What is Poverty?

1. Introduction to Purposeful Instructional Equity ©

2. Theme #1
What is Poverty?

3. Turn to your neighbor & formulate a working
definition

4. Types of Poverty

12. Facts About Families in Poverty with
Children
• Approximately 15 million under the age of 18 live in poverty (1 in 5)
• Nation’s poorest kids live in households headed by females 47.6%
• Children of single mothers are 4 times more likely to live in poverty
• Minority children have a higher rate of poverty overall than white kids: 38.2% for
black kids, 32.3% for Hispanic kids
• Only 3 countries in the developed world have more child poverty than in the U.S.-
#1-Mexico #2 Chile #3 Turkey (Organization for Economic Cooperation)

13.  45 % of students who spent half or more of their childhood in
poverty were poor at age 35
 8% of those who spent less than half of their childhood in
poverty were poor at age 35
LENGTH OF TIME SPENT IN POVERTY
MATTERS
POVERTY RATE HAS BEEN INCREASING
 38% increase in poverty rate for US children below the age of 6 between 2000 & 2011
 Achievement gaps are self perpetuating due to widening income gaps

14. “I first became homeless when I was 13 because I lost my mom. It’s
crazy to become homeless at 13 because you lose your mom and
you’ve got nowhere to go.”
“I became homeless because I was beat by my father when I was younger, like all my life.
My mother and father split up and so I stayed with her and all her boyfriends. And when I was 15
turning 16 her boyfriend said I could no longer be in the house.”
Missing, Abducted, Runaway and
Thrownaway
“From the minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep someone is telling you to move. All night too, if you’re not lucky.”
“Safety. I’ve met people who could’ve stayed at their home but they were being
abused or molested there so it was safer for them on the street. It was a guarantee at home.”

15. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Special Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
All of the above are authentic youth testimony quoted in the Unaccompanied Youth Report by
“Another problem that I’ve always run into is that I’ve always had a pet on the streets, for safety reasons,
for companionship, for warmth, for many many reasons. And shelters do not let you take your pet with you
and I am not willing to leave my animal outside while I’m inside. So that’s always a problem. I certainly will
not give up the animal that’s been keeping me safe on the streets for one night in a shelter.”
“If you’re gonna sleep [in a shelter], put your bag under your
head, and tie your shoes to the bed.”

16. Produced By: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dangerous Implications for Youth in
Poverty

17. KIPs Continue to Meet with Lower Academic Outcomes Than Their
Peers
Why are the methods teachers use successfully with the kids of middle income families not working
with KIPS?

19. X
WE, AS HUMANS,
ARE MORE ALI KE
THAN WE ARE
DI FFERENT…

20. Humans Share 99% of the Same
Genes
Nature- Nurture- Gene Expression

21. Critical
Elements
of Healthy
Child
Development
Dr. Robert Evans, Family Matters
Nurture
StructureLatitude
Love, Acceptance, Attunement
Expectations & LimitsSupport for a Child’s Autonomy

22. X
Neuroimaging

23. Two Basic Systems
The Thinking Brain- Prefrontal Cortex
Where you think & reason
Consciously processes & reflects on
information
Only accounts for approx. 17% of the brain
The Reactive Brain- The lower automatic brain
Where you react to information without
thinking
Accounts for approx. 80% of the brain
X

24. Brain 101

25. X
NeuralConnections

27. X
THINKING BRAIN
Prefrontal Cortex
REACTIVE BRAIN

31. X
ExperiencesinEarly ChildhoodSet theStage

35. SOME CHILDREN HAVE MANY BLESSINGS IN
CHILDHOOD
▪ Safe neighborhood
▪ Good school
▪ Extended family who care
▪ Two loving parents providing a positive,
safe, strong and functioning home
▪ Healthy mind & body
▪ Resources in the Community (Financial,
educational, social, physical, & spiritual)

36. In Western Culture our Concept
of Childhood Hinges on Safety
Once
Born
Shelter, Fed,
Kept Safe,
Nurtured
Ready to Grow
First Year
of Life
Attached to
Parents for
Safety
Safe to Explore
with
Confidence
Ages
1-10
Broaden “Safe
Haven”
Ready to Play,
Explore & Form
Relationships

37. A child has to contend
with parents divorcing
A child or a parent
contracts an Illness or
disability
A parent dies
A parent loses a job
The family has to move
A parent is a member of
the Armed Forces
A isolated crime takes
place in the neighbor-
hood, i.e. a house break.
A problem sibling Most children can cope with one or two risk
factors with compensatory forces for support.
INTO EVERY LIFE SOME RAIN MUST FALL
Even the birth of a sibling☺

39. X
Prolonged Stress Hormones in Early Childhood=Reduction in Neural
Connections
T OXI C ST RESS i s a FORMULA f o r FAI LURE
Eric Jensen

40. What are the effects of growing up in
poverty?
Theme #2

41. STRESS
ACUTE STRESS is severe & intense
Aggressive
CHRONIC STRESS is high stress over time -Detached,
Hopeless (Learned Helplessness)
Acute stress is more likely to lead to aggressive,
defiant behavior. This exaggerated response give the
student an illusion of control.
“The more stress children experience, the more they perceive
events as uncontrollable & unpredictable.” Eric Jensen

42. Theme
#3
What are common characteristics of students in
poverty?

44. Seven Key Factors of Student Engagement
Common Risk Factors for KIPs
1. Health & Nutrition
2. Vocabulary
3. Effort & Energy
4. Mind-set
5. Cognitive Capacity
6. Relationships
7. Stress Level
Eric Jensen, Engaging Students With Poverty in Mind

45. Common Health & Nutritional Issues for
KIPs
Common Characteristic
• Commonly lack of prenatal care
• Low birth weights
• Food insecurity
• Low nutritional diet
• Section 8 Housing poorly maintained
• High incidence of asthma & ear
infections
• Lack of exercise
• Insufficient medical attention
Result
• Neonatal complications
• Medical complications
• Adversely effects cognition
• Poor working memory, neurogenesis
• Exposure to lead, toxins & danger
• Effects demanding auditory processing
& phonemic discrimination
• Obesity
• Frequent illness & injury

46. KIPs Commonly Share Relationship Issues

47. KIPs Commonly Share Certain Environment
Issues

48. Behavior is a
symptom…
Theme
#4

49. KIPS Are Often Misunderstood

50. KIPS don’t have the vast range of social emotional responses
needed for school, the workplace, and to function successfully
in life.

51. Expect coarse, inappropriate, inconsiderate,
impulsive, even disrespectful behavior…
Until you teach them
differently. Win-Win Conversations

54. X

55. ….for thegift of your time, participation &presence.