From Poverty 2 Potential

Joan Fretz and Allyson Schoenlein

IAIE World Conference Orlando, Florida

October 2013

Who are we?

What is our message?

KEY WORDS with COMMON MEANINGS:

PoorHigh PovertyLow Income

Low Socio-Economic Status Low (SES)

Poverty occurs in all countries and among all races

Poverty is redefined from culture to culture based on circumstances.

Ruby Payne A Framework for Understanding Poverty, 2005

The culture of poverty has universal characteristics that

transcend rural-urban and even national differences whether in

London, Paris, Harlem NY or Mexico City.

Oscar Lewis Four Horsemen, 1971

Poverty…is the extent to which

an individual does without resources.

Ruby Payne A Framework for Understanding Poverty, 2005

Resources• Financial• Emotional• Mental• Spiritual

• Physical• Support Systems• Role Models• Knowledge of

Hidden Rules

Forms of Poverty • Situational: Lack of resources due to

a particular event (death, divorce, illness…)

• Generational: Two or more generations have lived in poverty

Students in poverty are more likely…

• To be retained in one or more grades• To be assigned to lower tracks• To be labeled as problem kids• To be absent more often• To earn lower scores on standardized tests• To drop out of school without graduating

- John Biddle, 2001

The dropout rate for low-income students is five times

greater than their high income counterparts---

7.4% compared to 1.4%.

- National Dropout Prevention Center. 2013

Students living in poverty are exposed to more stress than their peers and to more severe stress

Eric Jensen Teaching with Poverty in Mind, 2009

Degrees of Stress• ACUTE: an incident of trauma,

abuse or violence

• CHRONIC: continuous stress (food shortages, lack of power or water, moving frequently)

Stress is Toxic• Links to 50% of student absences• Impairs attention and concentration• Reduces memory and creativity• Inhibits growth of brain cells• Reduces motivation and effort

Eric Jensen, 2009

Learned HelplessnessWith no control over many situations in their lives, students in poverty become passive even when they have the power to overcome their circumstances.

They believe work is futile.

Eric Jensen, 2009

“There can be little doubt that an untapped source of human intelligence and creativity is found among the vast number of individuals in the lower socio-economic levels. The byproducts of this waste are evident …in unemployment …in rising crime, delinquency rates, and most important, in human despair.” Joseph Renzulli University of Connecticut leader in education of ‘gifted’

Assumption #3 of Invitational Theory and Practice

“People possess relatively untapped potential in all

areas of human development.”

William Purkey and John Novak

Invitational Theory and Practice taps human potential with 5 elements

1.Trust2.Respect3.Optimism4.Care5.Intentionality

TRUST

To earn trust, teachers must… do the right thing… in a respectful way…for the right reasons. Anthony Bryk and Barbara Schneider

Trust in Schools, 2002

RESPECT

We must give respect to students even when they seem to least deserve it. It is useless to demand RESPECT from students until they learn how to show it.

OPTIMISM

Effort and emotional intelligence matter more than IQ in predicting achievement. James J. Heckman, 2006 Big Ideas for Children: Investing in our Nation’s Future

Brains can and do change.

HOPE changes brain chemistry.

It enhances brain metabolism.

Eric Jensen, 2009

CARE

PEOPLE matter most. 9 of 10 success stories point to a relationship with a caring adult. Ruby Payne, 2005

PITY is not the same as CARE

INTENTIONALITY

Brains are hardwired for only six emotions: joy, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness and fear. All others must be taught. We must INTENTIONALLY teach the others.

Eric Jensen, 2009

If You Want IT, Teach IT!

Step 1: Tell kids what they need to knowStep 2: Model the behavior; demonstrate itStep 3: Students practice the behavior until

the class shows 100% complianceStep 3: Review the first three steps if needed

- APL Associates

The Most Important ThingSome of the most important things to remember about Poverty and Invitational Education (IE) are___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

But the MOST IMPORTANT THING to remember is __________________________________________

CONTACT US

Allyson Schoenleinaschoenl@access.k12.wv.us

Joan Fretzjrfretz@optonline.net