I have found the readings on low SES students to be fascinating. My mother was poorer than poor. As one of 13 children, she was often living in abandoned buses in the mountains and also in condemned houses within the South Valley. The low SES was very real for my mother and I observed things in my mother as she grew up that I can attribute to her poorness as a child. One example is that she would make sure and have 3 and 4 deep of items in the pantry just to make sure we did not go hungry at any point. Another example is her affinity to 'commodity' foods. She has fond memories of the taste of these foods that supplemented her family: things that I would have snubbed my nose at. She was not a good student and will describe herself as a kid that 'just got thru' school. As I mentioned in previous philogs she did not want us (her children) to be like her and pushed for us to be excellent students. I don't recall her ever attributing her success as a student to her income level. So how would I, as her teacher, address the concerns she might have had? How would I have overcome her self assessment of not being a 'good' student? I am not completely sure. I would assume I would begin by trying to encourage her and show her (thru small successes) she could be a good student and that she could have a future beyond what was presenting itself at the moment. I am not sure if a teacher did that for her or if she even thought beyond her current circumstances to become a wife and mother.
Ultimately I think that having a teacher that believes and fights for her students can cause a student to think beyond today and begin to dream regardless if it is low SES, race, gender, culture, etc. that might hold them back. And one that encourages her students to take advantage of each opportunity that comes along is a start. I don't believe that addressing the differences is a good choice since lower SES students notice that anyway (unless a student approaches the teacher for help). Why call attention to something the student lives and breathes? I have spoken in depth to my sister-in-law who worked at Polk Middle School for several years. Polk is a school that is Title I but also had periods of time being 100% reduced/free lunch. During her time at Polk she was the ESL teacher (at least 2 years) and also taught mainstream math classes. When I asked her how she 'bridged the gap' she said she didn't focus on it. She taught each student to the best of her ability. If she noticed that a student was missing supplies, she privately pulled the student aside and asked what the problem might be or if she could help in any way. She often gave supplies away or found other ways for her students to get supplies needed. Food was not an issue since the students got free breakfast and lunch. She did caution, however, about homework and technology requirements and did have a flexible policy on make up work since she knew many of her students were required to look after siblings once they were at home while parents worked double shifts or more than one job. I believe her tactics might change if she were in Elementary school since students at that level might not verbalize needs as one in middle school might. By the way, my sister-in-law was also raised in the lower SES and believes any student can overcome being poor as a child.
Overall, I believe that awareness is the key to low SES as with many of the other topics we have discussed in class. Once you have awareness, being willing to assist when needed is where you can begin to impact your students. Though I did found myself agreeing with Payne and then agreeing with Gorski as I read each of their works it is understanding the individual student and his/her needs that I feel needs the focus. That being said, I think I might try to avoid a lot of homework, if I had assignments that involved technology, I will allot class time for completion of those assignments and have a flexible make up policy with work or be available for additional instruction time to accommodate students who have to remain at home to take care of siblings. I also think I need to become an expert (if you will) on programs that are available for students of low SES background. I am sure there are many more ways I can help and I assume, once I am in a classroom, I will discover them.
2 comments:
Miriam,
Nice Job! It seems like you are coming at this issue from a very practical standpoint (perhaps because you have the experience of those around you to draw upon), which I imagine will serve you well in the classroom. I agree that with the belief of their teachers, students can overcome any obstacles they may face. The focus of you philog this week seemed to be mostly on the students themselves. What role, if any, do you think parental involvement plays in student success? You mentioned working with students who have parents working long hours or multiple jobs, will you reach out to those parents to involve them in your classroom? If so, what do you think is the best approach to accommodate their schedules and make them feel welcome? Again, nice job-I enjoyed reading it!
Hi Miriam,
I really appreciate the examples you have given, both about how being poor has affected your mom and about how your sister-in-law has handled teaching kids from lower SES. Thanks for sharing! What will you do to help maintain that awareness of each student, especially as you are getting bogged down by state standards, principal's requirements for lesson plans, and just the overwhelmingness of whatever comes our way?
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