1. Poverty’s impact on learning and the brain
Teaching with Poverty in mind: What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it
by eric jensen
Erin Ennis
Education 635

2. What is poverty?
“chronic and debilitating condition that results from multiple adverse synergistic risk factors and affects the mind, body and soul” Teaching with Poverty on the Mind -Eric Jenson, pg. 6

3. Types of poverty:
1) Situational: result of a disaster, job loss, divorce or death and usually temporary or unique circumstance
2) Generational: passed from one generation to the next because they lack the ability to get out
3) Absolute: homelessness, day to day survival, lack necessities
4) Relative: differs from area to area based on standard of living
5) Urban: in cities, due to stress of surroundings such as crowding, crime and inadequate services
6) Rural: higher rates than urban poverty, less access to assistance and services, less jobs

4. Cycle of poverty Parent(s) are poorly educated
Parent(s) work long hours for low pay & no/poor benefits
Poor health conditions
Stress
Poor attendance/academic performance
Lack job skills
Cycle of poverty

5. Poverty’s impact on health
Emotional Social Stress Cognitive delays Safety Undiagnosed disabilities, vision and hearing impairments

6. What about poverty impacts learning?
How does it impact these things?
Poor environmental conditions: exposure to polluted air, water, crowded and unmaintained living conditions
Malnutrition
Lack of healthcare: availability and low cost
Poor pre and post-natal care and higher rates of teen pregnancies
Higher rates of chemical and alcohol dependency
Higher rates of abusive households

7. Cards are stacked against them
Impoverished households:
higher rates of single income/single guardian families
work long or irregular hours
children spend more time home alone
watch more TV and engage in less extracurricular or enrichment activities
no one to supervise behavior and look to peers for social support
no homework assistance
parents with poor school experience are less likely to make education a priority
instability – frequent moves leave children without a sense of attachment and can cause a feeling of isolation
Parents are unaware of resources available to them
All adds up to higher attendance problems and drop out rates

8. Turn functions on and off
Physiological changes occur in genes. stress triggers certain functions to shut down and others to be on Such as “fight or flight”
Environmental Stress
Receptors on cells
Messages to genes
Turn functions on and off

9. Figure 2.6. How Do the Brains of Children from Poverty Differ?
Source: Adapted from "Neurocognitive Correlates of Socioeconomic Status in Kindergarten Children,” by K. G. Noble, M. F. Norman, and M. J. Farah, 2005, Developmental Science, 8, pp. 74–87.
Jenson, p.34

10. STRESS: anything that disrupts the balance of the body
Children with poverty frequently suffer from chronic and/or acute stress (constant or trauma).
Weakens the developing brain:
Learning centers: Prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are most impacted by cortisol, the “stress hormone”
Shrinks neurons in the frontal lobe- the area used for impulse, determining outcomes (planning)
More impulsive as a means of survival: “fight or flight”
Impacts the capacity for learning and memory
Memory is emotional versus declarative (traumatic events versus learning information)

11. Poor behavior and academic performance
Impacts of stress:
Lower attention and concentration levels
Lower creativity
Lower memory capacity
Lower social skills
Lack of motivation
Higher rates of depression
Poor behavior and academic performance

12. If the brain can change for the worse, it also can change for the better…

13. We need to start out by understanding who are students are.
Perceptions of children of poverty in schools:
They lack manners
They act out
Parents let them do whatever they want
They don’t care
Rude
Poor thing
Low achiever, so the bar remains low

14. Poverty and performance
Low expectations
Low self esteem
Poor performance
Not willing to risk trying again
Academic failure

15. We, as teachers, can implement change in the brain!
High expectations
Good performance
High self esteem
Willingness to keep trying
We, as teachers, can implement change in the brain!

16. We need to understand how poverty impacts the lives of children
We need to know our school’s community and know our students
We need to take notice!
Is there a pattern of absenteeism?
Has behavior changed?
Who are our students friends with?
Where are they going when they leave our classrooms?
Did they eat breakfast today?
Did they get enough sleep?
How did they get to school today?
Are they clean? Do they seem healthy?
We need to hold all students to high standards. We can not pity children from poverty. We need to be prepared to fill in the gaps that life has left them.

17. We have to teach the whole keyboard and fill in the missing notes
Jenson, p.18

18. Moving forward:
These children lack attachments We have to seek out ways to connect with them
There lives may be unstable We have to establish routines and stability
Low SES parents tend to be authoritarian We need to create cooperative learning disciplinarians opportunities
They come from poor living conditions We provide a warm, safe environment
They lack social skills We foster them through a nurturing school culture
They lack access to enrichment activities We provide them during school, after and before school whenever possible
They lack homework help We provide homework clubs and tutoring

19. Children from poverty lack basic skills and we have to teach them how we expect them to act:
Model polite behavior
Practice addressing each other in class
Group projects
Instill a feeling of ownership – “our room”
Include in decisions about class rules, projects
Create a culture where “belonging” means to be academically successful
Seek opportunities to make them feel important and instill self confidence
Offer choices but keep expectations high
Stay calm and positive and let this be ingrained in the climate of the classroom

20. Things the school can do to reverse the Affects of poverty
Knowledgeable and collaborative staff and team determination to implement change
Open communication and consistent, frequent means of evaluating students
Change curriculum: create time enrichment activities – art, music, physical education
block time for homework
cooperative learning among faculty
reschedule school plays, conferences, etc. to accommodate working parents schedules
Change décor to make less institutional: bright colors, air flow, green space, clean
Incorporate stress reducing activities: yoga, meditation, physical fitness
Provide parenting education and get out into the community to promote it
Make the school a center of activity for the community
Provide meals to low income students including breakfast and a sack lunch for the weekend. Children can’t learn if they are hungry.

21. What we can do continued:
Go out into the community and ask for help. School budgets, especially those in poor areas, are tight. Get creative and don’t be afraid to ask for support from area businesses.
Local on site physician who comes in once a week
Local dentist visits once a month
Area college students volunteer as tutors
Local artisans come in to do work shops
Local restaurant/bakery/grocery store owners help provide meals for the weekends

22. Our goal is to get kids to stay in school and succeed in life.
Final thoughts:
IQ is partially genetic, but 60% is influenced by living conditions, nutrition and early childhood development experiences. The brain can change. If stress is reduced, new cells grow and a chain reaction of learning can occur.
High rates of tardiness and absenteeism lead to high drop out rates. Make students want to be there. School attendance is directly linked to standardized test scores – the more they are there, the higher the scores.
Use fluid intelligence: apply known skills to learn new things. Children in poverty, like all children, need to be able to relate to material. Here, though, you may have a taller wall to break down. Adaptability and variety will have to be in your arsenal.
Be patient. Don’t condescend to the student or their family. You need to be approachable and welcoming.
Be accommodating.
Be understanding.

23. Don’t judge. Often times you will have no idea that a child is living in poverty. In today’s economy, more and more middle class families are finding themselves scraping by. The stress of worrying about money impacts the whole family. Learn to pick up on the signs of stress and do what you can to impede its impact on a child’s brain.

24. There is a direct correlation between socio-economic status and race in this country that can not be ignored. I did not address this here as time is limited. Race and ethnicity all contribute to the pool of the impoverished and one can not discuss either of them independently. They are part of the cycle of poverty exemplified in the racial disparities of test scores and incarceration rates.