Poverty supresses children's genetic potential, study says

[Jenn! 918]

Back to the OP...

Why are poor children underperforming? Adequate nutrition might be one small aspect, but in general, low-income parents don't value education as much and either don't know how or are unwilling to help their children develop the skills essential for success in learning.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Back to the OP...

Why are poor children underperforming? Adequate nutrition might be one small aspect, but in general, low-income parents don't value education as much and either don't know how or are unwilling to help their children develop the skills essential for success in learning.

The educators in the schools plays a roll too.

I give one of my cousins a lot of credit. She's a part of "Teach for America" and has been a huge advocate of it for years. She works in poor communities in Louisiana. 95% of her students are Black, poor, or 'disadvantaged' in some way. It's people ilke her and those that are a members of this group, that are needed in some of the larger inner-city schools.

[^_^ 5,021]

The educators in the schools plays a roll too.

Off Topic, but I was recently completing our self-assessments at work and I noticed that misspelling of the word 'role' in a number of places in the HR guides. Educators should be ashamed of themselves.

The educators in the schools plays a roll too.

I give one of my cousins a lot of credit. She's a part of "Teach for America" and has been a huge advocate of it for years. She works in poor communities in Louisiana. 95% of her students are Black, poor, or 'disadvantaged' in some way. It's people ilke her and those that are a members of this group, that are needed in some of the larger inner-city schools.

The Newark school district in New Jersey gets ten times more applicants than they have openings. The Elizabeth school district (also NJ) did a career fair a few years ago with less than a dozen advertised openings and got over 500 applicants.

[slim 1,525]

I still find it ironic you folks are trying to throw money at this problem.

"They need more _______." Yeah, that's why they'e underperforming.

[B_J 2,752]

When you look at test results, the one characteristic that seems to be common is being poor. No matter what a person's race, we found that socio-economic status was the sub pop that had the highest failure rate. It doesn't even have to be an inner-city school, even in a town of 15K, it's the poor kids that tend to do the worst.

It's the cycle of poverty, I guess. But the question is why?

[Jenn! 918]

The educators in the schools plays a roll too.

I give one of my cousins a lot of credit. She's a part of "Teach for America" and has been a huge advocate of it for years. She works in poor communities in Louisiana. 95% of her students are Black, poor, or 'disadvantaged' in some way. It's people ilke her and those that are a members of this group, that are needed in some of the larger inner-city schools.

A child who receives a lot of support at home can succeed with even the worst teachers IMO. You might get some disadvantaged kids without home support that can succeed with high quality educators.

The problem has to be addressed in the home, not in the schools, I think. Not that I have a good proposal for doing so, however.

[B_J 2,752]

A lot of parents of poor kids didn't do well in school. From my experience, they aren't comfortable being too active in their child's education. Perhaps they are afraid of showing their child their own lack of knowledge. I don't know. I also noticed that, in parent conferences, they seemed to be sort of intimidated by the school setting. They would withdraw and not really talk much. But, if I talked to them outside the school setting, then there would be a much more productive conversation.

I still don't know the solution though.

[Jenn! 918]

A lot of parents of poor kids didn't do well in school. From my experience, they aren't comfortable being too active in their child's education. Perhaps they are afraid of showing their child their own lack of knowledge. I don't know. I also noticed that, in parent conferences, they seemed to be sort of intimidated by the school setting. They would withdraw and not really talk much. But, if I talked to them outside the school setting, then there would be a much more productive conversation.

I still don't know the solution though.

That's true. Often parents lack the confidence or the ambition to participate. But you can support your child's education by teaching good discipline, enforcing rules and routine, setting high expectations, etc. You don't have to be able to do your kid's algebra problems.

[slim 1,525]

When you look at test results, the one characteristic that seems to be common is being poor. No matter what a person's race, we found that socio-economic status was the sub pop that had the highest failure rate. It doesn't even have to be an inner-city school, even in a town of 15K, it's the poor kids that tend to do the worst.

It's the cycle of poverty, I guess. But the question is why?

In this country hard work is rewarded. However, it's OK to be a failure as well.

If mom and/or dad are a failure, junior is probably going to be a failure too - and that's OK.

The problem has to be addressed in the home, not in the schools,

Bingo.

A lot of parents of poor kids didn't do well in school. From my experience, they aren't comfortable being too active in their child's education. Perhaps they are afraid of showing their child their own lack of knowledge. I don't know. I also noticed that, in parent conferences, they seemed to be sort of intimidated by the school setting. They would withdraw and not really talk much. But, if I talked to them outside the school setting, then there would be a much more productive conversation.

I still don't know the solution though.

How about holding folks accountable?

When you're not accountable for yourself (can't hold down a job, stay out of jail, off drugs, etc.) it's very hard to hold your kids accountable. Failure breeds failure. That's simple math.

That's true. Often parents lack the confidence or the ambition to participate. But you can support your child's education by teaching good discipline, enforcing rules and routine, setting high expectations, etc. You don't have to be able to do your kid's algebra problems.

But you do have to be able to set a good example. That's a lot to aks of today's parents.

[B_J 2,752]

That's true. Often parents lack the confidence or the ambition to participate. But you can support your child's education by teaching good discipline, enforcing rules and routine, setting high expectations, etc. You don't have to be able to do your kid's algebra problems.

Definitely true.

Again, just from my experience, when I've talked to parents and let them know that their kid is really bright or has a lot of potential; it really changes their attitude. A lot of times they just have a really pessimistic attitude when it comes to education; probably because of their struggles. I'm not saying there's any excuse for bad parenting; I'm just trying to find ways to get them to be more involved and be better parents.

In this country hard work is rewarded. However, it's OK to be a failure as well.

If mom and/or dad are a failure, junior is probably going to be a failure too - and that's OK.

Bingo.

How about holding folks accountable?

When you're not accountable for yourself (can't hold down a job, stay out of jail, off drugs, etc.) it's very hard to hold your kids accountable. Failure breeds failure. That's simple math.

But you do have to be able to set a good example. That's a lot to aks of today's parents.

Never said anything about it being OK

[sandinista! 1,816]

The problem is that most people in this country think soup comes from a can! When I was in Russia my fiancee made the best soup and didn't use a can opener, not even sure she owns one. And for those who say that produce is high priced, it is possible in other countries to buy from farmer's markets much cheaper, though not as 'pretty, produce. She had large sacks of small, imperfect apples that were still just as nutritious as the $3.00 a pound Honey Crisps I buy here.

i love homemade soup too. and i love making my own noodles for it too-delicious, and so much better than store bought dried up egg noodles.

the produce i buy at the farmer's market is not pretty either, but it's certainly not cheaper than the chain grocery stores. it's in high demand, at least in the portland area, most of the sellers sell off all of their product, and because of market demand they can still get a premium price for it. regardless of its ugliness. when i was buying hood river cherries like a fiend this summer, because they were off the hook delicious, and come from orchards 50 miles from my house, i had to pay 2-3$ more a lb for them, than i would for cherries from over 500 miles away.

where is your minimum five a day fruit and vegetables in that abysmal diet plan danno? that's a diet with some gaping nutritional holes in it. inflicted on a child, it makes me shudder. and no, canned veg that contain 2/3 of yr daily sodium recommended intake does not count.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Please explain how you eat well from $3.57 a day ($25 a week / $100 a month)....

Can you describe what you ate today for lunch/dinner and how much each item cost?

Bowl of Ceral for Breakfast w/2% milk. $0.70

Lunch:

Sandwich: $0.50

Yogurt: $0.50

Apple: $0.50

Chicken Noodle Soup/Crackers: $1.60

Total: $3.80

$0.23 short on that budget!

That's not eating "well", that's carb-overload!

Fine if you want to end up as a fat diabetic with high blood pressure!

[Obama 2012 1,714]

That's not eating "well", that's carb-overload!

Fine if you want to end up as a fat diabetic with high blood pressure!

Not really... the Breakfast/Lunch part is what I basically eat 5 days a week... Dinner varies of course..

I'm one of the healthiest people I know... and the doctors I've seen in recent years concur.

Diet is very 'subjective' though to an individual.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You might be "healthy" but that diet most definitely is not.

[Jenn! 918]

I think you can easily feed a family of four healthily on $100/week. You buy your staples in bulk. You eat whatever produce is on sale (or frozen veggies which are healthy too!). Coupons, etc. And $100 for 4 is not the same as $25 for 1 - economies of scale and all.

ETA: Here's one woman's budget to do it:

http://feedafamilyunder100aweek.blogspot.com/

Edited January 11, 2011 by Jenn!