So, here's a paper I wrote, if you want to read it.

Poverty in the Classroom
By Katie May Smith
Written August 2008
Published here on Google Blogger September 15, 2008

“Children are resilient, and a sensitive teacher can ameliorate the affects of poverty,” ~Shirley Aamidor, Ph.D. Professor of Education IU Kokomo

Poverty is an often overlooked, and very serious problem, and one that is quite personal to me, as I grew up well below the poverty line. According to the Institute for Research on Poverty, “In 2003, 12.9 million children in the U.S. under the age of 18, or more than one in six children, were living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004).” Poverty is never a child’s fault or responsibility, and yet it rests on their shoulders like the weight of the world. Children carry their poverty into every situation in their lives, including, and perhaps especially to the classroom.

Many poor students are not as well prepared to learn as their classmates from more stable homes, and for a number of reasons. Issues like residential mobility and often changing schools, and poor nutrition can severely affect a child’s education. Furthermore, parents struggling to make ends meet are less likely to afford educational supplies that children need, from art supplies, to instruments, to the most basic necessities like clothes, pencils and paper, and are likely too distracted by the rigors of their lifestyle to have enough time or energy to actively engage in their children’s education. As a result of these factors, impoverished children can suffer socially and academically (Pellino, 2007).

Poverty reaches into the hearts of its children, and causes them to feel less valuable than their classmates. That very attitude can lead students to strive less fervently than they should to achieve in the classroom despite the obstacles they face (Pellino, 2007). The attitudes of teachers, administrators, other students and community members can have a significant impact on a student’s confidence in the classroom. With that power, there comes a responsibility to use that impact to the benefit all of our students, and especially the less fortunate, in any way that we reasonably can.

For the Rest of this paper, with full bibliography, see this Google Document

Thanks,
Katie May