Poverty: Day 3

Poverty and Schooling in the U.S.: Contexts and Consequences

Brooks, Sue (2004).

Neat story

Three men walking along a riverbank noticed children in the river, floundering and struggling as if they were drowning. Two fo the three jumped in and pulled the children out - one, then another, then another. The third man wandered upstream.

When he came back he was asked, “Where were you? We needed help.”

“I know,” the third man replied, “ but someone needed to find out who was throwing all the children in the water.”

Teratogens Pollution (asthma) Garbage (bacterial diseases) Lack of immunizations (communicable

diseases) Prenatal care (low birth weight, birth

defects) Preventative care (emergency room visits). Violence (broken bones, bruises) Hunger (neglect, foster care, poor nutrition). Homelessness (bacterial diseases, frequent

colds, poor nutrition, poor supervision).

Creod (McCall, 1981)R

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Smoker

Clean Air Only

Genetic RiskHiLo

Creod (McCall, 1981)R

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High Teratogens

No Teratogens

Genetic RiskHiLo

Creod (McCall, 1981)R

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Homeless

Perfect H

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Genetic RiskHiLo

Litigation

Brown v. Board of Education: Separate but equal within same district is not acceptable.

San Antonio ISD v. Rodriquez: It is not unconstitutional for schools/districts to be funded differently.

Mlliken v. Bradley: Separate but equal is okay as long as it crosses district lines.

Rich School Poor School Newer buildings Better maintained older

buildings More supplies More parental

involvement opportunities

Best prepared teachers More English-only

children More A.P. and

Exploratory Classes

Older buildings Poorly maintained

buildings. Inadequate books,

supplies, classrooms. Parents often work 2

jobs; school has no place for parents

Many teachers are uncertified.

More ELL Few to no A.P. or

exploratory classes

Robin Hood System Some states have this

type of school funding system.

A percentage of local funds are pooled into a state fund to be redistributed so that all districts are equally funded.

Many states still fund individual districts based only on local funds, though.

Native American reservation schools are funded differently.

Nested Inequalities Inequalities can be

noted at each level Outer: State: some

states are poorer than others.

Middle: District: some districts are poorer than others.

Center: Schools: some schools are poorer than others.

Group Project: Nested Inequalities

Culture and Special Education

Building Reciprocal Family-Professional Relationships

Kalyanpur & Harry (1999).

Culture of Special Education

LanguageImplicit RulesExplicit rulesTraditionsBelief SystemValue SystemGroup Goals

Culture of Parenting

Ethnotheories of Parenting: Parental belief systems about child rearing and development are affected by culture and personal history. How do children learn? What is independence? What is appropriate behavior? How is a child punished? Who leads the family? Who teaches the child?

Family Values: Equality versus Hierachy Equality:

Democratic family system Spouses share authority Same rules apply to all children Same school expectations for all children.

Hierachy: Group is more important than an individual. One spouse is “the decision-maker” Different rules for different children. Different school-based expectations for different

children.

Family Structure:Extended versus Nuclear Extended

Family includes many more people. Some family are “fictive kin” instead of blood or

marital relation. All family members make decisions for the child.

Nuclear Mother + Father + Children = single household Could also be different variations (single parent

+ child; adoptive parents + child; lesbian/ gay parents + children).

Only those adults who live within that household have authority over the children

Family Interactions:Enmeshment vs DisengagementEnmeshment

Family system lines are blurred Family solves its own problems Professional is an outsider

Disengagement Boundaries are solid. Usually more top-down authority. More willing to allow a professional in to

help.

Abuse or Acceptable?

SpankingLocking a child in a room?Medical practices (cupping, coin

rubbing, etc.)?Going to be without dinner?Parenting styles (yelling, using guilt)?Keeping an older child home to care

for a younger child?Taking money made by a child.

Group Project

Identify your own ethnotheory of parenting; compare these in your group: How do children learn? What is independence? What is appropriate behavior? How is a child punished? Who leads the family? Who teaches the child?

Steps to Cultural Reciprocity ID the cultural values embedded in the

interpretation of child’s problems and recommendations for help.

Find out how the family interprets the child’s problems and how different that is from your own interpretation.

Acknowledge and give explicit respect for any culturally differences and explain the cultural basis of your professional assumptions.

Discuss and collaborate until you find a way of adapting your interpretations and recommendations to value system of the family.

Group Project Steps:

ID culture embedded in dx and recommendations

ID how family interprets problems and what they’ve tried.

Acknowledge and explain cultural differences

Make adaptations based on this.

8 yr old - Middle Eastern male child (ELL)

IQ = 65; ACH = 65; Adaptive = 65

Parent refuses to accept dx of mental retardation.

Go through the steps and see how you can use cultural reciprocity.

Dollar Street

Dollar Street contains photo-panoramas from households at different income levels

http://www.gapminder.org/downloads/dollar-street/