"When studies control for poverty, American children do very well on international tests, indicating that there is nothing seriously wrong with our educational system. Our scores are low only because we have so many children living in poverty, and the highest of all industrialized countries (22.5%, compared to Sweden's 2.5%).
Improving education is not the path to eliminating poverty. Eliminating poverty is the path to better school achievement. All the money going to new standards, new tests, and of course new textbooks, should be spent on protecting children from the effects of poverty: Proper nutrition (no child left unfed), health care, and access to books."
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/07/improve-education-to-eliminate-poverty.html
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2 comments:
I think poverty is the easy, politically correct scapegoat to pin poor school performance on. As Americans, we live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, at inarguably the most affluent time in world history. Even the poorest among us is not without resources and opportunities to be successful. We have an attitude in the US that more money = better results, but we have nearly 50 years of social policy to look at. Yeah, there were a few successes, but overall, we seem to be in worse shape, not better shape.
I live in school district and in a state where poverty could be described as endemic, especially for the last 3-4 generations. We have "drives" for everything imaginable - backpacks filled with school supplies, winter wear, shoes and socks, playground supplies/athletic gear. We have lots of neighbor's volunteering in the school as teacher's assistants and reading buddies. We have a backpack program that sends food stuffs for weekend meals home with students so they have food for the weekend. They get to eat breakfast and lunch free at school. A lot of supprt is thrown at the problem. However, we still have lousy high school graduation rates and an even lousier rate of those graduates going on to college or tech school.
When all of those things are being done, and still there is no change, then I think "poverty" (assuming poverty is lack of resources) is not the problem.
I am no expert, but in every situation I knew of through my children's school years (covering about 25 years) parents are the key factor is school success.
I was talking to a neighbor last night and we started discussing our younger years. She talked about her family being so poor that on Thursday and Fridays she and her 5 sibling could not eat at school and there was no food at home to make lunches with. Her dad brought home his pay on Friday nights, and by Thursday each week there was no money or food left, except for what the mom would make for Thursday night's meal when everyone was home for dinner. She talked about getting two new pairs of shoes a year, one at the beginning of the school year and one at Easter, and if she outgrew them (which happened on more than one occasion) she either wore them too tight, or went barefoot. She was so excited when she got new pair that she would wake up several times during the night to check that they were still tucked under her bed, and to smell the new leather. She and her siblings are successful in their adult lives. Poverty didn't limit their abilities.
Unfortunately, for most students who are performing poorly in school (and I am not talking about students who have issues that cause them to struggle academically), the failure leads directly back to their home life, and nothing schools can do will change that. Eight to ten hours a day, 5 day a week, none months of the year at school doesn't make up for a lifetime of growing up in a home where education and schooling are not valued, good habits and attitudes are not spoused and parents aren't particiapnts in their children's lives. Nothing we as a society can do will compensate for parents who choose to use their time/resources on partying, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, clothes, fancy phones or cars, instead of school supplies, reading with their children, instilling good habits and behaviors. Kids know the score. If they sense that mom and/or dad have a bad attitude about education, chances are that is how the kid will feel too.
Carole
I understand what you're saying and I think we can both agree about what is NOT the problem: teachers, not enough testing, too much testing, "accountability" and other buzzwords, HOW kids are taught, WHAT kids are taught, etc. etc. I think all of those are the "easy, politically correct scapegoat." You're right, parents who don't care are one of the problems and when you have older kids (I'd say 7th grade and up), their lack of value placed on education greatly affects their child. But when you have the little kids, it's really easy to get them excited about learning and interested in what you have to say. Somebody will more patience than I can imagine can do wonders with those elementary school minds.
But not when you have the kind of poverty I see in Baltimore. My grandparents were raised in a very small rural community in Alabama and I've heard many similar stories to the one you gave. However, the difference is, while my great-grandparents didn't value education (my grandparents weren't allowed to attend high school), there was a strong family UNIT there and while they didn't always have enough food for everybody or very many clothes, they were unified and solidly under one roof. They had neighbors who helped and a sense of community.
The kids I see live in abandoned houses, filled with rats and feces and used drug needles. They don't get enough to eat and when they do it's chips and soda. Too many of them have lead poisoning or rotten teeth or any number of health related problems due to living in filth. Nobody can help because most are just barely making it themselves.
I agree with you on several of your points...but I absolutely cannot agree with you that getting kids out of poverty is the "easy" answer.
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