Running head: UNDERSTANDING POVERTY AND ITS AFFECT ON EDUCATION
Understanding Poverty and Its Impact on Education
Lori Staub
CSU
Multicultural and Special Populations
EDUC 651
Sharon K. Anderson, Ph.D.
August 3, 2012
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UNDERSTANDING POVERTY AND ITS IMPACT ON EDUCATION
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Understanding the Culture of Poverty and its Impact on Education
Poverty can be defined as “the state of being extremely poor”, according to the Oxford
Dictionary of English (2009). Payne (2005) not only attempts to define poverty, but addresses
the circumstances that she believes perpetuates it, and provides strategies for addressing its
impact on people’s lives. In addition to Payne’s ideas concerning poverty, included are
challenging viewpoints from Rogalsky’s (2009) journal article and Reinke’s (n.d.) book review,
both of which provide critical analysis of Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty
(2005).
Payne identifies numerous key points in her text. Stating that “poverty is relative”
(Payne, 2005, p. 2) she explains that poverty – or wealth – exists only in relationships with
similar groups of people. She also emphasizes that poverty exists in all races and in all countries
around the world. According to Payne (2005, p. 2), economic class is not categorized as a
“clear-cut distinction”, but moves along a continuum that is delinated by the income of the
household.
According to Mantsios (2006), about 1% of the American population holds 34% of the
total wealth in this country, and about 183,000 Americans (approximately 75%) of that wealthy
1% hold nearly 85% of the total welath in the U.S. Mantsios (2006) compares these numbers to
approximately 13% of Americans who reside on the continuum at or below the poverty line.
This 13% breaks down to one out of every eight people in the U.S. who live below the poverty
line. He further states that within the 13% of people, resides the children of poverty – nearly one
out of every five children under the age of six live in poverty. Payne (2005) presents very
similar numbers in her book. Payne’s continuum of poverty would include the 13% all falling
into a spot on the line according to their income level.
UNDERSTANDING POVERTY AND ITS IMPACT ON EDUCATION
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Another key point that Payne cites is that generational and situational poverty are not the
same. Payne (2005) describes situational poverty as being caused by specific circumstances and
lasts for a shorter period of time than generational poverty, which typically lasts for two
generations or longer. Another key point raised by Payne (2005) is that individuals live by
“hidden rules” of their specific societal class, and even though their income may become
significantly higher than that of their childhood status, they continue to live by the same social
interactions, thinking strategies, and patterns of thought that they were raised with. Payne (2005)
goes on to say that schools and businesses generally operate from what is considered to be norms
and hidden rules of the middle-class.
Payne (2005) discusses language acquisition barriers that play into the social norms of
the middle class as well by labeling the “formal register” as another one of the hidden rules of
the middle class. Payne describes the “formal” (p. 27) and “informal” (p. 27) registers of
speech, and explains that many children of poverty are not exposed to the formal register in their
homes, and therefore never learn to use it. Not only are most standardized assessments written in
the formal register, but the inability to use the formal register can keep individuals from gaining
employment opportunities as well. Payne (2005) also contends that children of poverty do not
have the vocabulary or knowledge of sentence structure to use the formal register.
“School performance (grads and test scores) and educational attainment (level of
schooling completed) also correlate strongly with economic class” (Mantsios, 2006, p. 153). He
contends that despite efforts to make education more accessible and fairer, the inequities in the
educational system are continuing to widen. Payne’s (2005) descriptions of formal and informal
registers help explain why students of poverty struggle more with academic success.
UNDERSTANDING POVERTY AND ITS IMPACT ON EDUCATION
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Rogalsky (2009) contends that Payne (2005) continually emphasizes in her book that
there is a “clear understanding” that individuals in poverty will never get out, and that she
portrays the poor as “lazy, criminals, bad parents, irresponsible, unmotivated, and addicts”
(2009, p. 200). Rogalsky (2009) believes that poverty and student performance in children of
poverty, are affected by a much greater spectrum of issues such as, social, economic, and
political structural issues.
When discussing strategies for educating children, Payne (2005) argues that in order for
students to be successful academically, we as the educators must understand the hidden rules of
their class and help them understand the hidden rules that will make their success possible.
Teachers must remember to not excuse students or scold them for lack of understanding, but
provide support and realistic expectations. Payne (2005) explains that education and
relationships are two of the things that can help move individuals out of poverty; however,
moving from poverty to middle class or middle class to wealth requires that the individuals have
to give up relationships (indefinitely) for success. “The key to achievement for students from
poverty is in creating relationships with them” (Payne, 2005, p. 109). Rogalsky (2009) also
emphasizes the need for relationships as an avenue to academic and personal success:
Children bring different experiences into the classroom and different ways of
Making sense of the world; teachers must begin to understand them in order to be
effective. This research has provided methods to assist teachers in understanding
the lives of their students to improve the educational outcomes of vulnerable
impoverished populations (p.204).
In addition, Payne emphasizes that our role as educators is to provide a support system,
complete with role models and opportunities to learn, in order for the students to achieve
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academic success. Reinke (no date) supports Payne’s ideas here by complimenting her input
strategies and lesson plan designs because they include cognitive strategies and sold foundations
for effective instruction. While Rogalsky (2009) does not fully embrace Payne’s strategies and
recommended teaching practices, she does state that after reading A Framework for
Understanding Poverty, many educators feel more comfortable in interacting with individuals
who are not in their social class (Kleiner, 2000, as cited by Rogalsky (2009)).
How does one assess the key issues that Payne has raised in her book? Rogalsky (2009)
raises this issue by asking if a “single framework” by Payne (2005) can – or should be – used for
an entire group of students. Reinke (no date) also questions if Payne’s ideas should be used as a
“sole source” for implementing classroom strategies. I feel that Payne’s (2005) ideas need to be
assessed and utilized according to the needs of the students and the educators in each specific
situation. Even though other authors are concerned about stereotyping in the way that Payne
(2005) has presented her research, I see a direct correlation from her writing to what I experience
at the socioeconomically-disadvantaged school where I teach.
Many of the families I interact with through my classroom struggle with the issues that
Payne (2005) outlines in her scenarios in the first chapter of A Framework for Understanding
Poverty. Drug-related issues, the absence of the fathers, numerous pregnancies (with the
mothers and very young females), the absence of the formal register, and the struggle with
background knowledge and vocabulary, are all major concerns with many of our students. My
earlier point that Payne’s key points must be assessed in different situations is based on the fact
that every neighborhood and school system are different.
Payne’s book was recommended for reading by a colleague who felt that Payne
accurately described the situation of our students and families, thus empowering us with
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knowledge for understanding the students’ backgrounds and helping us build closer relationships
with them. I agree with her analysis of the relevance of Payne’s book on our situation. One of
her comments to our principal was that A Framework for Understanding Poverty be a required
reading for our entire staff. At the time I didn’t think much about her statement, but after reading
the book I do agree that it would be beneficial for everyone to gain some additional
understanding of the children and families we reach. I have struggled in the past with
delineating between my values and the values of my families at school. Payne’s book has helped
me see a clearer picture of the issues that many of the families deal with every day, and made it
easier for me to see why our values are so different. I do feel that there are choices parents can
make to create a better learning environment that would ensure academic success for their
children, and I plan to make more of an effort to get them involved in the classroom this year.
Instead of just extending an open invitation to all parents, I will make an effort to personally
invite them in for assistance with different activities. Perhaps if the parents are more involved in
the classroom, they will put more emphasis on learning at home as well.
Last school year was my third year of teaching, and because I finally felt comfortable
with the curriculum and could focus on other goals, I spent more time getting to know the
students. I felt that I actually had more of a personal relationship with them and even
deescalated some major behavioral issues because of those relationships. After reading Payne’s
book, I realize how important those relationships are and will continue to focus on the children’s
needs. I, along with my teammates, am constantly striving to apply more effective teaching
strategies in order to keep the students’ minds and bodies engaged in learning. Many of our
students from low income families do not have the ability to sit still and pay attention for long
periods of time without any physical interaction with what they are learning. Building
UNDERSTANDING POVERTY AND ITS IMPACT ON EDUCATION
background knowledge has been a huge part of our lessons each day, and I understand the need
for that even moreso now that I’ve read Payne’s book.
According to all the authors, building relationships with the students is the most
important thing we as educators can do to gain their trust and ensure that learning is happening.
I believe this is a worthwhile goal for my colleagues as well so that we can continue to build not
only a strong instructional team, but also create an environment that encourages the students to
work toward attainable goals.
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References
Mantsios, G. (2006). Class in America. In M. Aams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. Hackman,
& M. &. Peters, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (pp. 148-155). New York:
Routledge.
Payne, R. (2005). A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Highlands: aha! Process, Inc.
Pearsall, J. & Hanks, P. (2009). Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reinke, M. (ISSn 1935-7699). Review of the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by
Ruby Payne. Journal of Educational Controversy .