Poverty's Effect On Education Part ! (2)
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Poverty's Effect On Education
Leslie Felgueira
Florida Southwestern State College
EDF 2005: Introduction to the Teaching Profession
Professor Trevon Davis
October 26, 2023
Poverty's Effect On Education
What I Know, Assume or Imagine
Where do we go when school is out for the day? Where do we stay when there’s no school on the weekends and holidays? For all of us it’s a different place. I'll go to my home and maybe you’ll go to yours, or to a friend’s, or to a park, or somewhere else. Though wherever we go it’ll be different from my home, or the next person's home. Home could be relaxing or home could be stressful. Our home lives play a very big role in our education and the education of so many students.
I’ve been a lower to middle class student for most of my life and it has played a big role in my education. I have lived in Lee county for most of my life. I've moved a decent amount of times, but my parents have always been able to afford rent or move if it got too high. As of about
9 years ago my parents finally bought a house and it's the house I live in now at 18 years old. I went to an A rated middle and high school and was afforded every opportunity in school. My high school had a lot of AICE classes which let me get my AICE diploma and I was able to get 60 volunteer hours from a half year class they offered. I got a full scholarship because of those classes. The poverty line is growing in the US and affording college isn't the only obstacle people in poverty face. Many students can’t afford books and study material or tutoring. Many students in poverty go to underfunded schools, where they don’t have access to a computer they can take home. I went to an elementary school that gives each student a chromebook to take home,
because that elementary school can afford it. I went to a school that can afford metal detectors because of the growing gun violence in Florida and the US. Not every school can afford that for their students. I went to an arts high school that has AP and AICE programs that made it possible for me to receive a scholarship. These things aren't always available for everyone. My wife was a cambridge or AICE student in middle school and to be accepted into that same program in high school she had to write an entrance essay that she executed perfectly. An
essay that would get her into the program because of how well written and vulnerable it was. An
essay about her trauma, an essay about her life, and an essay she had to rewrite. There was nothing wrong with the essay other than fearing her family’s reaction to it, so she rewrote it and turned it in later rather than sooner. She lost the initiative and she lost the vulnerability the original essay had. In the end she wasn’t accepted into the program. It wasn’t for lack of personal ability but her life at home was an obstacle that got in the way and it affected her education. I think poverty is an obstacle much like that, it affects people's opportunities and ability to do their best. Our home life determines what school life is going to be like and its huge issue in education today. I can’t claim to know it all, I want to find out and research what it’s like for low income students because there are gaps in my knowledge. I know that low income students make up a large percentage of students in public schools. I know that low income students tend to perform worse than higher income students. I know that low income students have a harder time in school. I want to know why exactly that is and how it can be fixed.
What I Want to Know
In my research process I want to learn more about poverty. I want to do research on low funded schools in low income neighborhoods. I want to know how living in a low income household or neighborhood can affect what school you go to. I want to know how differently funded schools differ from each other and what opportunities are afforded according to the area students live. I want to know more about acceptance rates of low income students to higher funded schools. Usually students go to the schools they live close to and it's hard to get into higher funded schools without a few exceptions. For example, I went to a high school that you had to either be a music/ art student or an honors/ AP/ AICE student to get into. It was hard school to get into but I was fortunate enough to have a sibling there and to have lived close, because of that I was an exception.
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A student's home environment can have a big impact on study habits. How many low income students have to work to support themselves or their family? Can this play a factor in their education? Do low income students have more pressure? Are they more prone to stress or
mental health issues? I think stress and mental health plays a big role in education and determining if poverty and stress have some correlation to one another can prove to be useful knowledge.
I also wanted to mention school safety in low funded schools. School shootings are growing more common and some schools can’t afford to keep their students safe. What are students to do when they don’t have a safe place to learn? When they don’t live somewhere that
allows them to go to a secure school. Can you blame students for skipping school? I know a few
schools in my area that have installed new metal detectors for safety purposes, not a lot of schools can do that. I want to know if low income students lack more motivation than their peers. Can having less financial opportunities make students feel less motivated to pursue their goals. I know many students can feel discouraged about applying to certain schools because of money. For example the best college for their preferred major may be way beyond what they can afford and that could be discouraging. Can poverty have an effect on students' motivation? Can lack of motivation play as big an impact as lack of opportunity? Is there a way we can solve this problem with better encouragement in schools? How can you improve students' motivation with limited resources and funding? I’ve had teachers who genuinely thought I was dumb and lazy and refused to give me the time of day. Teachers who didn't want to recommend me to honor classes because they thought so little of me even with good grades. Is this more common in underfunded schools? Do
teachers who get paid less or work in lower funded schools perform worse than teachers who get paid more? Are teachers in lower funded schools more likely to have less experience? There is a lot I don’t know about and would like to expand more on throughout my
research process. I want to see the larger impacts of poverty on education and elaborate on those bigger factors and rule out a few less relevant questions. I think poverty is a wide topic and there’s a lot to talk about. My Research and What I Learned
According to the National Center for Education Statistics the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunches has grown from 38.2% in 2000-2001 to 52.1% in 2019-2020. (National Center for Education Statistics, Number and percentage of public school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, by state: Selected years, 2000-01 through 2019-20 2021) Poverty has been an issue in the US and now the issue is taking up a little over half of the
population. In Florida alone the number of eligible students is 53.9% in 2019-2020, it’s gone down from 2017-2018 but it's still over half of students in the state. (National Center for Education Statistics, Number and percentage of public school students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, by state: Selected years, 2000-01 through 2019-20 2021) The importance of low income students is most definitely a relevant issue for us. It’s not just one or two, it's more
than half. According to this article titled “Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School Unavoidable” in the third paragraph, it says “Roughly 30 percent of students who dropout of school between the ages of 16 and 18 are working in a variety of jobs, according to a new study by the Urban Institute, a non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. These young workers are disproportionately Hispanic and first-generation immigrants, though three-quarters are native-born U.S. citizens.” (Rosales, Why students drop out: The economic pressures that make leaving school unavoidable 2015) It doesn't take much to know that most Hispanic and first generation immigrants are economically disadvantaged in the US. There are a variety of factors that can have its role in this but it's all too common for kids
to drop out of school to support their families. These working kids often make the difference for
their family’s ability to make ends meet. Some of these youths are having to support themselves
while still living with the family. Some of them have to support their parents and siblings and pay
a percentage of the living expenses. My wife had personal experience with this, her family made her drop out of public school
half way through her junior year to work two jobs, only to come home and do more work, clean, cook, take care of her younger siblings etc. She was still enrolled in Florida Lee Virtual School but she hardly had time to get work done and almost didn't graduate with her diploma. Her family was also hispanic and first generation immigrants and it’s just a sad reality for many students. It is real enough for one of those statistics to be so close to me. I also come from a hispanic and first generation immigrant family but parents valued education more than money and discouraged me from working in favor of school. The difference in education really does start at home, your home life makes the foundation of our education. Without that support at home, students can't get that support in school. I think that helping students like this starts by helping their families. There is only so much you can do for them at school when their family is the ultimate factor.
Another important thing to add is the cycle of poverty. Students from poor families are often stuck in poorly funded schools. Although the problem of school funding is occasionally addressed and there has been work put towards increasing funds to underfunded schools, it doesn’t change the fact that low income students being born into underfunded school districts is still a common occurrence that has been going on for years. According to an article titled “Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education” in paragraph five it states, “Two-thirds of minority students still attend schools that are predominantly minority, most of them located in central cities and funded well below those in neighboring suburban districts.” (Darling-Hammond, Unequal opportunity: Race and education 1998) The schools where the most minorities attend are the least funded, while many families with high social statuses attend schools that are much more funded. For example, in the same article in paragraph 3 it mentions, “In contrast to
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European and Asian nations that fund schools centrally and equally, the wealthiest 10 percent of
U.S. school districts spend nearly 10 times more than the poorest 10 percent, and spending ratios of 3 to 1 are common within states.” (Darling-Hammond, Unequal opportunity: Race and education 1998) The most well funded schools are being given enough to spend 10 times that of poorer schools who need it more. These poor schools are full of predominantly minority and disadvantaged students and families, and they are not being funded as well as other schools in their state, which only contributes to the cycle of poverty. These aren't the only issues with poverty in education. Low funded schools cant give students the help and resources they need to be in a successful learning environment and minorities disproportionately make up a lot of the people in poverty. Meaning a lot of these poor neighborhoods with low funded schooling are disproportionately minority groups. I’ve read a few
different sources and a lot seem to agree that many minorities are still disproportionately attending schools that are on average underfunded. For example in the second paragraph of the text, Linda Darling-Hammond mentions, “Not only do funding systems allocate fewer resources to poor urban districts than to their suburban neighbors, but studies consistently show
that, within these districts, schools with high concentrations of low-income and “minority” students receive fewer instructional resources than others in the same district.” (Darling-
Hammond, Inequality in Teaching and Schooling: How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America, 2001)
This article also confirmed my assumptions about teachers in lower funded schools and their qualifications. For example it mentions, “A critical problem is that shortages of funds make it difficult for urban and poor rural schools to compete in the marketplace for qualified teachers. When districts do not find qualified teachers, they assign the least able individuals to the students with the least political clout.” (Darling-Hammond, Inequality in Teaching and Schooling:
How Opportunity Is Rationed to Students of Color in America, 2001) Earlier I mentioned that lower funded schools are more likely to have less experience and aren’t as qualified to teach.
This is obviously an issue because students are not being taught correctly and are not receiving
a good or decent education. I couldn’t find an interview with an expert so I looked towards youtube and found a few professionals talking about poverty in education and I took notes. In the video titled “How does poverty affect learning?” In 2019 it interviewed Shital Shah, a Manager of Philanthropic Engagement American Federation of Teachers. In the video she describes poverty from the perspective of the student, which I think is important to include when talking about poverty in education. This is about the students and the children and it affects them more than anyone. How does a low income student learn in underfunded schools? Shita Shah describes how low income students may have a difficult time learning when their basic needs are not being met. Going to school hungry can affect a students ability to learn, going to school sleep deprived can affect a students ability to learn, and sitting in a broken desk or an uneven floor and not having the right materials can all affect a students ability to learn. Low income students are expected to
learn in environments that don’t even meet their basic needs. (Shah, How does poverty affect learning? 2019) There are school districts here in the US and in Florida that don’t have enough in their budget to support their students. Overcrowding, broken resources, and lack of technology are very important aspects of education that negatively impact the students ability to learn. Teachers also play a very important role in shaping a students life, and if your teacher doesn't have the energy to teach, how will students have the energy to learn. What the Information Means to Me Now Section
After doing my research I learned that I had a lot more questions than I had originally came up with in the beginning. Before doing my research I had a lot of Assumptions about low income students and the effect of poverty in their education. These assumptions were based on the basis that low income students have less than that of higher income students because of their economic status and disadvantage. After conducting my research I realized that low
income students have less than higher income students because they are given less in terms of school funding and resources. The poorer cities and locations receive less funding for school than richer cities and districts. I realized that low income students attending underfunded schools are expected to learn as much as their richer neighbors with fewer resources and much harsher conditions. I learned that the color line is still dividing minorities or disadvantaged families and richer or more privileged families. Before my research I only thought privilege went as far as affording tutoring and extra materials, but it goes way beyond that. Not only are underfunded schools not giving students a proper education but they're also not providing the basic students needs to successfully learn, and it’s a continuous cycle. Students in underfunded schools do worse because the teachers are hardly qualified to teach. Students are dropping out and not for lack of trying but because their families are so economically burdened that kids need to work to support themselves and their families. The first thing that affects a students education is their home life and that was something I didn't understand the extent of, until after my research. The gap in my knowledge was big and now I understand a lot more and much more clearly. Poverty in education goes a lot farther than just a money issue but also a racial issue as well. Many of these disadvantaged youth are minorities who have been stuck in a cycle of poverty for years. It’s all too common to blame the student for their bad grades or their lack of academic knowledge, but how are they supposed to do well in conditions like these? How can you overcrowd a school with students and expect them to learn anything from underpaid and under experienced teachers? I left my research with a much wider understanding of the obstacles that lower income students face.
Low income students are facing multiple challenges a day. School and getting good grades is just one of the many stressors in life for an economically disadvantaged student. Many
of these students are also minorities who are already facing challenges because of their race or ethnicity. Many of these disadvantaged students are even struggling to sleep or eat, which
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obviously has its impact on their ability to focus energy and attention in class. My research also helped me realize many issues have been right in front of me and I hadn’t even noticed. Earlier I had mentioned that me and my wife are both hispanic and come from first generation immigrant families. The statistics that I found mentioned that students like us from ages 16-18 make up 30 percent of students who dropout of public school and have jobs. I realized that my wife also had to sacrifice a public education in favor of getting a job and supporting herself and her family. Although we had both been hispanic and come from first generation immigrant families I didn’t drop out or get a job in high school. Something the statistics don’t tell you is the difference between the hispanic students who drop out and get jobs versus those who don’t. My wife's family didn’t value education and encouraged her to leave and find work. While my family supported my education and encouraged me to stay and study so I didn’t feel pressured to find work during high school. That support allowed me to attend college for free and graduate with as much college credit as high school credit. My wife had gone to the same public high school as me and probably would have done the same if it weren’t for the lack of support. My research really made me realize the importance and impact a
family support or lack thereof has on a students education. It makes a big difference.
References National Center for Education Statistics, (2021). Number and percentage of public school
students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, by state: Selected years, 2000-01 through
2019-20. Retrieved November 26, 2023,.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_204.10.asp
Rosales, J. (2015, July 8). Why students drop out: The economic pressures that make leaving
school unavoidable. NEA. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/why-students-drop-
out-economic-pressures-make-leaving-school-unavoidable#:~:text=Roughly%2030%20percent
%20of%20students%20who%20drop%20out%20of%20school,%2Dgeneration%20immigrants
%2C%20though%20three%2D
Startz, D., Whitehurst, G. J. “Russ,” Gershenson, S., Richard V. Reeves, S. K., Gabriel R.
Sanchez, C. B., Sarah Reber, E. S., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1998, March 1). Unequal
opportunity: Race and education. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/unequal-
opportunity-race-and-education/
Darling-Hammond, L. (2001). Inequality in teaching and schooling: How opportunity is rationed
to ... National Institute of Medicine . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223640/
Shah, S. (2019). How does poverty affect learning? YouTube. Retrieved November 26, 2023,
from https://youtu.be/E9hlMTTgl4M?si=_7OVL26T-UEYcF3l
.