Jesse Santana
October 28, 2012
PPS 6032
Reflection Paper 1: Hidden Rules
Hidden rules among classes are the unspoken cues and habits of a group. Within the poor,
middle, and wealthy classes there are distinct cueing systems that exist among groups and
economic classes. These hidden rules in each class vary a great deal from one class to the next.
Payne (2005) breaks down the classes as that of poverty, the middle class, and the wealthy with
each having varied hidden rules.
Payne (2005) included a quiz in her writing to determine if the reader would be able to
survive in one or more of the classes. The quiz is to measure the readers knowledge of the hidden
rules in each class. After taking the quiz I categorized myself as in the middle class because I
was able to mark a “yes” for almost every question that was asked. For the poverty section I was
only able to mark a “yes” for a couple of the questions they asked and found most of the
questions being asked bizarre and no relevance to my life. Then when reading the wealthy
section I did not mark a single “yes” and realized that most of those questions did not have any
relevance to my life just as much as the poverty section did. I believe that after taking the quiz I
would not be able to survive in neither the poverty class nor the wealthy class. I do imagine
living in the wealthy class would be easier because of financial resources, but the hidden rules
among the class would be too much for me to handle. As for living in poverty, I would not
survive in this class either because I do not know how to fight to defend myself or get my hands
on a gun illegally if needed.
Payne (2005) displayed the hidden rules among classes in a table which I found pretty
accurate. The hidden rules that were outlined for the middle class I felt were pretty accurate in
regards to me. After looking at the chart that was outlined by Payne (2005) I reflected on how I
was raised and found it very interesting because I felt that the chart described me in a way. And
when looking at the charts hidden rules for poverty and wealthy I felt that living in those classes
would be a total culture shock and I would not fit in any way within those classes.
As a school psychologist to be aware of these hidden rules among classes is important
because if I am not aware of the rules I could end up pushing students and parents away rather
than helping them. Being aware of the classes will help me as a school psychologist be able to
better communicate and relate to others from a different class. Working in the school system we
are eventually going to come across that kid who is from an unfamiliar class than our own and it
is important that we know how to interact and understand them so that we work together rather
than against each other.
Jesse Santana
PPS 6032
November 12, 2012
Reflection Paper 2
While reading “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other
People’s Children”, Delpit’s perspective on the “culture of power” I found to be similar to Ruby
Payne’s work in regards to “hidden rules.” Delpits’ “culture of power” focuses on the codes or
rules that dictate how one talks, writes, dresses, and interacts with others. Delpit argument is that
of how educators are supposed to teach black and Native American students when the educators
come in with their own biases about the students. A great issue that Delpit talks about is that
teachers have power over the students, publishers of textbooks, the developers of the curriculum
to determine the view of the world presented, and government determining “normalcy.” Because
the white race is seen to be in power they dictate what is taught and how it is taught not taking
into account other races that come from a different culture. Delpit and Payne differ in their
opinion in that Delpit focuses more on culture and Payne more so on socioeconomic status.
Working in people’s homes and in a school environment I am constantly around children
and parents. I have found myself to be bias at times towards other families. Not so much in my
actions towards the families but more so thoughts that I had according to social stigmas. I try not
to let bias towards others affect my work because I am still there to provide a service no matter
my bias. One bias that I have had when working in a low socioeconomic area was that all people
that live there would be “ghetto,” but in reality that was not the case and most people were really
nice towards me and were grateful for the services we were providing their children.
Jesse Santana
PPS 6032
November 18, 2012
Reflection Paper 3:
In chapter 4, Payne discusses the idea of generational poverty. Generational poverty is
differs from poverty in that it is defined as having 2 or more generations living in poverty. Payne
gives a case study in chapter 4, Walter, which is used to give examples of some of the
characteristics that are associated with generational poverty. Some examples that Payne gives of
characteristics of generational poverty are that of family being matriarchal, believing that society
owes one a living, the use of casual register, and finding value in entertainment and relationships.
What was interesting to observe in chapter 4 was that of family lineage and how it differs from
middle class to individuals living in poverty. A family lineage from a family living in the middle
class tend to be simple, but a family living in poverty is more difficult to understand because
there seem to be many individuals attached to the lineage with the mother being the center of it
all. As a school psychologist it is important to understand what generational poverty is and the
affects it has on families because working with in a school environment we will come across
families that come from generational poverty.
In chapter 6, Payne discusses support systems that are made available to families who
need assistance. Payne writes that support systems fall into seven general categories. The first is
that of coping strategies which are the ways in which one copes with daily living. The second is
options during problem-solving which are all the ways to solve a problem. The 3d coping
strategy Payne discusses about is information and know-how which is who in the support system
knows enough to help. The 4th is temporary relief from emotional, mental, financial, and/or time
constraints. The 5th is having connections to other people and resources, the 6th is positive selftalk, and the last is procedural self-talk. As a school psychologist it is important to know and
understand the support systems because students may be having difficulty in school due to the
absence of one or more of the support systems.
Payne discusses the most effective ways of discipline in chapter 7. Payne states that for
individuals who live in poverty, discipline is about penance and forgiveness, not necessarily
change. Payne discusses that it is important to teach students separate set of behavior because a
lot of the time students who come from poverty bring behaviors into the school that are meant
for them to survive outside of school. Payne suggests that in school settings there should be both
structure and choice for children that come from poverty. This method allows students to identify
that each choice they make comes with a consequence. Another interesting aspect of discipline
that Payne discussed was that of using adult voices rather than a parent voice. Most children who
come from poverty tend to have the parent role at home so when another person disciplines them
with a parent voice instead of an adult voice they tend to react in anger. As a school psychologist
this is important to know because when working with students that come from poverty it is best
to use discipline techniques that work rather than escalate the situation. Something as simple as
the way one talks to the student can have a huge impact on the outcome of the discipline.