Whose Problem is Poverty?

Richard Rothstein ("Whose Problem is Poverty?") asserts that when we focus solely on school reforms as the cure for the achievement gap, we suppress discussion—and even awareness—of how the physical and social deprivations of poverty limit achievement. He notes:

"Teachers see for themselves how poor health or family economic stress impedes students' learning. Teachers may nowadays be intimidated from acknowledging these realities aloud and may, in groupthink obedience, repeat the mantra that 'all children can learn.' But nobody is fooled. Teachers still know that although all children can learn, some learn less well because of poorer health or less-secure homes."

Do you think closing the achievement gap is within teachers' and administrators' control—or is this a myth, as Rothstein believes? If you believe that educators can't completely close the gap even through stellar practice, what keeps you striving to do your best?

Comments

[TeachMoore]

While hardworking, "stellar" teachers can and do help many students overcome obstacles, such as poverty, to reach their potential and dreams, this is not always true. Even when it is true, it sometimes comes at great cost, since the quality of education afforded those students most in need of education's benefits is affected by the same poverty in which the students have to live. Education, at its best, can only be part of the answer to society's ills.

[JOHN THOMPSON]

Of course Rothstein is right.

But I don't fully understand your question. Do we need a guarantee before we commit to doing our best? Do you not love your own children unless you know in advance that you can solve the world's problems for them?

[Sally]

John, I think the question is, should we stop seeing schools as the only leveling field for children of poverty. If we agree that schools alone can't solve an achievement gap rooted in issue of social injustice, then we can begin to apply the full resources of communities to close the achievement gap.
and generally, what does keep teachers going? i think we're fooling ourselves if we believe that resiliency is just a given part of teacher dna.

[James E. Mac Shane]

The truths of the perspectives miss an even more basic natural problem with educational system itself that all children experience. The need is to understand how the natural purity of a child being born into the universe learns to survive from the total environment that they experience. Providing a natural positive learning enviornment for the child starting at age 2 1/2 can provide a vialbe positive choice for life.

[Linda Campbell]

Oh my god, finally someone has research to finally justify what we in dealing with the "At Risk" population have observed all along. Just today I read a ,past essay, on a student who possesses excellent academic skills but as she states " my home life got in the way of my education". People who promote the platitude that all that students need to have is good teachers to become successful students are trying to destroy public education. Yes teachers are doing heroic jobs in reaching desparate students, but as this article points out we educators are not the only the only ones involved or the only ones held accountable.

[diane]

I was not pleased to see that the face of poverty is a young black girl. I feel that the picture should have shown that poverty in America is not limited to African Americans. Many people don't read the articles, they simply look at the picture and determine if this is something they should read. Poverty comes in all colors and exists in a variety of communities. Suppose a black girl looks at this? How will she feel about herself.

[Vee Chan]

I totally agree with the posting by Linda Campbell.

There is definitely a limitation as to the amount of care and attention that educators can give to their students. I am not advocating that we shouldn't try, but, we need to have a healthy dose of realism to know where the line needs to be drawn. Otherwise, we risk the potential of a burn-out and also neglecting the needs of our loved-ones.

As the saying goes, "It takes a whole village to teach a child"

[janina Woodward-Millikin]

In order to answer some of these questions we have found the key in engaging students and enabling them to find their own answers and as a result we have seen improvement in their outcomes against the state standards here (in Melbourne Australia)

[Elizabeth]

I think a black girl would look at this and think, yeah, this country still has a long way to go toward providing social justice for all people. It would be facetious and detrimentally p.c. to put a white face on the cover. I mean, talk about white guilt--We can't even have frank discussions about who poverty affects most without white-washing the issue. Come on.

[Margo/Mom]

Sally--I don't know that anyone (outside of education anyway) DOES see schools as the only levelling ground for children in poverty. Consider food stamps (and WIC), public housing and medicaid, as three federally financed programs that also work towards levelling the playing field for the children of impoverished families. Children, and families with children, have always had a high priority within these programs.

I am not so foolish as to assume that their job is any more complete, or less challenging, than that faced by education. And people working within these programs are also held accountable for appropriate delivery of services--medicaid docs, for instance are responsible for providing a specific regimen of preventions and immunizations (lead screening, for example) that responds to data identifying public health needs in that population.

But even if all those basic food, clothing, shelter and health needs are met, without a quality education there is no value add that can affect future outcomes.