- Poverty and education: Poverty is the most relevant factor in determining the outcome of a person’s educational journey. Even though American students perform middle of the road when compared to the world’s wealthiest countries lead by Finland, poverty plays a major role. Only 5% of Finland’s children live in poverty compared to around 23% in the United States. Furthermore, if you compare US schools with less than 20% poverty, they far outperform the entire world.
- Poverty and health/nutrition: Children living in poverty do not receive the same medical care beginning with pre-natal care. They are more likely to suffer from preventable cognitive issues and are more likely to live in substandard housing increasing their risk of exposure toxic materials and additional health issues. All of which can effect learning.
- Poverty and the Parent: Parents of children in poverty do not care less about their children’s education. Parents in poverty often lack the freedom to attend scheduled meetings and events like open houses because of inflexibility in job schedules. Many parents of children in poverty work the equivalent of 1.2 full time jobs.
- Poverty and family dynamics: While the percentage of single-parent homes headed by women (30.9%) is larger than homes headed by single men (16.4%), and married couples (6.3%), in 2011 11.6% of all families lived in poverty. There is a poverty issue in many of our schools, not simply in inner city settings.
- Poverty and residential segregation: Children in poverty are more effected by residential segregation which negatively effects them in two primary area. First, they often experience inferior public amenities such as schools, libraries, parks, etc. Secondly, unlike adults children are often limited to their local setting on a daily basis. Technology allows us to take them to places far beyond their neighborhoods.
- Poverty and the achievement gap: The achievement gap between children living in poverty does not change much from pre-k through 12th grade. Furthermore, the income achievement gap (defined here as the average achievement difference between a child from a family at the 90th percentile of the family income distribution and a child from a family at the 10th percentile) is now nearly twice as large as the black-white achievement gap.
- Poverty and dropout rates: In 2008 68% of 12th graders in high-poverty schools vs. 91% in low-poverty schools graduated with a diploma. Since 2000 the percentages in high-poverty schools have suffered an 18% drop while there is no significant difference in low-poverty schools.
- Poverty and crime: US dropout rates have led to historic numbers of incarceration. As of 2008 roughly 37% of blacks, 12% of whites, and 7% of Latinos contributed to America holding 20% of the world’s prisoners even though it is only 5% of the world’s population.
- Poverty and its effect on basic human needs: While there is still debate on the order of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs a 2011 study seems to reaffirm everyone’s happiness to some extent requires basic things like food and shelter, security, a need to belong, a realization of personal worth, and personal growth. Children in poverty may face the absence of several of these on a daily basis.
- Poverty and the teacher who teaches: Poverty, health, parent, family dynamics, residential segregation, achievement gaps, dropout rates, crime, and basic human need issues can all be overcome by meaningful mentor relationships where mentors simply pass the baton of a child’s success as he/she is temporarily placed into our circle of influence, if only for a season.
Abramsky, S, (2010), Toxic Persons, New research shows precisely how the prison-to-poverty cycle does its damage, Slate.com
Bischoff, K; Reardon, S, (2013), Residential Segregation by Income, 1979-2009, US 2010 Project
Cherry, K, (2011), Putting Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the Test, About.com Psychology
Ladd, H; Fiske, E, (2011), Class matters, Why won’t we admit it?, New York Times
Reardon, S, (2011), The Widening achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations
Strauss, V, (2013), Five stereotypes about poor families and education, The Washington Post
Thomas, O, (2013), A Poverty Not Education Crisis in The U.S.: Column, USA Today.com
National Center for Educational Statistics, (2010), Spotlight, High-Poverty Schools
US Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P. 60-245, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2013, Table 4: Families in Poverty by Type of Family: 2011 and 2012