A web-based destination for aggregated news and commentary related to public school education in Kentucky and related topics.

Monday, June 01, 2015

Poverty and Lack of Opportunity threaten the American Dream

This from the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education newsletter (via email):

Robert Putnam's seminal 2000 book, Bowling Alone,
documented the growing fragmentation of American society, and the dangers to a
democracy when its residents no longer interact regularly with people who have
different political, economic, and cultural perspectives. Fifteen years later,
Putnam’s warnings have come home to roost, as he writes in Our Kids: The American
Dream in Crisis:

It’s the American dream: get a
good education, work hard, buy a house, and achieve prosperity and success.
This is the America we believe in—a nation of opportunity, constrained only by
ability and effort. But during the last twenty-five years we have seen a
disturbing “opportunity gap” emerge. Americans have always believed in equality
of opportunity, the idea that all kids, regardless of their family background,
should have a decent chance to improve their lot in life. Now, this central
tenet of the American dream seems no longer true or at the least, much less
true than it was.

A recent commentary for
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity shows that the US stands out not only
for high rates of general and child poverty. We are also an outlier in how
narrowly we define poverty.A “consensual” measure of poverty
pioneered in Britain in 1983 and now employed across a range of nations – from
wealthy Japan to Bangladesh – “measures poverty using the public’s views on
what is an acceptable standard of living in contemporary society.” Based on the
majority’s views of life necessities, poverty is defined as the point at which
adults lack three or more necessities and children lack two or more, “a level
of deprivation at which households are much more likely to experience a range
of other significant disadvantages including poor health and serious financial
difficulties.” The authors note that, while that standard “has support from all
social groups, across classes, gender, age and, importantly, political
affiliation,” the US stubbornly clings to an outdated definition laden with
value judgments.
So while “the public endorses the idea that in a wealthy country such as
Britain, no child should have to do without a decent minimum of essential
clothing, or be prevented from going on a school trip because their parents
can’t afford it,” a growing share of children in our even wealthier country
grow up in exactly those deprived circumstances. Moreover, many politicians
suggest that there is nothing we should do about it.
Indeed, music education,
which many of us take for granted, isn’t a given among poor students, since
“Music classes are usually cut first when schools reevaluate their budget.”
This is especially upsetting given a new study showing that music classes enabled
low-income students who would otherwise lose ground in reading to maintain
their skill level. As the study protocol illustrates, children in low-income
communities must rely on private organizations to fill that critical gap:
“Forty-two children between the ages 6 and 9 were recruited from the wait list
of the Harmony Project, an organization that offers free music education to
children from low-income communities. Children were then randomly placed in a
music place or not, with none of the children having previously received music
education.”
Last month, the Annie E. Casey Foundation looked back on its 25 years of investments indocumenting
what it means to be a poor child in America. In 2003, Casey popularized the term “the
high cost of being poor,” spurring a host of federal, state, and local policies
to address problems from predatory lending to food deserts. Perhaps most
critical, the Foundation has provided advocates and policymakers with detailed
state-by-state information to advance policies that help families avoid and
stay out of poverty. Indeed, Casey President and CEO Patrick McCarthy joined The Hill to “explore policy
ideas aimed at expanding opportunity for low-income children and their families
-- from early childhood education and children's healthcare, to expanding the
Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, to strengthening food assistance
programs.” Check out the April 29 event
summary here.
Finally, educators have
weighed in on what education policy would look like if we were to take seriously
the need to address these aspects of poverty and their impacts on students and
schools. The Education Opportunity Network touts the
California Build-and-Support model, and the Opportunity Dashboard advanced by
Linda Darling-Hammond, over what it terms our current “test-and-punish” model.
Targeted support for teachers is critical if school improvements are to
succeed, given the difficult conditions teachers face every day in high-poverty
schools, and the resulting low morale and high rates of turnover. In her recent YEP-DC Recess blog, a DCPS elementary
school teacher agrees, pointing out Congress’ failure to include teachers in
requests for “expert” input, and resulting wrongheaded policy choices.

1 comment:

I know this is going to sound ironic coming from an educator, but why do we keep blaming education for the current conditions?

We need to consider what we are basing our "rich getting richer and poor getting poorer" comparison. It wasn't that long ago that we had many more folks dropping out of school before graduation with inconsistent curriculum outcomes. At that time, however, those folks could access decent paying blue collar jobs which would sustain a family and dare I say fulfill the "American Dream". I am a product of those family circumstance where parents without college degrees worked their way up through companies or develop skill sets that allowed them to advance elsewhere in the work force.

Regrettably, many of those blue collar opportunities have been shipped away to other countries and the college educations which our parents thought would bring us higher paid, easier professional careers have instead placed us in jobs that have greater stress, no sense of commitment to employees by the companies that employ us and at wages that (when adjusted for generational inflation) are probably about the same as our parents.

Obviously, our employment environment has changed but not everyone is going to be able to be an entrepreneur working out of their on a computer. Fact is many folks don't want to do that. How can we sell education to students who see teachers with master degrees and above getting compensated for much less than their education and experience should merit. Some see educated parents unemployed, under employed or working at low paying jobs.

The American Dream was based upon opportunity and that just simply isn't there like it used to be. Education can help but it isn't the only solution. Poverty exists everywhere and will continue to exist as long as their is competition for limited resources. We need to stop fooling ourselves with this utopian idea that we can somehow institutionally educate society out of the existence of poverty. Sorry, just tired of education being identified as being the magic bullet for all things.

KSN&C

KSN&C

KSN&C is intended to be a place for well-reasoned civil discourse...not to suggest that we don’t appreciate the witty retort or pithy observation. Have at it. But we do not invite the anonymous flaming too often found in social media these days. This is a destination for folks to state your name and speak your piece.

It is important to note that, while the Moderator serves as Faculty Regent for Eastern Kentucky University, all comments offered by the Moderator on KSN&C are his own opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Regents, the university administration, faculty, or any members of the university community.

On KSN&C, all authors are responsible for their own comments. See full disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Why This Blog?

So far as we know, we only get one lifetime. So, when I "retired" in 2004, after 31-years in public education I wanted to do something different. I wanted to teach, write and become a student again. I have since spent a decade in higher ed.

I have listened to so many commentaries over the years about what should be done to improve Kentucky's schools - written largely by folks who have never tried to manage a classroom, run a school, or close an achievement gap. I came to believe that I might have something to offer.

I moved, in 1985, from suburban northern Kentucky to what was then the state’s flagship district - Fayette County. I have had a unique set of experiences to accompany my journey through KERA’s implementation. I have seen children grow to graduate and lead successful lives. I have seen them go to jail and I have seen them die. I have been amazed by brilliant teachers, dismayed by impassive bureaucrats, disappointed by politicians and uplifted by some of Kentucky’s finest school children. When I am not complaining about it, I will attest that public school administration is critically important work.

Democracy is run by those who show up. In our system of government every citizen has a voice, but only if they choose to use it.

This blog is totally independent; not supported or sponsored by any institution or political organization. I will make every effort to fully cite (or link to) my sources. Please address any concerns to the author.

On the campaign trail...with my wife Rita

An action shot: The Principal...as a much younger man.

Faculty Senate Chair

Serving as Mace Bearer during the Inauguration of Michael T. Benson as EKU's 12th president.

Teaching

EDF 203 in EKU's one-room schoolhouse.

Professin'

Lecturing on the history of Berea College to Berea faculty and staff, 2014.

Faculty Regent

One in a long series of meetings. 2016

KSN&C StatCounter

Disclaimer:

By accessing this website (http://theprincipal.blogspot.com) Kentucky School News and Commentary (hereafter KSN&C), a web browser (hereafter user) consents that she or he is familiar with, understands and absolutely accepts the following weblog disclaimer:

The views expressed by the authors and contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the views of Kentucky School News and Commentary, those who link to this website, the author’s employers, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, other ancestors, blood-relatives, progeny, this website’s web host, moderator, designer, or any other organization in any way connected with this website.

While I presently serve as Chair of the Eastern Kentucky University Faculty Senate (August 2014-May 2016), none of the Moderator's comments are official statements attributable to EKU, its Faculty Senate or any of the institution's entities.

In all cases, comments are the personal views of the author. No individual contributor, author or commenter is paid for their opinion or beholden to a particular point of view. All contributors write in the English language and cannot be held responsible for unfortunate translations that may occur in other languages. KSN&C is not responsible for human errors involving grammar and punctuation.

Comments on this website are the sole responsibility of the author. The author assumes full responsibility, liability, and blame for any libel or litigation that may result from something written in or as a direct result of something written in a comment. The accuracy, completeness, veracity, honesty, exactitude, factuality and politeness of comments are not guaranteed. The content on the blog is not intended to malign any religious, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual. Readers are advised to employ a healthy dose of rationality. Furthermore, information is always in transition. Web links change, and content published today may be out-of-date next week.

Readers are advised that some images used on the site are not the property of KSN&C but are reduced in size and used under fair-use. The same is true of certain copyrighted material. Any concerns should be addressed to the moderator. Due to the episodic nature of the blog, errors, when pointed out, may not be immediately corrected.

All trademarks, service marks, copyrights, registered names, mottos, logos, insignias and marks used or cited by this website are the property of their respective owners and this website in no way accepts any responsibility for an infringement on any of the above.

Despite any claims to the contrary, nothing on this website should be construed as professional advice. The information provided on this website is of a general, wide-ranging nature and cannot substitute for the advice of a licensed legal professional, physician, psychiatrist or member of the clergy. A competent authority with specialized knowledge operating within the Kentucky Department of Education, local public school district, church school, independent private school, home school, or in the journalistic, law enforcement or legal community is the only one who can address or comment on the specific circumstances covered in the news and commented upon herein. For personal advice, please contact your mother, father, BFF, local bar association, local bar tender, law society, medical board, county hospital, pastor, teacher, phone book, online directory, local emergency number in your jurisdiction, or Google to find a or obtain a referral to a competent professional.

This website has no control over the information you access via outbound link(s) in the post text, sidebar, header, footer or comment sections. This website does not endorse linked websites and cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information found by following said links or the correctness of any analysis found therein and should not be held responsible for it or the consequences of a user’s use of that information. In fact, we’re pretty sure we link to falsehoods perpetrated by others with some frequency. Be warned. Twistifications of supposed facts, biased reporting, and bad analysis is de rigueur for some of the sites we link.

This website may inadvertently link to content that is vacuous, obscene, venomous, frivolous, rotten, antagonistic, harsh, rancorous, acrimonious or repetitive. This website in no way condones, endorses or takes responsibility for such content. Please report anything really ugly to KSN&C’s Moderator.

This website publishes content regularly and said content is maintained in reference to the protections afforded it under local, state, martial, federal, international and school yard law. Publication of information found on this website may be in violation of the laws of the city, county, state, country or other jurisdiction from where you are viewing this website’s content and laws in your jurisdiction may not protect or allow the same kinds of speech or distribution. In the case that the laws of the jurisdiction where this website's content is maintained and those of yours conflict, this website does not encourage, condone, facilitate, recommend or protect the violation of any laws and cannot be responsible for any violations of such laws. We do condone lawful efforts to extend free speech protections to all parts of the world.

Because the World Wide Web is an integrated net of communication, discussion and litigation, this website encourages the distribution of its content. Cross, reciprocal or just plain friendly hyper-linking is consistent with this information sharing and this disclaimer should not be construed as a condemnation of any linking practices. That said, any reproduction of this website’s content must credit the website by name and Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Should you link to this domain or use, reproduce, republish, reiterate, imitate, or duplicate the information contained on this website, you alone are responsible for that action and should, under threat of litigation, credit this website by name and URL. In addition, any user who learns of information from this site, but traces back to our attributed sources in an effort to forego proper mention of KSN&C should seek therapy.

This website is not recommended for inmates, ingrates, illiterates, or anyone professing an irrational fear of CATS or any other mammal, or those who have a penchant for bullying or self- aggrandizement. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant or are nursing are advised to consult their physician before reading this website. Eating before reading may result in indigestion. This website contains small pieces and is not recommended for children under the age of 4.