#3- Class and Socioeconomic Status

Three different ideas about class and socioeconomic status stuck with me after class this week.
1.  I am incredibly blessed.  While my students are faced with several challenges in their lives, poverty is not one of them.  Most of my students lead incredibly privileged lives.  I was horrified to learn Texas has one of the highest populations of homeless children in the nation.  While the information about teaching children in poverty doesn't have much application in my classroom, the information about the number of people in Texas who struggle with poverty does.  As an educator of students who have the ability to donate money and time, create programs, and influence legislation, it is my job to inform them about the high level of poverty in our state.  Our students read Nickle and Dimed their junior year which makes them more aware regarding the working poor.  Making more literature available or suggesting students follow the Tweets of the homeless on Twitter may help them be more aware of the issues of poverty and make them more compassionate. 

2.  The risk of the "single story" discussed in blog #2 was alive and well in our discussion of SES.  Ruby Payne makes great points; however, teachers must be careful not to lump all people in poverty or all people in wealth into one group.  It is unfair to assume that all children who come from generational poverty have parents that do not value education.  Further, it is unfair to assume all students in wealth have happy home lives and parents who have been reading to them since birth.  Another single story it is important to keep in mind is that people in poverty are somehow in that position due to some failing on their part.  Many people in poverty work long hours each day. 



3.  I am currently enrolled in a class at my school on Global Leadership.  Last week Dr. Hunt, a professor in the Perkins School here at SMU, spoke to our class about developing global leaders.  According to Dr. Hunt, global leaders know how to use their global network.  Teachers develop global leaders by teaching students to expand their network.  This involves teaching students to evaluate their connection to the rest of the world and use the resources available to them to learn more about the world and opportunities available to them.  Geisel, a professor at UTA, asked students in schools of differing socioeconomic levels to name as many jobs as they could think of.  Students in low SES schools could name far fewer jobs than students in middle and high SES schools.  Geisel argues students can't aspire to jobs they don't know exist.  Several times during class on Monday, I thought back to these ideas as different classmates talked about their experiences in low SES schools.  Several classmates mentioned students who found programs and opportunities which allowed them to go to college.  These students taught themselves how to be global leaders.  However, classmates also mentioned parents and students who are not aware of their global network and are not aware of the opportunities available such as magnet schools.  Teaching global leadership skills to teachers, students, and parents would help prepare students for the work force as well as help students find opportunities outside the cycle of poverty.