Children and Families in Poverty

The video we watched in class today was an example of the kind of parent that we could very well encounter in our years teaching. Tammy was trapped in a cycle of poverty that she was thrust into by her parents years before she had any control over her circumstances. I have seen the video before, and it goes into further detail about how difficult it is for people in poverty to break the poverty cycle and make a better life for their children. Even though parents stuck in that sort of situation have the best intentions for their children's lives, our society is set up in such a way that makes upward mobility difficult, despite the 'reachability' of the so-called "American Dream."

What was very encouraging to me was that her son, Matt, had big, and yet realistic dreams. He had obviously been shown a lot of support in school, because he didn't seem to have been given a lot of academic support at home. This was evident in the drawer full of awards that he showed us. He clearly tried to do well in school and planned on going to a local college to get an education and move up from his current surroundings.

One of my best friends from home grew up in a similar situation to Matt. Her father abandoned her family when she was young and her mother works as a dishwasher at Pizza Hut. Her mother struggles to make ends meet for her family of four, but is consistently behind on her bills and has a very difficult time even putting food on the table. Because of her difficulty to provide even the most basic needs for her family, my friend's mom had little time to devote to her academic success, however, in my friend "Jenna's" educational career she had some great teachers that recognized her potential for great things and encouraged her and stood behind her, making her do things that even she did not know she was capable of.

These teachers are responsible for her getting a nearly full scholarship to the College of Charleston where she is majoring in Psychology, and hopes to one day be involved in social work. Jenna is proof that teachers can make such a big difference in the lives of children who live in poverty.

I think it is very important for us to remember, however, that just because a child is poor, that doesn't mean that their parents don't care about him or her. I was a little disturbed by one of the bullets on our PowerPoint in class that said "help them learn how to provide a warm and affectionate environment." Being poor doesn't make someone a less-capable or less loving parent than someone who has greater resources, and I think it is important for us to remember that we never know the COMPLETE circumstances surrounding a child's situation, and we should be very careful to make judgements when we don't know the full story.