Poverty is an ongoing
issue that plays a pivotal role in the development of children on a daily
basis. Though it has been established that all children are unique, individual
learners, as educators we must look at some underlying factors that can have a negative
impact on the development of children that we come into contact with.
Children
who are exposed to poverty at a young age often have trouble academically later
in life. But according research out of the Washington University School of
Medicine, poverty also appears to be associated with smaller brain volumes in
areas involved in emotion processing and memory(Bidwell 2013).
In 2013, there was a study by a team of researchers at the St. Louis-based university, led by Joan
Luby, in which they analyzed brain scans of 145 children between the ages of 6
and 12 who had been tracked since preschool. Other than the influences of environmental factors of poverty on a
student's behavior and school performance, the researchers found that poverty
also appears to alter the physical makeup of a child's brain. Previous research
has shown that damaging effects can range from poor cognitive outcomes and
school performance, to a higher risk for antisocial behaviors and mental
disorders.
Being that this is my topic of focus, I went
out to the local DFCS in my community and talked with the local workers about
what they do to help out those families who are suffering the effects of
poverty, especially the children. Through talking with those workers I realized
that as an educator, my primary focus may be on the child in my class, but I must
adjust my measures and try to help and focus on the family as a whole because
after all, that is where the child starts out.
References
Bidwell, A. (2013). Early Childhood
Poverty Damages Brain Development, Study Finds. U.S. News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/28/early-childhood-poverty-damages-brain-development-study-finds
I have heard about the effects of poverty on young children and have always considered them the most unfair because the child has absolutely no control over them. Having personally worked with children who come from homes of poverty, I have had the misfortune of seeing some of the antisocial behaviors and mental disorders that you mentioned. When I was a teenager, my church had a bus ministry in the inner city projects where we would pick of kids and bring them to church. We would feed them and try to help their families with anything that we could. It seemed that each week there would be fights between kids that may have lived on different streets. There would be what seemed like irrational outbursts of anger over simple matters that most people would easily get over. I would ask my mom why these kids were so angry and she explained to me that some of them had experienced things that I could not imagine. I felt sad for these children and tried my best to treat them with kindness in spite of their anger and animosity. As teachers, we are supposed to provide all children with what they need to learn. For children who come from families that live in poverty, I agree with your statement that we need to make adjustments and work on the whole family. This seems like a daunting task but the alternative takes away all hope that these children have of overcoming their tough beginnings.
ReplyDeleteHave you developed any programs or do you have any ideas of how to work on the entire family from the teacher aspect? I always fear the parents being resentful or getting too personally involved to maintain any objectivity.
Hi Demetreia. Though I am still young and basically still getting my feet wet in the field, since I started my position with Head Start, I try to offer positive guidance to my families about resources that can help them. Also, I have helped a lot of my parents apply for and get started with school and jobs to help them do better for themselves and their children.
DeleteWhat a interesting topic on poverty and brain development. I can see the importance of establishing a connection with the family to help reach the child. A couple of strategies that can be utilized are providing an mental health program within he school to help align up with the family needs. Or provide therapy or counseling services for both the child and family. Helping others in this capacity requires connecting with the community, providing adequate resources and putting an action plan together. I feel that most teachers care about the well being of their students, but hardly have the time and resources to provide these extensions where they deem necessary. I cant wait to hear how you will make these connection through your research. Sharon Scallion
ReplyDeleteSharon,
DeleteThanks for your input. I try my best to establish a relationship with my parents that can benefit them in their personal lives. After all, they entrust me to teach their children so I feel that I should provide them with valuable resources for themselves as well.