrepair one sees in ghetto schools much like it elsewhere,
My perception was changed completely after reading this book, I never knew that so many schools were situated in the ghettos and were so badly overcrowded or only had two toilets working for about 1000 students, and no toilet paper. What really upsets me is the fact that within the exact same city limits, there are schools situated in the suburbs which average 20 per classroom and have enough supplies and computers for every child to receive one as their own. Of course the majority of these suburban schools are dominantly white and the urban schools hold the minorities. The dropout rates that are listed in the book are ridiculous. Most of the children drop out in secondary school and never receive a proper education because of the lack of supplies or lack of teachers' interests. The majority of the kids are black or Hispanic in the poor schools and the suburban schools hold the upper-class white children and the occasional Asian or Japanese children who are in the gifted classes. The small population of blacks and Hispanics that go to the schools are placed into the "special" classrooms and their "mental retardations" can be blamed for their placements. The majority of these students are not mental and they belonged in a regular classroom among whites and Asians.
“The Shame of The Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America,” is a book that tells the story of author, Jonathan Kozol’s, journey through the public school system. He looks deeper into inner-city, low-income schools and the re-segregation that has taken place. Kozol focuses on the struggles those children of poor and minorities face while trying to achieve equal education as those of the middle and upper class. This book gives a vivid description of what is happening in schools across the country and our failure as a nation to provide ALL students with the education that they deserve through the observations, interviews, and experiences of author Jonathan Kozol. Through this book he tries to shed light on what is really going on in schools across the nation and what most people are not aware of. “Many Americans I meet who live far from our major cities and who have no first-hand knowledge of realities in urban public schools seem to have a rather vague and general impression that the great extremes of racial isolation they recall as matters of grave national significance some 35 to 40 years ago have gradually, but steadily, diminished in more recent years (Kozol 18).”
However, Dr. Mubenga’s research does not take account of how neighborhood plays its role on education, and specifically, how poorer neighborhoods lead towards poorer, unsuccessful schools. An Editorial from the New York Times points out how African American neighborhoods became poor in the first place, and it draws a connection between that and its effect on education.
Parenting alone is not to blame for poor school performance of African American children. The size of a school affects their student’s dropout rate. When school size increases the quality of education decreases. As stated by Velma Zahirovic-Herbert and Geoffrey
Nelson Mandela once said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (Make Poverty History, 2005). Gwinnett county is third in the country when it comes to a high poverty rate, with 14% of the population living below poverty (Family Promise of Gwinnet County, 2013). As an educator it is important to familiarize with the county of which one is to teach in, and poverty is an issue in Gwinnett county. One must understand the affects of poverty on children's learning, how to recognize children of poverty and how to help those students, and what rights those children have to an education.
Poorer schools with more diverse populations have poor educational programs. Teachers methodically drone out outdated curriculum on timetables set by standards set by the state. Students are not engaged or encouraged to be creative thinkers. They are often not even given handouts or physical elements of education to touch or feel or engage them into really connecting to the material being presented by the teacher in front of them. Time is not wasted exploring any of the subjects in a meaningful way. As much of the curriculum is gone through as the teacher can get through given the restriction of having a classroom of students that are not picking it up adequately enough according to standardized tests scores. So time is spent re-droning the material to them and re-testing before the cycle repeats in this classroom and other subject classrooms in these types of school. This education is free. As John Gatto writes about in his book, “Against School”, it seems as if the vast majority of students are being taught be blue collared, low paid but obedient citizens. As she makes her way up to less diverse, more likely private and expensive schools, the education becomes better. Students are engaged by teachers that seem to like to teach. Students are encouraged to be
In Topeka, Kansas, the school for African-American children appeared to be equal to that of the white school. However, the school was overcr...
First, with all the money that is being put into public education, it needs to be distributed evenly. If public schools had similar resources and capabilities, students wouldn’t need to travel far to get a good education and this would solve many problems. An example of this from the film is when a Mother is speaking about her child’s experience at an open discussion. She talks about how her student loves music and music is taught at a one public school and not the other. Money is being distributed unequally and kids are being taken of opportunities that they could have a passion for. Another aspect that I agree with is that for things to change for the better in the future, everyone needs to get involved. Kids in these unfortunate situations can only do so much to speak up for themselves but it will only get them so far. Most of the students aren’t even able to vote yet so it is important the country as a whole is aware of these problems and learn about how to help. Students from everywhere need to feel that they are valued so they have the chance to
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems with schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school system or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement.
Berns, Roberta. Child, family, school, community: socialization and support. 9th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
When talking about a school that is mostly filled with African Americans, it is common to picture it as somewhere that has limited programs due to low funding from the government and located where poverty rate is high. Normally the thought of a brand new facility or more investment in schools is not associated with African American schools. The universal problem of mostly black schools is the fact that there is a lack of funding for the school and it...
The environment through which education is realized is critical for the learning children. In this aspect, there exist many forms of schooling that support education of children; public schooling, home schooling and private schooling. However, each method of schooling has its own advantages and disadvantages compared to other schooling methods. The above arguments are based on both home schooling and public schooling. Each schooling method focuses on pertinent issues that make the method as the most ideal compared to the other. Moreover, these arguments focus in realization of specific goals of education and education environments as indicated in each subheading.
...trated in the inner city where the worst, most impoverished schools are located. Therefore, even if they wish to attend school, they still receive have less access to good teachers and a good learning environment. And perhaps the most detrimental issue that minorities face is that they are often stigmatized as inferior. This causes them to be treated differently and it causes them to have low expectations for themselves, which leads to poor performance.