Position Paper #3: Payne and Gorski
The works of Gorski and Payne regarding the culture of poverty in our country is an awakening to the academic obstacles underprivileged students face. Many of these students struggle to barely have their basic needs met leaving little time to focus on academics. Others focus on academics but become disenfranchised because of the poor districts in which they live are not equipped to offer them a proper education. Gorski links the relationship between academics and poverty to the lack of resources in these communities and families. Payne relates the academic challenges to a cultural mindset that influences the underprivileged communities. Both theories bring attention to the problems facing many students in …show more content…
Instead he finds the real issue the lack of resources available for underprivileged students. In his opinion the culture of poverty theory stereotypes the impoverished students as less intellectual and motivated than their counterparts. I find some basis to this idea because there are many myths circulating that perceive the poor as lazy, uninvolved, linguistically deficient, drug users, and etc. According to Gorski these perceptions leak into the school systems and classrooms, and educators begin to believe that the poor do not value education. Instead the real problem lies with the inequality of education, students living in poverty stricken communities, receive. He explains the disparities result in lower income districts receiving less funding, technology, lower salaries, overcrowding, ill equipped facilities, and insufficient …show more content…
As I read her book last year, I could see so many similarities between what she suggests and the students I have worked with for over ten years. Many of these students live their lives day-to-day with no thought of the future, thus attending school regularly becomes challenging as a result of whatever crisis may arise in that child’s life. Parents depend too much on their children for differing tasks that hinders their ability to focus on school. So many times students born into generational poverty lack the necessary language skills to communicate effectively within a middle class institution. Just being able to understand the importance of behavior in certain settings becomes challenging too because many of these students have never been exposed to formal or semi-formal situations. This is one area we try to work on with our students is understanding that in a setting such as school or work there is an expectation of behavior and language that must be maintained. Often times these kids come from homes that are unable to negotiate or properly express their opinion or needs. Again, this is a classic issue I see with our students because the only way they have been taught to verbally express themselves is through yelling and acting out. The hidden rules very much direct the way they behave and interact in society. Ruby Payne expresses the importance to recognize the
The works of Gorski and Payne regarding the culture of poverty in our country is an awakening to the academic obstacles underprivileged students face. Many of these students struggle to barely have their basic needs met leaving little time to focus on academics. Others focus on academics but become disenfranchised because of the poor districts in which they live are not equipped to offer them a proper education. Gorski links the relationship between academics and poverty to the lack of resources in these communities and families. Payne relates the academic challenges to a cultural mindset that influences the underprivileged communities. Both theories bring attention to the problems facing many students in …show more content…
Instead he finds the real issue the lack of resources available for underprivileged students. In his opinion the culture of poverty theory stereotypes the impoverished students as less intellectual and motivated than their counterparts. I find some basis to this idea because there are many myths circulating that perceive the poor as lazy, uninvolved, linguistically deficient, drug users, and etc. According to Gorski these perceptions leak into the school systems and classrooms, and educators begin to believe that the poor do not value education. Instead the real problem lies with the inequality of education, students living in poverty stricken communities, receive. He explains the disparities result in lower income districts receiving less funding, technology, lower salaries, overcrowding, ill equipped facilities, and insufficient …show more content…
As I read her book last year, I could see so many similarities between what she suggests and the students I have worked with for over ten years. Many of these students live their lives day-to-day with no thought of the future, thus attending school regularly becomes challenging as a result of whatever crisis may arise in that child’s life. Parents depend too much on their children for differing tasks that hinders their ability to focus on school. So many times students born into generational poverty lack the necessary language skills to communicate effectively within a middle class institution. Just being able to understand the importance of behavior in certain settings becomes challenging too because many of these students have never been exposed to formal or semi-formal situations. This is one area we try to work on with our students is understanding that in a setting such as school or work there is an expectation of behavior and language that must be maintained. Often times these kids come from homes that are unable to negotiate or properly express their opinion or needs. Again, this is a classic issue I see with our students because the only way they have been taught to verbally express themselves is through yelling and acting out. The hidden rules very much direct the way they behave and interact in society. Ruby Payne expresses the importance to recognize the