What Teachers Need to Know About Poverty

I really enjoyed Sue Books' "What Teachers Need to Know About Poverty." I thought it was a powerful and dynamic summary of the hardships faced by students in low income schools and I appreciated the way she outlined what makes an effective teacher for those students. I particuarly appreciated the line, "Many children who grow up in poverty thrive despite tremendous hardships. This testifies to the amazing strength of their young spirits, but cannot, or ought not, be used as a reason to deny the profound significance of poverty in young lives." (185). I think there is a common assumption that it is the childrens' responsibility to succeed and the American Dream influences this assumption. It posits that, if a person wills success, he or she will achieve it. However, I agree with Books that there is so much more responsibility on the teachers and support staff than on the student, especially when the student is not recieving support outside the classroom and doesn't have his or her basic needs met.

Despite my agreement with Books in most of the chapter, I am not so sure about her treatment of Carrie, the student from the vignette. Carrie is clearly misbehaving and not in accordance with classroom standards. Though she is going through hard times at home, does this excuse her from poking or writing on another student even when the student asks her to stop? I don't think that Carrie should be entirely blamed for her behavior, but I'm not sure it should be condoned to the extent the teacher does in Books' account. My concern is that, if Carrie knows she can get away with such actions, won't she perform them again? Carrie isn't a good example of my argument because she seems to be a sweet girl and responds readily to the teacher's suggestions. However, what if there were a student in a similar position that failed to respond or performed more severe actions? Even in the same home position as Carrie, should that student be given only a talking to as the teacher does with Carrie? Perhaps this is my own ignorance at not being in a teacher's position as of yet, but it seems like Carrie could start to get used the behaviors she is exhibiting and that could be detrimental to her later on.