Poverty as defined in the course materials, is powerlessness, lack of representation and
freedom. Deprivation of common necessities, such as food, clothes and shelter. The U.S. Census shows 30 to 40 million people were living in poverty in 2007.
More than half the nations total poverty number is comprised
of African-Americans and Hispanics. In contrast, less than half the educator
and administrators teaching this demographic look like the children they teach.
Lack of cultural awareness could be a stumbling block for educators teaching
impoverished children, as they may not be as sensitive or cognizant of
non-verbal communication from the children. These educators could miss cues
more culturally sensitive educators might pick up and act on.
Given I am not a classroom educator, I can only imagine the
difficulties educators face when trying to teach children that are not prepared
for classroom instruction as a result of poverty related issues. Lack of clean
clothes; hunger; lack of stability at home are just a few challenges classroom
educators in the Chicago Public School system have citied as distractions.
Immigration, whether illegal or legal, accelerates the rate
of homelessness in the U.S. One of the unfortunate casualties of homelessness
is children. Schools without a homelessness plan fail the children they serve.
QUESTION: Is it the teachers’ responsibility to deal with
poverty & socio economic barriers in the classroom? Does society expect
teachers to have a social service component as well? Does it have a positive or
negative impact on the curriculum?
No comments:
Post a Comment