Intro to Teaching, Chapter 3
Stacy Crawford, BCHS
 I can describe changes in American families over the
last 50 years.
 I can define socioeconomic status, and explain how
different socioeconomic patterns influence school
success.
 Describe societal changes and implications of these
changes for education.
 Describe characteristics of at-risk students and how
schools and teachers can help these students be
successful.
 At your tables, brainstorm a list of ways that students
are different now than they were a few decades back.
Be ready to share.
 Fewer families are headed by married couples
 Most women with children are in the workplace
 Increase in divorce rate
 Nearly 1 in 4 children live only with their mothers
 Approximately 5% live only with their fathers
 About 4 % live with neither
 The incidence of poverty among single parent families
is 10 times higher than among families with two
parents.
 Why is quality childcare so important?
 While critics would contend that there is no substitute
for a mother’s care during the early years of a child’s life,
the reality for most families is that both parents work
outside the home.
 Research shows a positive correlation between high
quality childcare and children’s long-term cognitive and
emotional development.
 Future earnings
 Drug use
 Delinquency
 Drop out rate
 Between 4 and 5 million children in America return
home from school to empty houses until their parents
get home from work.
 Lack of supervision
 Too much time playing games or watching television
 No help with homework
 The combination of family income, parents’
occupations, and level of parental education is one
way to describe differences in family background.
 Researchers divide into 4 groups:
 Upper class--$170,000+
 Middle Class—$80,000-$170,000(1/2); $40,00-80,000
(1/2)
 Working Class--$25,000-$40,000
 Lower Class—Below $25,000
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poor-kids/
 Low SES
 Transient/Homeless
 Divorced families
 Minority
 ESL
 Drug/Alcohol abuse in the home
 High Rate of Criminal Activity in the neighborhood
 Truancy
 Low grades
 Low participation in extracurricular
 Low motivation
 Misbehavior in class
 Low self-esteem
 Apathy toward school
 High suspension rates
 Retention in grade(s)
 Build a community of support
 Mental health issues
 Tutoring
 Family support assistance
 Positive relationships with adults to hold high moral
and academic standards
 School climate is demanding and supportive
 Safe, orderly climate with clear rules and expectations
 Academic focus on mastery of content
 Sense of community
 Strong parental involvement
 Caring and demanding teachers who hold high
expectations
 High level of structure and predictability
 Clear learning objectives
 High levels of interaction between teachers and
students
 Frequent and thorough assessments
 Detailed feedback
 Emphasis on student responsibility
 Rewards/challenges of teaching
 What are the Praxis tests?
 National Board Certification is comprised of two areas:
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a content-specific test, and submission of evidence
Compare/contrast traditional and alternative routes to
teaching certification
Making yourself marketable
Merit Pay
School Report Card
Changes in American Families
 SES
 Be able to identify/evaluate pertinent information
from a school report card
 Poverty and its implications for teachers—
compare/contrast SES levels
 At-risk students—who are they? What behaviors
might be present in the classroom? What can
teachers/school staff do to help?