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November 9, 2007
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Reporter/Columnist
At a recent workshop, three different quizzes on the subject, “Could You Survive?” focused on one's ability to survive in poverty, in the middle class or in wealth.
The test was relatively simple: just check the items a person knew how to do. Most who took the quiz discovered they could survive well in the middle class; however surviving in poverty and extreme wealth were elusive. There were 18 questions on the poverty quiz and 14 on both the middle class and wealth quiz.
Canyon Lake resident Debbie Sacks, a member of the Riverside County of Education team, was one of the presenters of a “Culture of Poverty” workshop on October 19. She spoke on the challenges from both obvious and hidden sources and how the effects of generational poverty have serious impacts on the literacy and learning of children.
The workshop was based on the book, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” written by Ruby K. Payne. The book was written because the author worked in a school where everyone came from high-level incomes and yet the students themselves were not achieving at the levels one would expect.
Several special points were brought out that helped those in the workshop understand faulty beliefs. People need to understand the differences between generational and situational poverty. Another point is there are cultural differences in poverty. Still another is an assumption that all students want to learn and want to come to school and be successful. In many instances, this assumption is based on the school’s beliefs, which usually operate from middle class norms and values.
Debbie pointed out that the assumption of certain values and norms is acquired and, once ingrained, fits in the idea of “we are what we think.” Because most people involved in public education buy into the middle class norms, it is hard to understand or relate effectively to those who will not accept or join in that mindset.
One of her co-presenters pointed out that $7,500 is viewed worldwide as being statistically “rich” to the six billion people in the world, yet, in America, the poverty level in terms of income stands at $18,850. The average income for most Americans of the 21 million households surveyed in the latest census and tax research now ranges about $50,000 to $74,900.
Debbie explained that two key items help people move out of poverty: one is education, where they learn the skills and language that allow students to establish a vision or goal, and two, educational relationships that need to be able to be maintained over the long haul.
While talking with Debbie after the workshop, she pointed out that, as a graduate of Elsinore High School in the 1970s, she knew her teachers had a personal interest in her future and encouraged her to learn as much as she could. Now, working in the County’s Office of Education, Debbie acknowledges education was the one thing that gave her a sense of security and direction.
Two special quotes made the workshop one worth considering: Reuven Fauerstein’s said, “It is possible to have a brain and not have a mind. A brain is inherited; a mind is developed.” The other was, “The mind is a tool or weapon that no one can take away.”
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