Attribution

Glenn R. Martin Sr., is the Director of the Upward Bound Programs at Mott Community College. He holds

a Bachelor’s Arts degree in English, and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the

University of Washington, and is currently pursuing an Education Specialist degree from Central

Michigan University.

Education and Poverty

In 1964 a war on poverty was declared and President Johnson had a plan to win it. During that

year childhood poverty was a staggering twenty-three percent (23%). Fifty-Four years later, poverty is

on the rise, with fifty-one percent (51%) of all public school children living in poverty. “Time does not

equal change.” Today poverty is having a crippling effect on our whole country most notably on our

education system. Our present day education system for poor and minority children is falling down

around. These students attend dilapidated and underfunded schools, are being taught by tired

overworked and underappreciated teachers who are constantly under attack. Poverty is a cancer to our

well-being as a nation, and the devastating effect it is having on a large population of students will be

the down fall of this great nation if nothing is done to reverse the current trend.

To reverse this trend we must again go to war. As a society we must stop the denigration of the

teaching profession, provide these noble warriors with the tools they need to fight this war where it is

most prevalent, in the classroom. A 2015 report compiled by the ASCD Whole Child Symposium

appropriately titled “Poverty and Education, From a War on Poverty to the Majority of Public School

Students Living in Poverty”, the discussion centers around the fact that the war on poverty has failed

those students who are dealing with inter-generational poverty. When the war on poverty began the

official poverty rate for all was nineteen percent (19) %. In 2016, estimates from the census bureau put

the national poverty rate at 12%, and in 2017 according to the National Center for Children in Poverty,

21% of all children living in the United States lived in poverty, with 41%, or 72 million children under the
age of 18 were living in low-income and poor families, with minorities making up the largest portion of

those children and families.

With so many families and children living in poverty, how do they come out? How do they get to

share in the wealth of the American Dream? How do they make their contribution to this great society?

If education is the great equalizer, then teachers are the infantry. Proper preparation of teachers to

effectively wage this battle, is necessary if we are ever to win this war.

“[U]nderprepared and not supported as they confront lower levels of resources, poorer working

conditions, and the stresses of working with students and families who have a wide range of needs.

Beginning teachers are particularly vulnerable because they are more likely to be assigned low-

performing students.”

Colleges and Universities with teacher preparation programs must provide the battle plan.

These institutions should make it their mission to provide prospective teachers with the tools necessary

to teach in schools with high rates of poverty. New teachers must be trained on understanding poverty,

to develop a sense of the student’s culture in their classrooms, and use that understanding to provide

culturally responsible teaching, to help these students get a better understanding of themselves and

their potential for success.

Partnerships between colleges and universities, and struggling school districts with high rates of

poverty is one way to address this gap in teacher preparation programs. Providing this opportunity has

a two-fold benefit, the prospective teacher gets immersed in the school, the community and the culture

prior to taking a permanent position, and it provides the school district with extra adults in the building

meaning more targeted instruction for struggling students.

According to Teaching Tolerance, there are some specific things that new and experience

teachers should practice in their classrooms to promote a culturally responsible learning environment.
“Holding all students to high expectations, Finding and focusing on students’ cultural assets rather than

their perceived deficits, providing curricular “mirrors” so students can see themselves in classroom

materials. Getting to know students’ families and communities and acknowledging the multiple facets of

their identities. Allowing space for students to share narratives about their lives and hear or read

narratives about the lives of others. Encouraging educators to continually examine their own power,

privilege and bias—and to include discussions of power, privilege and bias in their teaching.”

“Basically, understanding the specific cultures and circumstances that shape students’

experiences allows educators to make connections and help students if they are struggling. And,

because poverty affects so many young people, understanding the causes, effects and multipliers of

poverty is critical to the success of new teachers, the academic achievement of poor students, the

stabilization of struggling school districts, bringing hope to these communities and providing the United

States with a bright future, full of highly qualified teachers, resulting in an educated and diverse

population of students who will carry the torch of our democracy into the future.