Defeating Deficit Ideology:
Creating Class-Equitable
Schools
by Paul C. Gorski
gorski@EdChange.org
What We (Think We) Know
The Who Said It? Quiz


Humility is key
Cognitive dissonance is inevitable
2
The Quiz
1. In 1978 corporate CEOs in the United
States earned, on average, 35 times
more than the average worker. Today,
they earn __ times more than the
average worker.
a. 35
b. 150
c.
300
3
The Quiz
1. In 1978 corporate CEOs in the United
States earned, on average, 35 times
more than the average worker. Today,
they earn __ times more than the
average worker.
a. 35
b. 150
c.
300
4
The Quiz
2. The majority of poor people in the U.S.
live in:
a. urban areas
b. suburban areas
c.
rural areas
5
The Quiz
2. The majority of poor people in the U.S.
live in:
a. urban areas
b. suburban areas
c.
rural areas
6
The Quiz
3. Which of the following variables most
closely predicts how high someone will
score on the SAT test?
a. race
b. region of residence
c.
family income
7
The Quiz
3. Which of the following variables most
closely predicts how high someone will
score on the SAT test?
a. race
b. region of residence
c.
family income
8
The Quiz
5. How many children around the world die
each day from hunger-related causes?
a. 1,600
b. 16,000
c.
160,000
9
The Quiz
5. How many children around the world die
each day from hunger-related causes?
a. 1,600
b.
16,000
c.
160,000
10
The Quiz
6. How many people in the U.S. live in
poverty according to the U.S. Census
Bureau?
a. About 17 million
b. About 27 million
c.
About 37 million
11
The Quiz
6. How many people in the U.S. live in
poverty according to the U.S. Census
Bureau?
a. About 17 million
b. About 27 million
c.
About 37 million
12
The Quiz
7. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, how much
more likely are African American and Latino
mortgage applicants to be turned down for a
loan, even after controlling for employment,
financial, and neighborhood factors?
a.
15%
b.
30%
c.
60%
13
The Quiz
7. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, how much
more likely are African American and Latino
mortgage applicants to be turned down for a
loan, even after controlling for employment,
financial, and neighborhood factors?
a.
15%
b.
30%
c.
60%
***
14
Starting Assumptions
1.
2.
3.
Low-income people bear the brunt of almost
every imaginable social ill in the U.S.
All people, regardless of socioeconomic status,
deserve access to basic human rights
(including the best possible education)
Inequities in the U.S. and our schools mean
that all people don’t have this access
15
The Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stereotypes of Low-Income People
Key Concepts
The Big Picture: Ten Chairs
Shifts of Consciousness
Being an Anti-Poverty Educator
16
Part II:
Oppressors Are Us:
Stereotypes of Low-Income
People
Stereotypers Are Us

Pairs: Name all the stereotypes you know
about low-income people

And note where they come from
18
Stereotypers Are Us
Stereotype: Laziness
Ah, but: According to the Economic Policy
Institute (2002), poor working adults
spend more hours working per week on
average than their wealthier counterparts.
19
Stereotypers Are Us
Stereotype: Don’t Value Education
Ah, but: Low-income parents hold the exact
same attitudes about education as wealthy
parents (Compton-Lilly, 2003; Lareau &
Horvat, 1999; Leichter, 1978; Varenne &
McDermott, 1986).
20
Stereotypers Are Us
Stereotype: Substance Abuse
Ah, but: Alcohol abuse is far more prevalent
among wealthy people than poor people
(Galea, Ahern, Tracy, & Vlahov, 2007). And
drug use equally distributed across poor,
middle class, and wealthy communities
(Saxe, Kadushin, Tighe, Rindskopf, &
Beveridge, 2001).
21
Stereotypers Are Us
Stereotype: Crime and Violence
Ah, but: Poor people do not commit more
crime than wealthy people—they only
commit more visible crime. Furthermore,
white collar crime results in much greater
economic (and life) losses than so-called
“violent” crime.
22
Stereotypers Are Us
Stereotype: Language-Deficient
Ah, but: Linguists have known for decades
that all varieties of English (such as “Black
English vernacular” or Appalachian
varieties) are equally complex in structure
and grammar (Gee, 2004; Hess, 1974;
Miller, Cho, & Bracey, 2005).
23
Stereotypers Are Us
Where, then, do these stereotypes come
from, and whose purposes do they serve?
…more on this later…
24
Mis-perceivers Are Us
Point of Reflection:
What would you describe as your
socioeconomic status?
25
Mis-perceivers Are Us
Point of Reflection:
Where does the notion of meritocracy come
from, and has it ever been true?
26
Mis-perceivers Are Us
Point of Reflection:
Is poverty an individual experience or a
systemic condition?
27
Part III
Cool Key Concepts
Key Concepts
•
•
•
The ‘Culture of Poverty’
Deficit Ideology
The “Undeserving” Poor
29
Key Concept:
The ‘Culture of Poverty’
What is it? (See hidden rules quizzes.)
 Who made it up?
 What the research says
 Why it’s dangerous
 Where you’ve seen it in
30
Key Concept:
The ‘Deficit Ideology’
Two Components
 Example: Payne’s reflections on Katrina
(see handout)
 Why it’s dangerous
 Where you’ve seen it in
31
Key Concept:
The ‘Undeserving Poor’



Herbert Gans, The War Against the Poor
Deterioration of support for policy
“Welfare Reform”
32
Part IV
The Big Picture:
Ten Chairs and a Pyramid
Part VI
Shifts of Consciousness
Shift of Consciousness #1

Must be willing to think critically about
those things about which I’ve been taught
not to think critically



Corporate capitalism
Two-party political system
Consumer culture


And the relationship between these things and
racism
Myth of meritocracy
35
Shift of Consciousness #2

Must understand the intersectionality of
class with race, gender, disability, and
other factors.


We cannot fully understand poverty without
understanding how it relates to these issues.
Racism as economic exploitation
36
Shift of Consciousness #3

Must expose and reject deficit ideology
and the “culture of poverty” myth

Blame people in oppressed groups for their
oppression
37
Shift of Consciousness #4

Must See Our Socialization


How are we socialized to perpetuate the
myths?
How do we perpetuate myths and oppression
even through wellintended work?
38
Shift of Consciousness #5

Must refuse to mistake socioeconomic
class with “culture”

Poverty is sociopolitical in nature—it’s done to
people
39
Shift of Consciousness #6

Must be careful to avoid “saviour
syndrome” or “messiah mentality” or
“missionary mindset”


This is an expression of supremacy and
privilege
Who, exactly, is being “saved” in anti-poverty
work?
40
Shift of Consciousness #10

Focus on understanding the cultures and
forces of power and privilege, not only on
the experiences and cultures of the
dispossessed “other”

We cannot understand class and poverty
without understanding the influence of the
wealthy elite
***
41
Classroom Principles
Classroom Principles

There is no set of curricular or pedagogical
strategies that work with all or even most
low-income kids

The range of ways in which low-income
students learn is exactly the same as the
range of ways in which wealthier students
learn
43
Classroom Principles

Low-income students do not have access
to the same material resources that their
wealthier peers take for granted

What does this mean about how we assign
homework or projects?
44
Classroom Principles

Low-income families do not share the
same level of access to school
participation as their wealthier
counterparts

This doesn’t mean they don’t value education!
45
Classroom Principles

Low-income students, like all students,
need to see themselves reflected in the
curriculum

Are examples and illustrations inclusive of
their experiences?
46
Classroom Principles

Low-income students do not need us to
feel sorry for them and, as a result, lower
our expectations of their intelligence

Being low-income is not a learning disability—
it’s not an indicator of intelligence but an
indicator of opportunity
47
Classroom Principles

We should teach about class and poverty
issues



Dissolution of labor unions
Lack of living wage jobs
Educational inequities
48
Classroom Principles

We should keep extra supplies around, but
distribute them quietly:



Coats
School supplies
Snacks
49
Classroom Principles

We should never assume that all
students—or families—have convenient
access to computers and the Internet
50
Classroom Principles

We should make sure that materials and
illustrations don’t stereotype low-income
people, even if subtly so
51
School Culture
Principles
School Culture Principles

We should be persistent with low-income
families

And we never should make an assumption
about what their involvement means about
their dedication to education
53
School Culture Principles

We should eliminate additional fees for
participation in extracurricular activities.

What you may believe is a small fee could be
the difference between eating and not eating
for a low-income family
54
School Culture Principles

We should fight to keep low-income
students from being placed unfairly into
lower tracks or ability groups


And fight to get them into Gifted & Talented
programs
Or fight tracking altogether
55
School Culture Principles

We should critically examine all school and
classroom policy for hidden bias or for
anything that privileges some students
and families based only on their access to
economic resources.

Examples?
56
School Culture Principles

We should be very cautious about entering
into corporate-school partnerships.
57
School Culture Principles

We should make family involvement
opportunities, including “parent”
conferences accessible to people who:





Work multiple jobs
Work evening jobs
Can’t afford childcare
Can’t afford public transportation
Etc.
58
School Culture Principles

We never, never, never should stop
identifying the ways in which we are
socialized to misunderstand poverty and
how that socialization manifests in our
work.
59
Part IX
A Few Final Reflections
Paul C. Gorski
gorski@edchange.org
http://www.EdChange.org