Group Differences: Poverty

Two of the Main Topics Descriptions:
This article discusses many topics, starting with the reality of power ideology in schools. We preach to kids that if they succeed in school, they’ll be powerful. This message is given even more to kids without a nice car and new clothes. As educators, we need to understand the reality of power and how it affects our students, especially those who live in poverty. We need to see that poverty is real, but also realize that “People in disadvantaged schools and poor communities do not lack knowledge, they lack ways of putting their knowledge to use.”
One point this article discusses is distributive justice in the form of curriculum justice. This entails teachers teaching correct information to their students and planning our curriculum from the point of view of someone who is “least advantaged”. It also discusses educators taking an educational view on poverty. This will encourage us to look deeper and not just be looking to counteract children’s background by incorporating extra programs for underprivileged children, but to change how we view school activities altogether and come up with something new, something different. We need something that will work.
Commentary:
Coming from the standpoint of a future educator, the points I brought up are a little intimidating. To think about a completely new way of schooling is scary, but I agree that it is necessary. Poverty isn’t something that is likely to go away so we, as educators, need to do something to change the way things are. We need to teach to children, thinking of them, their outlooks, not just ours. This article was convicting of my own egocentrism and how it must be nonexistent in my classroom. I must think of the children and how they see life, not just the way I do.