A Framework for Understanding Poverty

Ruby Payne’s A Framework For Understanding Poverty, explores the various struggles and differences amongst socioeconomic groups with a focus on empowering and enhancing education of those living in poverty by enlightening educations on the community values, norms, fears, and everyday life of their students living in poverty. As Payne outlines the differences of every aspect from goals to language of those living in poverty, to those whom make up the middle-class, and the wealthy. Payne defines poverty as, “the extend to which an individuals goes without resources.” This not just relative to basic needs, it encompasses things such as education, not just financial resources. Unfortunately, financial resources and education tend to go hand in hand. There are many pros to Payne’s research on the idea that the sociological factor of poverty needs to be addressed and incorporated in the learning of these individuals. Payne suggest that educators need to step in and become role models for these individuals. Educators are encouraged to strengthen relationships and build support systems with students whom may not have positive relationships and support systems within their homes and communities.

These positive relationships and support systems enhance the learning that can go on insides the classroom because the students feel safe. These students may act out and behave in a manner that is representative of the culture they area product of. Some behaviors displayed may be the students acting out or talking back to a teacher to safe face and maintain dominance. Educators are encouraged to teach proper behavior, but also give options for behaviors, and discipline in a manner than encourages the student to learn other coping strategies for poor behavior. Educators should provide students with learning environments and experiences similar to those of the middle-class, enabling students to assimilate behaviors to the same manner as middle-class students. This provides the students with something they may have never experienced before, choices.

Payne goes on to describe different values and mind-sets in terms of poverty and middle class. This gives educators a base to stand on for understanding student’s needs in the classroom. For example, in terms on focus on time, poverty mainly focuses on the present, the here and now, whereas the middle class focuses on the future. In terms of education, poverty views it as something that is unrealistic and unattainable, whereas the middle-class looks at it as means to an end of success and achievement. Poverty does not think about ramifications for the future, whereas the middle class thinks very careful about ramifications for the future.

Educators are encouraged to provide coping strategies, options for problem solving, providing information, positive self-talk and connections to people and resources within the school and the community. School-based systems that Payne suggest are: homework support built in to school day, supplemental reading programs, looping of students and teachers for more than one year, daily goal-setting and procedural self-talk.