Poverty Is NOT a Learning Disability by Tish Howard

Author:Tish Howard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2014-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Overcoming the Lack of Education Resources in Low SES Homes

In Chapter 3, we identified some common disconnects that can occur between teachers’ expectations regarding the home environment of low SES students and the realities of those homes. One of the most common disconnects involves the education resources available in low SES homes. Whether we’re talking about the amount of time low SES parents can spend helping their children with homework or the availability of material resources like books, art supplies, work space, computers, and Internet access, low SES home resources too frequently fall short of teachers’ general expectations. The principals and teachers in the schools we observed worked to overcome this challenge in two basic ways. First, they adjusted their teaching methods and assignments to accommodate the situation; second, they found ways to make needed resources more readily available to low SES students.

Recognizing that many low SES parents may not have either the time or the ability to ensure their children complete their homework assignments, a number of the teachers set aside time at the end of the school day for students to begin their assignments. In doing so, they were able to answer students’ questions and make sure they would be able to complete the work on their own. They also limited the amount of homework they required. Their thinking was that if their students can do 5 math problems correctly, they don’t need to do 20 more.

To accommodate the lack of education resources in the homes of the low SES students, most of the schools we observed instituted afterschool homework clubs and curriculum-connected clubs in which they taught chess, sewing, cooking, art, photography, creative writing, and so on. The main objective of these activities was to reinforce basic learning skills in a fun way.

To make sure that low SES students had the school supplies they needed at the beginning of the school year, the principals and counselors in several schools actively solicited supplies from churches, businesses, and civic organizations that routinely run such programs. One school in our study used a commercial company to fill school supply lists. Any parent who wished to do so could purchase a school supply box for their child, and it would be ready for pick up the first day of school. To ensure that there would be enough supply boxes for the low SES students, the principal sent a letter to all parents asking those who could afford it to donate one additional supply box. Happily, they reported that, each September, every child receives a supply box.

Technology is a fast-changing field and what’s new today may be passé next week. In several of the low-income schools we observed, teachers, principals, and PTA members routinely approached businesses in which computer hardware, software, and peripherals were regularly replaced (banks, hospitals, universities, hi-tech business such as phone companies, healthcare facilities, insurance agents, and so on all discard their used equipment) and offered to take any equipment they were discarding and distribute it to needy homes.

Another

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