"Christmas is on a Friday this year!" said an excited 4th grader who recently transferred to our small, rural school district. As her teacher inquired about this particular enthusiasm, the student happily explained, "Because we will be in school, and I will be spending the day with you and my friends." When a classmate pointed out that school would be closed on Christmas, her delight quickly flattened into a deep sadness. For this student, school was a beacon in a life of poverty, neglect, and homelessness.
This student, and any student living in poverty, needs educators committed to removing the barriers that poverty creates in public schools. To do this, educators must develop an understanding of poverty, examine how their personal beliefs and classroom practices may erect barriers to equity, and stop blaming children and parents for their economic circumstances.
Families First
Every student living in poverty has a family, whether traditional or nontraditional. Some students and their families live in poverty while others barely survive. Educators should treat each family's situation as a unique circumstance and seek to understand the root cause of the family's poverty. By doing so, they can support the family with the resources needed to reduce poverty-related stressors in the home. Schools can also help connect families with community resources and services such as food banks, shelters, and employment opportunities.
It is important for educators to treat students and families in poverty with the same respect and dignity that they afford to more affluent students and families. Schools should promote collaborative efforts with families to ensure that students from poverty are successful. One way to show families respect is to maintain professional communication and avoid talking down to them. The most important demonstration of respect is to hold students and parents in poverty accountable for the same high expectations that are in place for their more affluent peers. In doing so, educators must understand and acknowledge that the resources students and families in poverty need to be successful are different from the resources middle- and upper-class students and families need.
Homework That Helps or Hurts?
When it comes to eliminating barriers and promoting student achievement and growth, educators must also be aware of their own personal beliefs regarding the idea that what is fair is not always equal. For example, let's look at traditional homework practices.
Although research varies on the effects of homework on student achievement, homework is a common practice in today's public schools. Generally, educators expect students to come to school with their homework completed, and students face consequences for incomplete homework. When students regularly fail to complete their homework, educators should consider whether these students come from socioeconomic circumstances in which resources like supplies or parental involvement (whether because of lack of knowledge or lack of time) are not readily available. If so, then the homework might be oppressive in nature and segregate students of a lower socioeconomic status from their more affluent peers.
To support students who do not come to school with complete homework, schools can consider interventions like homework clubs and campus centers that provide resources to help students complete their work. Another intervention method is to conduct individual student check-ins at the beginning of the school day or class period. This encourages students to complete their homework on their own, to the best of their ability, despite limited resources in their home environment. Homework checks provide students with the security of knowing that when they come to school, a teacher will check their work and provide opportunities to reteach the material if they did not do the assignment correctly.
Start Somewhere
Realistically, educators and schools cannot eradicate poverty because it is primarily an economic and social issue. However, educators can close the achievement gap between students in poverty and their more affluent peers by tackling the barriers that poverty creates for children in public schools. As educators, we must take every opportunity to broaden our cultural awareness and differentiate instructional practices within our classrooms. We can begin by examining the practices and policies in our own classrooms and schools. Which students wish school was open 365 days a year, and which students are often unprepared for class? Once you understand their needs, dig deeper. Beyond homework, the structural segregation created by schedules, grouping practices, class sizes, accessibility to advanced courses, and the assignment of highly-qualified instructors are all good places to start.
When a student in poverty achieves and grows in school, a child and a family achieves and grows in a community. Achievement and growth will not eradicate poverty. Achievement and growth will strengthen opportunities for success and access to resources that will break down the barriers poverty erects.