Week One- Understanding what Poverty means

Melissa Rife- Vocabulary Vitalizer and Literary Luminator

Chapter 1 & 2

Week 1

Wouldn’t you like to know?

“Poverty”: The state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of    support; condition of being poor; indigence.

“Learning Disability”: The term "learning disabilities" is an umbrella term used to describe an array of learning disorders. An individual may have one learning disability or more than one co-occurring learning disability. A learning disability is a life-long neurobiological disorder that affects the manner in which individuals with potentially normal or above average intelligence select, retain and express information.

“Title I schools”: identifies a group of Title I public schools in New York City that are “Schools In Need of Improvement” (SINI). According to NCLB standards, these schools have not made “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP). They have not reached student achievement targets which are set for every school.

“Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP): Under NCLB, AYP is determined based on each school’s progress toward meeting the state proficiency level for all subjects and/or high school graduation rate. Schools are held accountable for the achievement of students of different races and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency and low-income students. Schools must also have an average over two years of 95% of their students participating in State tests.

“Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”: These ideas were based on Maslow’s curiosity of human nature through observations. An interpretation of these needs was shown through pyramid key words such as Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self- actualization.

Resources:  www. Dictionary.com

                   www. Wikipedia.com

                   http://schools.nyc.gov

                   www. Idanys.org

Showing the light…

Passage One: “It’s not that the poorest children are incapable of school learning; in most cases they just haven’t been exposed to the kinds of experiences that produce learning readiness.” (p. 8)

I appreciated this quote because of its simplicity of the words. This is a statement that all teachers should learn, know and repeat.

Passage Two: “When we place children in situations that don’t fit their prior experiences, for which their background has not prepared them, or just simply don’t interest them, they may develop a “reactive stupidity” that’s quite different from the way they think and act in their own homes and neighborhoods.” (p.21)

This particularly stood out to me because this is a reminder that we the teachers are accountable for all student learning.When we see a child not understanding or doing what is expected it could just be because they not comfortable with all that they are doing. Sometimes, teachers mistaken that for a learning or behavior problem. Before we bring a child to the referral process, we must examine closely the environment and readiness of students.

Passage Three: “The loss of education dollars due to mislabeling a child as LD is painful, but the loss of a child’s ability to believe in him- or herself is beyond computation.” (p. 27)

We need to start admitting that the realities that most of our students face in their own life is most certainly something we will never fully understand.  We also need to stop labeling and start considering strategies that will allow students to prosper in a class. Allowing opportunities for Low SES students is a goal.

Blog 2: An Inconvenient Truth - Brendan Ayers, Idea Illustrator, chapters 1-2

Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds may exhibit behaviors that have no correlation with academic ability, but are linked instead to family instability, poverty, transience, and weak academic preparation (Dresser, Dunklee, Howard, 2009). 


Children develop and learn at optimal levels when they're part of an environment in which they're safe and valued, where their physical well-being is tended to and they feel psychologically secure (Dresser, Dunklee, Howard, 2009). 


Research indicates that close to 40% of the associations between economic disadvantage and young children's lower academic performance are directly related to the poorer quality of home learning environments (Dresser, Dunklee, Howard, 2009). 


I feel that each of these quotes taken directly from the book Poverty is NOT a learning disability, are all somehow connected to poverty at home.  I feel as though in today's society, it is very difficult to escape from poverty, a situation that many students now fall under.  My selected illustration for each of these quotes comes from the same source; a trailer for the documentary "The Lottery".  Below is the link to this trailer.

"The Lottery"

This film does a tremendous job demonstrating the living conditions and scenarios of various people living in poverty, fighting for an educational opportunity for their students.  An actual "learning room" from one family can be seen if you pause the video at 1:14.  This learning room is comprised of two chairs, a television, maybe five children's books, and a single toy.  This house is owned by a single mother you meet in the film who does whatever she can for her child.  I feel as though this film itself does a fine job illustrating these ideas, but I could only paste this simple trailer!  I strongly suggest those interested in education and poverty take the time to see this film!

Week 1: Capturing the Essence - Brendan Ayers, Essence Extractor, Chapters 1&2

Poverty increases all other risk factors, including misidentification of disabilities. 


I feel as though these words really capture the essence of this weeks reading.  As learned from the book, low socioeconomic status, abbreviated as SES, has found to have a drastic effect on students with disabilities.  On page 7 in the book Poverty is NOT a Learning Disability, we are shown five specific signals for student readiness, the next phrase is as follows;  While not all children who live in poverty will have a difficult time learning, children who are underdeveloped in one or more of these readiness areas will have a greater chance of experiencing lower achievement than children with all areas intact, and they may very well become candidates for misguided referrals for placement as learning disabled (Dresser, Dunklee, Howard, 2009).  

This quote admits the misidentification of disabilities with the words "misguided referrals".  With entry to a learning disability comes other negative possibilities.  For example, the book tells us on page 26 that "only 34% of the exiting learning disabilities students received a diploma".

These ideas and statistics presented are just the tip of the iceberg, and the fact is students living in poverty have a much greater chance of being labeled as disabled in some way or form, and unfortunately, with that tag come other negatives the students will have to live with at least the duration of their school experience.

Week 1: Giving kids a "Head Start"- Stephanie Esposito

Chapters 1&2

Rigorous Researcher:

According to Howard et al., 2009, low SES students typically come to school a full year and a half behind their middle-class peers. So, millions of kids start their lives with an educational deficit. Proponents of NCLB argue that the federal government has provided preschool opportunities for families in low SES neighborhoods, such as the Head Start Program.  Howard et al., 2009, states that, “Yes, there is Head Start, but this is a program put into place without the muscle required to make it work. In 2001, only 12% of children nationwide were enrolled in Head Start. This represents only half of the children who were eligible” (p.13).

What is Head Start?:  US program designed to help children from ages three to five, who come from families with incomes below or at the poverty level.

The goal of Head Start : To help these children become ready for kindergarten, and also to provide needed requirements like health care and food support.

Who is Early Head Start for?: Early Head Start is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women. Its mission is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, to enhance the development of very young children, and to promote healthy family functioning.

In New York and nationally, Head Start programs (for children ages 3-5) and Early Head Start programs (for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers) promote school readiness for children in low-income families by providing comprehensive educational, health, nutritional, and social services. Parents play a large role in the programs, both as primary educators of their children and as participants in local programs. Both programs provide pre-literacy and literacy experiences in a multi-cultural environment.

Hauser, Mary (2010). New York State Head Start Association. Retrieved from: http://www.nyheadstart.org/contact-us/  

“A national Head Start impact study by the Society for Research in Child Development for the Department of Health and Human Services found evidence of the program’s benefits on low-income families. The study found nationally, Head Start reduced the achievement gap by 45 percent in pre-reading skills between Head Start children and the national average for all 3- and 4-year-olds.”

Amos, Catherine (2009).  Media General Communications Journal: Nationally, statistics show Head Start programs work. Retrieved from: http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2009/jun/03/nationally_statistics_show_head_start_programs_wor-ar-276476/   

Week 1: "Poverty Is A Learning Barrier"- Stephanie Esposito

Chapters 1&2

Creative Connector:

“Those who work in low socioeconomic status (SES) schools know that the tasks that face our teachers include teaching ESL students academic skills, supporting their English proficiency, helping them adjust to the school setting, and fostering their adaptation to the American culture” (Howard, Dresser, & Dunklee, 2009, p.6). As teachers we must find ways of communicating with our students and their guardians. While doing my undergrad, my first practicum placement was in an urban elementary school in downtown Syracuse. My placement was in a first grade classroom. The greater majority of students were Hispanic/Latino and English Language Learners. Because the students were in the early stages of learning the English language, it was very difficult for me to help them because they were trying to speak to me in Spanish, and unfortunately I learned French. It was very frustrating for me to try to connect with the students.  I started to pick up on words and began writing them down so I could remember them. I also had a friend that was a TESOL major and she taught me several things about Spanish that I could learn to prepare myself better.

“Lack of participation wasn’t necessarily due to lack of concern or commitment; poorer parents just had less time and flexibility to meet parent involvement commitments” (Howard et al., 2009, p.10). My first student teaching placement was in a rural school district that had a lot of students coming from low SES families. It was the very first parent-teacher conferences of the school year and it was startling to see how many parents did not show. It is understandable that these parents either had to work or had other things going on in life, but there was very little or no attempt to reschedule.

“Many teachers do not understand the effects of poverty on school readiness and, as a result, accept the inevitability of impending failure for children of poverty- these teachers exhibit deficit perception” (Howard et al., 2009, p.10). I think this statement is important because as teacher we need to understand that we cannot follow the same timeline year after year with different students. First we must know who our students are and what they bring to the classroom. Our curriculum must be “…connected to the experiences, values, knowledge, and needs of the students” in order of it to be meaningful to them.

Brendan's Self Assessment

Taking a look at my scores on the Scale for Assessing My Life Experiences doesn't come as a suprise to me.  My accumulated points were only 76, out of a possible 160 points.  This total puts me (though not by much) into the category of "slightly multicultural".

During my upbringing, I didn't have much exposure to both people with special needs and students of different ethnicities, so again, the totals don't come as a suprise to me.  I didn't know I wanted to work in the Rochester City School District until I started learning more about it during my first years in college.  Learning the statistics and bad reputation the students and teachers had accrued, I came to the realization if I wanted to make a real difference, this was the place to do it.  

Since my undergraduate graduation in June of 2008, I have been actively in working with both inner city students and students with special needs.  My first two years of teaching I was a General Music teacher with Wilson Foundation Academy, and also an adjunct professor at Genessee Community College for students with special needs in music.  Last year, I was a music teacher with Northeast College Preparatory School, and an active employee of Lifetime Assistance, an agency that works direct care for people with special needs.  

To wrap up, my early upbrining was somewhat isolating from the rest of the world as far as culture and disabilities are concerned.  However, once I became aware of the issues and potential for growth within the teaching profession, I knew I had to begin a shift in my music teaching career to better suit the needs of my mental "calling" in life. 

 Experiences- Melissa Rife

Growing up I was often around other boys and girls with special needs. My Aunt and Uncle were and still are foster parents to multiple children with special needs.  When I was at family gatherings they were there as well and I called them my cousins even though I knew they weren’t really related to me.  These were just some small experiences that I had as a child.

 My first full-time job was at Monroe BOCES 1. I worked as a Para-professional at Creekside School. I remember the first day like it was yesterday. I walked in and this boy welcomed me into the room with a hug and said, “Come sit with me”. I thought that was great and I knew right there that I had found my passion for kids and teaching. From that point on I continued to grow and work with students with special needs.

When I attended college as an undergraduate, I started at MCC. I chose to go to Damon Campus downtown because I wanted the city experience. I wanted to learn and become a part of a cultural of diversity that I didn’t really know much about. In the two years at Damon campus I learned so much about different cultures, backgrounds, and childhood experiences that were much different then mine.  By submerging into all these diverse cultures, I realized my next phase in life: to teach in an urban setting.

After attending MCC, I finished my undergrad at Geneseo. I couldn’t wait to finish with class and start getting real life experience. I remember speaking with my advisor just before student teaching and sayings “please, place me in an urban setting”. I knew deep down that influencing students of all cultures and backgrounds was where I needed to be. As I reflect back my all my decisions lead me to where I am today. Correction: not so much my decisions but my attitude and openness towards those decisions.

As I continue to evolve as a person so will my feelings about diversity and how our many cultures influence it. There are so many mainstreams to pull us in and allow someone else to think our thoughts for us. My hope is I can help boys and girls to learn the important tools needed to think for themselves and see our world as ever evolving as one human race. Currently, I work in a Charter school where over 90% of the student population has free or reduced meals. The majority of our students are African American, Hispanic, and then Caucasian. I believe that all the little influences through out my life have lead to this directness of cultural diversity and loving every aspect of it.

Assessing My Life Experiences- Stephanie Esposito

As teachers, we look forward to having experiences in life that allow us to learn more about the world we live in and the people around us, with hopes of better understanding ourselves and most importantly, our students. In reality, I grew up in a rural, predominately white school district.  Before approaching the task of “Assessing My Life Experiences”, I already knew I had a monocultural experience for the majority of my life.

All throughout my early and late childhood, I had very little, or no experience of interacting with other cultures. It wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I had began seeing, interacting and making connections with people from diverse cultures and groups. At that point in my life, I began to feel ignorant because of my lack of knowledge about other cultures. The idea of this did not intimidate me, but rather made me more interested in knowing about the unknown. While assessing my life experiences, I did notice that even though I had a very monocultural upbringing, in contrary, I now have multicultural life experiences within my current field of work, friendships and neighborhood where I live. 

In reviewing my responses to the “Personal Contact Inventory” questionnaire, I found it encouraging that throughout my life I have had contact quite often with individuals who have disabilities. In contrary, I found that I could not survive in poverty. I was unable to apply any of the questions that were asked to my lifestyle. Because of my inability to respond to these questions, I have become more excited to read about my literature circle book, in hopes that I become well educated about the issue of poverty in education.