Think back to your K-12 schooling experience. What comes to mind?
For some, it’ll be their four years of honor roll, the varsity games they played every Tuesday and Friday night, the social events they had the opportunity to attend, and the support they received in the classroom and at home. For others, it may be the job they had to work every day after school, the family problems they had to go home to, their constant lack of resources and support, and the everyday struggle they had to face in the classroom. Every student has a different experience growing up, and a major part of this comes from money. Money is the one thing that humans can agree on and those that don’t have it end up experiencing life much differently than those who do. As teachers, we need to be aware of what money really has to do with it.
According to the article, “The Poverty Myth,” while stereotypes regarding race have been talked about for years, the same cannot be said for stereotypes regarding social or economic class. Since this topic is not talked about as frequently, the stereotypes have passed down generation to generation and low income students often end up being labeled as unmotivated, troubled, lacking support, or just unwilling to work hard. When teachers label their students or treat them differently because of stereotypes and bias, we are reaffirming these traditional views and not supporting our students in the way that is needed. While it affects our relationship with the students and the way we teach them, it also makes the student feel less than worthy of a quality education. The article states that “…there are always students who are very aware of their personal situation, and have low self-esteem” (Elias, 2012). Students are already dealing with a lot and are still developing their social emotional skills, so as educators we need to ensure to not bring our own bias and labels into the classroom. While academics are important, supporting our students socioemotional development is also essential to building students confidence and their love for learning.
In the podcast published by NPR, they tell the story of the 1973 ruling when the U.S. Supreme Court decided that there was no federal right to equal school funding in the constitution. While that was more than four decades ago, as of 2016 Patty Rodriguez, the daughter of Demetrio Rodriguez, the man who filed the class action suit, stated that nothing has changed in the school district (Isensee, 2016). As stated in the podcast, “more than 90% of the student population is poor and Hispanic” and in the Edgewood district, they provide 94,000 per student, which is 24,000 below the national average (Isensee, 2016). Even with the facts, the state senator said that schools have all the money they need to support student growth. Overall, their point was that the amount of money isn’t what matters, it’s what you do with it. While the Edgewood district is not as bad as it was in the past, there’s still so many changes that need to be made so that students are receiving equal opportunities and all the support they need to grow academically. This is just one district out of the many that face problems due to a lack of budget and resources. As future educators, we need to be aware of the labels and understand the impact that money has on students and the classroom.
Elias, Marilyn, et al. “The Poverty Myth.” Learning for Justice, 2012, www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2012/the-poverty-myth.
Isensee, Laura. “For 40 Years, One Texas Family Has Fought for Equal School
Funding.” NPR, 19 Apr. 2016, www.npr.org/2016/04/19/474166113/for-40-years-one-texas-family-has-fought-for-equal-school-funding.
Hey Brianna, what a privilege to get to read your blog this week. As it was long and powerful!! Every word that you said was true and agreeable. The begining how you started off with, "the varsity games they played every Tuesday and Friday night, the social events they had the opportunity to attend, and the support they received in the classroom and at home. For others, it may be the job they had to work every day after school, the family problems they had to go home to, their constant lack of resources and support," was a good summary of what high school or what school was like at any level for a student. When reading this it brought back the memories of when I had to be at the game until late at night to wake up super early to make it to my 7 am job. The job to pay for the car insurance or car payment or gas for me to provide myself transportation my senior year. As my parents told me they were no longer going to transport me to my early morning practices or pick me up from my late night games. The responsibility that was laid on me after the COVID summer. Right before college, I was not mentally prepared for it. But I couldn't even relate to the students who have been supporting themselves or other siblings, maybe the whole family throughout all their school years. As I was just doing it for one year. I was mad at my parents but I couldn't be as mad as the ones who have been dealing with all this their whole life. I didn't experience as much as they did. Us as teachers need to realize that, as to say I am not afraid of you or I will not and you will make the best teacher for every student! Have a great weekend and enjoy this nice hot weather!!
ReplyDeleteHi Madison! Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts on my blog! My high school experience was similar in the sense that I had to wake up early for basketball practice and head to work right after school. As exhausted as I was all the time from working and doing athletics, academics, and being an average high school student, I had no choice but to work due to financial circumstances. Once I got to college, I had to continue working since I was on my own. People often forget that it is a privilege to be able to go through the day without stressing about income. Having a lack of financial resources takes time, energy, and focus out of the day which means other things such as academics, socializing, and self care get pushed out the window. Students from low income families often have much more stress and chaos on their plates than those from financially comfortable families, but that gets lost behind labels and stereotypes. As teachers we definitely need to be aware of all our students' experiences and lives outside of school!
DeleteHello Brianna! I absolutely loved being able to read your blog post for this module. I loved how you started off your first paragraph. As sad as it is, it is completely true. Most high school students who live in families that are economically disadvantaged do spend their time after school, working to provide for their families. They don’t get the chance to join a team or a club. It is incredibly sad how teachers can automatically label their students as unwilling to learn just because of their economic status. We as teachers need to start proving that these stereotypes are not true. We need to give every student everything that they need to succeed. I loved what you said about helping our students with their socio-emotional development. It is true that they need to be open to learning. I think it is crazy that the state senator said that schools have all the money that they need for students' growth. He must not see what classrooms look like before teachers put their OWN personal money into them. And even with as little funding as teachers get, they still find a way to make it work and I think that is beautiful. I also loved the quote you included at the bottom!
ReplyDeleteHey Madison! Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog! Many students get left behind or don’t get the opportunity to pursue their passions because of the time they have to put in to support their families. While this can come off as lazy and unmotivated, we need to be aware that there are other factors that play a major role in how students engage in their education. I love the point you made about teachers putting their own money into the classroom because this is so common across the nation. We see teachers begging for money on social media websites, asking parents, and perusing thrift shops and garage sales for cheap classroom items just so their classroom has quality resources to support the students. I also love what you said about how beautiful it is that teachers make it work because I think it is too often forgotten how much time, money, and energy goes into creating a positive classroom environment and learning experience. Teachers' creativity is unmatched!
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ReplyDeleteI would like to start by saying your post this week was amazing and so good to read. I can tell you put so much time and thought into your post for this week. The question you asked at the beginning really made me think. I was lucky enough to grow up in a small but well off town in a pretty good school district. We had laptops in every class and a huge football stadium where the whole town would gather to watch games. I have been thinking a lot this week about people who are less fortunate than me, especially students. I really like what you said about the poverty myth article and it reminded me of another article from this module on unequal school funding in the United States. One part of the article mentions peoples beliefs about poverty. Some people believe that minority groups are basically just born with traits that make them less successful than their white counterparts. I think this is super sad and definitely ties into the underfunding of schools. As the government does not see potential in people of color they will rarely do anything to help uplift students in these communities. As a teacher I will treat all of my students equally and make sure they are cared for and uplifted so they achieve the best they can. Great post!
Hey Grace! Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog this week! I like how you connected the other article on unequal school, funding to my blog. While I find it crazy that people believe that minority groups are born with “unsuccessful” traits, the stereotypes and labels are so normalized in society and in the media that it makes sense. What people don’t see or care to understand is that they’re not traits, but results of the hardships and disadvantages they had to face. And I agree that this all ties into the underfunding of schools. The labels, lowered expectations, and lack of resources and support of low income students just reinforces the stereotypes and keeps the cycle going. If schools had more funding, students could be better prepared, motivated, and ready to learn. These stereotypes and biases are built into our communities and schools which is why future educators need to work to break the cycle.
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