Answer the following questions from Chapter 1 in Dr. Jensen’s book
Dr. Jensen informed us that the number of children of poverty, children in low-income situations, is predicted to increase in the near future. Explain at least 2 ways this fact will impact your future classroom and teaching practice.
Name the factor that Dr. Jensen claims is most closely correlated with dropout rates?
Dr. Jensen stated that, “low achieving high school students report a sense of alienation from their schools”. Define alienation and explain one reason why children might report a sense of alienation from their schools.
Describe 2 strategies will you use to prevent your students from reporting a sense of alienation from their schools by the time they are in high school?
Define empathy.
Explain 3 behaviors that you could model that promote empathy.
Articulate what matters about the timing and duration of poverty for children.
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As Dr. Jensen informed us that children in low- income situations, is predicted to increase in the near future. In my future classroom, I will have a diverse class and my teaching skills will have to adjust to each child’s needs in my classroom. My classroom will be ready for my student’s needs like materials for class or help with schoolwork. My teaching practice will get more difficult because I will have to assist each child in low- income situations when they increase. According to Dr. Jensen, absenteeism is the factor most closely correlated with dropout rates (Jensen 10). Alienation means isolation from a group or doing an activity. One reason why children will feel alienation is because friends might not include them on an activity and teachers don’t let the children know they care about them. The first strategy I would implement in my classroom would be to have group work among my students to promote working together and including each of their group members. The second strategy I would like to apply in my classroom would be as a teacher include each child into learning the material for that day or helping to clean up or getting material out. Empathy means to understand the feeling of others. According to Dr. Jensen, the first behavior for teachers is to hold discussions at meetings to help inform staff and community. I agree with Dr. Jensen when he stated, “Teachers don’t need to come from their students’ cultures to be able to teach them, but empathy and cultural knowledge are essential” (Jensen 11). I think teachers should be to understand their student’s feeling and have knowledge about their student’s cultures. The second behavior is to encourage teachers to feel empathy not pity (Jensen 12). Teachers shouldn’t feel sorry for their students because teachers will want to lower expectations for their students instead of understanding their student’s feelings and help the students strive for high expectations! Finally the third behavior, as a teacher should embrace a new mission to help all students reach their full potential.
Dr. Jensen informed us that the number of children of poverty, children in low-income situations, is predicted to increase in the near future. Explain at least 2 ways this fact will impact your future classroom and teaching practice.
1)The lack of parent involvement will impact the future classroom because how well the child performs at school is a reflection of his home life. If the parent(s) of the child are not encoring the student to do well at school and don’t attend Parent Teacher Meetings, then his/her student performance will be lower.
2)Alienation is also a factor that will affect the future classroom because the child will feel as though no one at his home cares for him. The student will then take that to the classroom which can cause no participation or being absent. It often times falls on the classroom teacher to be that support that the child needs. (Jensen,11)
Name the factor that Dr. Jensen claims is most closely correlated with dropout rates?
1)Absenteeism is the most common closely correlated with dropout rates. It can result from things such as lack of transportation, poor health care, poor family care, and sometimes negative parent attitudes toward school. We have the opportunities to turn this around, only if we get them to show up to school (Jensen, 10).
Dr. Jensen stated that, “low achieving high school students report a sense of alienation from their schools”. Define alienation and explain one reason why children might report a sense of alienation from their schools.
1)Alienation is a sense that no one cares or the teacher/peers do not like them. Students who feel alienated might not have parent support at home and feel they will receive the same at school resulting in giving up on academics (Jensen, 11).
Describe 2 strategies will you use to prevent your students from reporting a sense of alienation from their schools by the time they are in high school?
1)Deepen staff understanding- It is important for educators to understand what role they play in the classroom. A great way to do this is hold staff meetings and share researched information on the topic.
2)Change the school culture from pity to empathy- Don’t lower expectations, give the child empathy instead of pity. They will appreciate your understanding of their background. You also have to create an environment that is caring by using positive affirmation (Jensen, 12).
Define empathy.
1)Empathy is being able to identify or experience what the student is feeling, his attitudes, and emotions.
Explain 3 behaviors that you could model that promote empathy.
Articulate what matters about the timing and duration of poverty for children.
1)School culture should be caring and foster an environment that doesn’t allow the student to give up. They should be encouraged that their doing great and to continue. Also speaking respectfully and not being condescending. A child can feel when you are aggravated at them; this makes them not feel as though there work is good. Speaking respectfully to them will make them want to work harder and in return respect you as the teacher. The last is using positive affirmation. This is like praising a child when he completes his work. You can also use things such as classrooms posters to report the class progress on completed work (Jensen, 12).
2)Students who experience poverty during their pre-school and early childhood years’ experience lower rates of completion than those who deal with poverty in their later years. Each year these problems carry over and eventually result in early mortality rates. But the hope in this is if we change their outlook in early years, it can reduce poverty’s impact (Jensen, 11).
Children of poverty are more likely to be tardy to school or sick and in class. Both of these will affect how I teach, and what I teach. Both of those issues can be disruptive to other students.
According to Dr. Jensen, absenteeism is the factor that is most closely correlated to dropout rates.
Alienation happens when a student feels like no one cares for him or her , or that the teacher dislikes the student, so the student will give up on school. This can happen when a student gets yelled at or singled out by teacher when the student feels he or she did nothing wrong.
Two things that I can do as a teacher to help prevent alienation is to use respectful terms instead of condescending terms, and to use plenty of positive affirmations.
Empathy is best described as an understanding and respect of what the student goes through, rather then pitying the student for what he or she deals with.
Empathy can be modeled by:
1. Establish a caring classroom environment, not a classroom where people give up.
2. Being respectful instead of condescending.
3, Using written and verbal positive affirmations
If a child is in poverty in the early years of school, the higher the changes are that the student won’t graduate. The longer a student is below the poverty line, the more work it will take to repair the damage that was done.
My classroom and teaching practice will have to change in order to teach children of poverty. I will have to make sure that the children work at a pace that is good for them. I will also have to make sure that I present the material in a way that is easy for them to understand.
Dr. Jensen claims that absenteeism is most closely correlated with dropout rates.
Alienation is the feeling of being isolated from the people and/or world around you. Children may feel alienated from their schools if they do not play sports or do not have a lot of friends or a good relationship with their teachers. In schools students who play sports are usually showed more attention than those who do not. If children do not have many friends or a good relationship with their teacher they may feel like noone cares about them and that they have noone to talk to.
To keep my students from feeling alienated from their schools, I will try to teach them different methods on how to make friends and be apart of the school. Another thing I would try is to get them to talk about things that are bothering them and to try to join organizations.
Empathy is the ability to share ones emotions with other such as sadness, anger, and happiness.
Three behaviors that I can model to promote empathy is hurt, happiness, and self-esteem. To promote good self-esteem for children you should praise them for the good things that they do. You should also teach them to think positively and how to laugh at themselves. When teaching children about hurting others it is important to talk about feelings and explian just how the other person feels. When promoting the feeling of happiness, ask children what makes them happy and apply it to other things and situations that should evoke the same emotion.
Dr. Jensen explained that the increase of immigrants coming into the communities will cause an increase in poverty. The increase in immigrant children can mean there are more children in the classroom who do not speak English or are English second language students. This can in turn cause a breakdown in communication in the classroom. There could be a need for a translator in the class to assist with the student’s ability to learn. There may also be a need for the teacher to incorporate ways of teaching the children the English language. Dr. Jensen believes that one of the primary reasons children drop out of school is related to their poverty status in early childhood.
Dr. Jensen goes on to state that children feel alienated from their schools. This could be from a sense that they dress different and are looked down upon or from their inability to have the most up to date technology items like other students. Their alienation leads them to believe they are different or not as good in the eyes of teachers and other students.
I hope that I can be a teacher who can teach my class that people are the same, no matter how they dress or talk. I would like to incorporate ways for children to earn books and other items in the classroom through their behavior towards each other. In showing the students there is a positive aspect of being nice I hope it will carry over into their lives outside of school. I also see a way through role play to show children what it feels like when they are picked on by others, and how it makes them sad so that they would not treat classmates in a way they would not like to be treated. This will show them how to empathize with each other by helping them understand how it feels to be in the other students shoes so to speak.
Helping children find ways early on in life to understand feelings and emotions, and the idea that words can be harmful will go a long way toward them continuing the behavior of being considerate of others. Helping children to understand through role play, books and movies that what they do to someone today will carry through with the other person for the rest of their lives. Also showing children positive role models at an early age will give them someone to look up to and follow through their lives trying to emulate.
1. Dr. Jensen informed us that the number of children of poverty, children in low-income situations, is predicted to increase in the near future. Explain at least 2 ways this fact will impact your future classroom and teaching practice.
One way that poverty will impact my classroom is a great chance of lower academic level, in which, I would probably spend more time trying get them up to level so that they can learn and comprehend what they should learn at their grade level. Another way that poverty would affect my classroom is parent involvement. Without poverty this is still an issue, but if there are even more students who are living in poverty then parent involvement will be even less. If parents are working all the time to feed their families there is no time for them to help in the classroom.
2. Name the factor that Dr. Jensen claims is most closely correlated with dropout rates?
According to Dr. Jenson the factor that mostly correlates with dropout rates is absenteeism.
3. Dr. Jensen stated that, “low achieving high school students report a sense of alienation from their schools”. Define alienation and explain one reason why children might report a sense of alienation from their schools.
Alienation is when a child feels alone or an outcast as if they are not included. A reason that the child may feel alienated is that they do not understand the material, while the rest of the class does. If that child does not speak up and tell the teacher that he or she doesn’t understand then this feeling of alienation will continue and the child will be left behind.
4. Describe 2 strategies you will use to prevent your students from reporting a sense of alienation from their schools by the time they are in high school?
One strategy that I would use to prevent my students from alienation would be to make sure that everyone is on the same level and they ask for help. It is important that a child ask for help if they do not understand a certain subject. This will give the teacher and other faculty members the knowledge they need in order to teach the subject in a different way to help that child understand. By letting someone know that they are struggling the school may be able to ge a tutor or an afterschool program for the child. Another strategy I would use is encouragement. Each student should learn how to encourage themselves as well as others in the classroom. Encouraging each other helps students feel included and important in the classroom so that they will not feel alienated. This not only is a good trait to learn, but it will help them throughout their years of schooling.
5. Define empathy.
Empathy is the feeling of knowing what someone is going through. One can put themselves in the shoes of others to feel how they feel and can relate it to their own lives.
6. Explain 3 behaviors that you could model that promote empathy.
Articulate what matters about the timing and duration of poverty for children
One behavior that can be modeled to promote empathy is showing the student that you care. Each student is going through something different and needs to know that you care about their situation. Another behavior that can model empathy is to understand what the child is experiencing. Instead of trying to feel sorry for the student, try and understand what they are going through. Let them know that you understand that it is hard for them and that you will help them in any way possible. Another behavior that can be shown is to let the student know that you too have been through some tough times and you made it through. Time and duration matters because a child who is experiencing poverty in their early years will most likely experience lower rates of completing school as where students who experience poverty in their later years will not.
1.)you could have more children that "act out" because they are trying to get attention. Or you could have more children with health issues that prevent them from attending class on a regualr basis.
2.) absenteeism
3.)believeing that no one cares about them,or that their teachers don't like them, or talk down to them, the students will often give up on thier academics.
4.)Caring--I will make sure each student knows I care about them, not only academically but about THEM. Encouargment-- I will stand behind my students and let them shine, and encourage them to always do their best, and to always reach for the stars. To let them know they can achieve anything.
5.)Empathy- being able to understnad where someone is coming from when they are upset, or in a bad situation. Being able to put yourself in their shoes.
6.) caring, repesct, and positive affrimation. Timing is very important. It needs to happen NOW (in the preschool, kindergarten ages). Children need to see that teachers and educators care about them early on becuase it will change their future.
The fact that the increase of children in low-income situations will grow more in the near future urges me to be well alarmed and prepared before time comes. In my classroom I will display a caring, positive, and nurturing environment for my children to feel comfortable and help them lay aside their bad situations at home and come each day to class and want to learn and love doing it at the same time. I would take all the workshops and read any book to help with my teaching practice. Also my first year of teaching with the children will give me that experience so I can gain the practice and skills to be an effective teacher so I can impact their lives in some way. The factor Dr. Jenson mentions that closely correlates with dropout rates is absenteeism. This means that children do not attend school regularly and does not have proper excuse or no excuse at all for missing school. This all leads to the parents not having the right attitude about school. They tend to careless if the child is in school or does not want to go. Alienation is the lack of sympathy, the feel of being unloved and estranged. One reason children may feel like that is because the teacher does not take the time to see the child needs help with their struggles in their academic achievement. The teacher may tend to have favorites in their class instead of treating every student equal. So when this happens the child doesn’t care simply because the teacher doesn’t seem to care. By the time my students attend high school they will not in any shape or form feel alienated. Why? Because I personally have a loving heart and I chose this career to love the children, not money. This something I want to do so I want all of my kids to be successful in everything they do. That includes in school and outside school. I will set extra time aside after school to do tutoring and also give my kids each a turn to come to the board work out a problem and we as a whole class help one another with their struggle. Empathy means to be understanding. One behavior I would model to show empathy would be saying sorry. Another behavior I would model to show empathy would be to do a skit on bullies. The last behavior I would model is what does it mean to be a good friend? These behaviors will get the children active and get them to help come up with ways to model empathy. The matter of the timing and duration of poverty for children depends on the previous years before. That means that schools and every with the position need to embrace empathy and want to help their students push for their potential and don’t worry about the past and look forward to something new and greater. Everyone should work together to be active. Start now, don’t wait til time has come, it will be too late then. That’s why timing and the duration matters.
Part 1:
1. According to Dr. Jenson, the number of children of poverty is predicted to increase in the future. Families will struggle to make enough money to provide the basic necessities for their children, causing the number of children in poverty to increase. One way this statistic will impact my future classroom and teaching practices is making sure my students learn as much as they can at school, because they may not have the necessities to do so at home. Many may not have books, computers and supplies for projects, or a parent at home to help with homework, so it will be my responsibility to make sure they understand everything they are taught before they leave school. I won’t be able to assume students will go home and be able to type a paper up for class or have enough supplies for posters, so I will definitely have change teaching strategies. Another way this will impact my future classroom is by not lowering the standards and expectations for the students in poverty. If I have students who do come from well socioeconomic homes and others that do not, it is important to teach them all as if they are on the same level. This will show the students of poverty that they are just as important. Even though many of the students may be in poverty, when they are in my classroom I want them to believe they are still important and smart. We may not be able to make the number of children of poverty decrease, but that does not mean their scores and willingness to learn has to decrease as well.
2. Dr. Jensen claims that absenteeism is the factor closely correlated with dropout rates. Parents who did poorly in school do not have the enthusiasm of their children to do well, so attending school is not a big deal to them. Also, parents who are poorer sometimes have to work more than one job, making it hard to get children to school. I believe they find working and making money for essentials more important than a child’s education, which should not be the case. Students in younger grades can’t always make the decision or have the resources to get to school, so they should not be blamed for their absences. If parents do not emphasize the importance of school at an early age, I believe by the time their child enters high school, it will be too late. Teachers should also stress the importance to both students and parents the importance of being at school as much as possible. When students miss a day, they are also missing important learning time. By the time students reach high school, they don’t care about going to school, causing them to fall behind in their academic studies. With no motivation to succeed, they simply drop out of school.
3. Alienation can be defined as being set apart from a group, either by choice or not. One reason why children may feel alienated from their schools is because no one cares about them, due to their socioeconomic life. Children in poverty are often set apart from other children, because of the clothes they wear or things they don’t have. Social development is very important, so when a child feels like they don’t fit in, it destroys their self confidence. Students also feel alienated because they think like their teachers do not like or care about them. When a teacher has a student or students who are from poverty, I feel it is their responsibility to make sure they have someone to look up to, and talk to when they are having trouble. Students who do not have a positive role model at home need to be able to come to school knowing they are loved and cared about.
Part 2:
4. One strategy I plan to do to prevent students from reporting a sense of alienation from their schools by the time they are in high school is make sure the students interact with everyone, not just those they choose to. Cliques start in early ages in schools, alienating those students who do not dress nice or have fancy belongings. I remember when I was younger that we were able to choose what table we wanted to sit at in the classroom. There was always one table with the “leftovers” because they didn’t have a group of best friends. Looking back now I see how terrible this probably made those students feel. If I teach in a classroom with tables, I plan to assign seats, so everyone feels like they were chosen to sit at their table. By the time these students leave my classroom, they will be able to work together with a group of people they normally wouldn’t choose. This will show that everyone is important. Another strategy I plan to use is to simply talk to the students about the importance of being nice to everyone. Bullying is a main reason why children are alienated, so sitting down and talking about how to prevent this may help for them to feel a part of a group. If they understand the concept of alienation at an early age, it will definitely help them by the time they reach high school. Students will feel like they are looked at the same as everyone else, even though circumstances they may be in. Even though just talking with the students about alienation does not seem like an expanded talking, sometimes simply ways reach the children better.
5. Empathy can be described as having the same feelings and emotions as someone else. It is important for teachers to show empathy for children of poverty so they can understand the struggles they may be going through. I really liked the way Dr. Jenson wrote that a common observation made to students in poverty are “bless their hearts, they come from such terrible circumstances.” He is basically saying that instead of being sympathetic about their circumstances, teachers need to put themselves in their students’ shoes. I feel like teachers should make sure they understand each student, so will know how to deal with any situations that may come up.
6. One behavior that can be modeled in a classroom to promote empathy is curious. A teacher should be curious and willing to learn about each student’s background and home life, whether they have a low socioeconomic family or not. Another behavior that can be modeled to promote empathy is being respectful. Teachers and students should all be respectful towards each others, not matter a circumstance. If a child is poorer that most in his or her classroom, that does not mean they are allowed to be looked down upon. I believe they still deserve the same respect as any other child in the classroom. Caring is also a behavior that can be modeled in a classroom to promote empathy. If a child comes in and has a bad night at home due to split parents fighting or because they had to help care for younger siblings, it is important for teachers to act in a caring way. Not everyone has a perfect life, so I do believe that looking after them and helping them in school as much as possible is important.
7. According to Dr. Jenson, the timing and duration of poverty in children is very important. Children that are in the younger grades and are from poverty homes have lower rates of school completion that those who develop poverty later in their school career. It is important for teachers to teach students who are poorer that they are still able to achieve whatever they set their mind to, and that they are just as important as everyone else. Early childhood teachers should emphasize the importance of making the foundation of learning, and teach students that they will feel even better about themselves as they move on in school.
Since the number of children of poverty is expected to increase in the near future I know I will have a lot of changes and accommodations to make for my students. From what I have seen the majority of children of poverty do not have a great support system at home. Parents are just not involved with school as much as teachers would like them to be. Parents may not be able to be at home to sit and listen to their child read aloud because they are working to provide shelter for that child. I as a teacher may have to set aside my personal free time to help students who do not have a support system at home and who do not have that extra help and care from their parents. Also when I am teaching I will have to make sure I can make real life scenarios that all my students can relate to. For example I will not be able to make references to things like the beach because not all of my students will have had the funds to take a trip to the beach. I also cannot assign homework tasks that require a computer and internet access. Even as high-tech as the world is today, many families still do not have the funds to supply their home with a computer that has access to the internet. My class would have to complete projects that required these things together at school in the computer lab if one was available. If one was not available I would have to change my strategies for the lesson to accommodate the students.
According to Dr. Jensen absenteeism is the number one thing related to dropout rates. To me this means that students do not attend school therefore they get behind. When students get behind they can get frustrated trying to catch up and just give up and drop out of school. This could change if from an early age, parents would stress how important school is to their child. When I was a child my parents did not allow me to miss a day a school for any reason other than being legitimately sick. Today I still carry that with me and will not miss a class for any reason. My parents stressed to me since my pre-school years that school was important and I know I will teach my kids the same thing. I wish parents would understand how much they impact their child and that they would teach them good habits for their education.
To me alienation means not feeling a part of or included in a place or situation. Low achieving high school students may feel this way for many reasons. High school is the place where popularity matters the most in life. Lower SES students who are not doing well are not going to have the money to buy the coolest and most expensive clothes so they can fit in with the popular kids. Some teachers look at students who are not doing well and assume they are slackers and lazy and give up on trying to teach them when actually that student just needs some extra help. If low achieving students do not have a lot of friends and feel like their teachers do not support them or believe in them, then of course they are going to feel alienated and cast out from their school society.
One thing I would do to prevent my students from feeling alienated in high school would be to create an atmosphere where everyone was always included and felt welcome in the classroom. Greeting students at the door when they come in during the morning makes them feel important and like you are happy to see them. In the morning when students are coming in everyone will say good morning to each other and I would allow students time to be excited to see their classmates and chat before starting class. It is also very important to make sure every student feels as equally important in the classroom. Every week I could have each student complete a task in the classroom that would be essential to keeping the class running smoothly. They would do things like erase the bored, push the chairs under the tables, collect pencils, pass out papers, etc. That way every child would feel like it was THEIR class and they were important in keeping it going.
Empathy is being able to relate to how another person feels but not feeling pity for that person. To me empathy makes me want to help someone because I know they are struggling with something in their life but not feeling sorry for them. As a teacher feeling pity for a student does not make you want to help them with their problems which as teachers is what we need to do.
One thing I would do to promote empathy would be to never give up on trying to teach a child something. No matter how long it takes them to grasp a concept I do not want to give up. Giving up would mean I would feel pity for the child because I felt like they could not and were not smart enough to understand it. Also to show empathy I would not feel pity for a child who did not have parental support at home. I would understand where they were coming from and their home life and use my extra time to help them with whatever they needed and give them support in the education when they did not receive it at home. Children need to be encouraged and feel like they are doing great things. Lastly I would make the classroom feel like a family. Some children do not have that sense of family at home and instead of feeling pity for them teachers should understand their situation and give them an environment when they can feel like they are a part of the class family.
When children experience poverty during their earlier years such as preschool and kindergarten they are less likely to complete school and graduate. In my opinion this statistic shows that if children are shown the importance of school at an early age and do not succeed then they get a negative idea of school and do not feel the need to finish. Children who experience poverty only in their later years of life have a higher rate of graduating I feel like because they get a good start in their education. Children who live in poverty for many years have a lack of support and do not get the assistance they need to succeed in school. The problems they have stay with them year to year and eventually lead to early mortality. I think this is because people and children in poverty do not have the products they need to live a healthy life and take care of themselves. They may lack necessary food and emotional support which is not good for their bodies.
Dr. Jensen informed us that the number of children of poverty, children in low-income situations, is predicted to increase in the near future. Explain at least 2 ways this fact will impact your future classroom and teaching practice.
One way it will affect my future classroom and teaching practice is that I will have to make a special effort to prove to these children that they matter in the classroom. I will need to encourage them to do their very best and to make school feel like a safe place to be.
Another way it will impact my classroom is through parental involvement. I will have to make a constant effort to reach out to the parents and get them involved. Being in touch with parents regularly will be very important.
Name the factor that Dr. Jensen claims is most closely correlated with dropout rates?
Absenteeism is the factor that Dr. Jensen claims is most closely correlated with dropout rates. It is important to make students feel a sense of connection to their school so that they will feel the need to attend class every day. Parents and students need to feel like they matter and that their daily attendance is important.
Dr. Jensen stated that, “low achieving high school students report a sense of alienation from their schools”. Define alienation and explain one reason why children might report a sense of alienation from their schools.
Alienation is a withdrawn or separated feeling from something or someone in particular. Children may report a sense of alienation from their schools because they feel their teachers do not care about them or their achievements in the classroom. The student of poverty may have often been let down by an adult and therefore believe their teacher will let them down as well. In the end, this will prevent the student from opening up and forming a close relationship with the teacher. This is why it is so important to make a huge effort to show that I care about each of my students in my future classroom.
Describe 2 strategies will you use to prevent your students from reporting a sense of alienation from their schools by the time they are in high school?
One strategy I can use to prevent my students from feeling alienated from their schools by the time they are in high school is to speak out for children of poverty amongst my coworkers. We can share ideas with each other for teaching children of poverty and ways to get their parents as involved as possible. Also, we can look for reasons of why some children of poverty may be acting out or doing negative things in the classroom.
Another strategy I can use is to stop feeling sorry for these children of poverty. Instead, I should take time to understand how they are actually feeling. By paying attention to their emotions, instead of my own of feeling sorry, I will better be able to understand what plan of action is necessary to give my students all of the support that they need.
Define empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand others’ emotions. Having empathy makes one able to better understand what someone around them is going through. Having empathy for a child of poverty would be to understand what it is like to experience what they are going through.
Explain 3 behaviors that you could model that promote empathy.
One behavior would be to do as much research on children of poverty as possible. This will make it more possible to get to know what they are going through.
Another could possibly be visiting the home of a child of poverty to get a feel of what their home life is like. This will help to understand what is going on in this child’s life when they are not at school.
Lastly, a behavior to model empathy would be avoiding making the child believe you feel sorry for them. This could make the child feel embarrassed. Instead, let the student know that you care about their well being and how they perform at school.
Articulate what matters about the timing and duration of poverty for children.
Children who experience poverty early in life are more affected than students who experience poverty later in life. The longer a person remains in poverty the more problems they will experience that will stay with them throughout life. This means it will be very important to give children of poverty a sense of safety and well being in the classroom. I, as a teacher, need to be a person my students will always be able to receive support and comfort from.
1. The fact that poverty is predicted to increase in years to come will affect my classroom in more ways than one. I believe that one way it can eventually affect my classroom and teaching will be the different teaching strategies that I will need to have. Since each student comes from a different background, they may need different styles of teaching to help them succeed the best that they can. Another way it can potentially be a challenge in my classroom could be attendance problems. According to studies, children whose parents did not do well in school, tend to not have a good outlook on their child’s studies. The parents are less likely to participate in things in school and will not worry as much about having their child attend school as they should. Without the students coming to school on a regular basis, it would be extremely difficult to be able to give them the best opportunities available.
2. Dr. Jensen claims that absenteeism is the top factor for students dropping out of school. “School can help turn children’s lives around, but only if the children show up” (Jensen 10). This statement by Jensen says so much to me. The school can do so much more for a child than just give an education. It can teach them how to survive through life and provide them with the love that they do not always get at home. Teachers cannot give this to their students though unless they show up to school. Without them there, they are not able to learn the things that they need to and are more likely to get into trouble.
3. Alienation is a feeling of being separated or alone from one particular thing or everything. I believe that students may feel alienated from their schools because teachers do not always pay students the individual attention that they need to feel needed or loved. Although teachers do not realize it, many tend to call on the same few students and forget about others. At a young age this really gets to a child and over time they begin to feel alone and do not see the need in them even attending school.
4. There are many strategies that I could use to prevent my students from feeling alienated. One way is to make sure that I call on each student equally and not show any sense of favoritism. By doing this, each student will see that I care for each of them the same and that I believe that they can all succeed. Another way is I can place students to work in groups numerous times. This will allow them to interact with one another and see that they do know how to socialize and that they do have friends that they can talk to.
5. Empathy is the capability of being able to recognize the feelings that others are having.
6. In order to model empathy to my students I will take the first step in paying attention to them. I have to let them know that I care about their feelings and there is no better way of doing this than looking them in the eye while they are talking to me. By doing this they will feel more comfortable with me and understand that I am here for them. The second thing that I can do is be relatable with the student and let them know that it is normal for them to feel the way that they do. I can even tell them of times when I felt the same way. The third thing I can do is let them know that they are my number one priority and that there is nothing more important than making them feel better about themselves and how they feel.
Alienation is when someone is not accepted. I think children will feel alienated from their schools because the other children may not accept them or they may be different from the other children. Children may be alienated because of race, ethnics, socioeconomic statuses, and other reasons. To prevent alienation, I will plan activities for my students so that no one child is left out. I will also try to incorporate all the different students’ backgrounds into classroom activities that way every child feels important. I hope that my doing these different strategies and others, every student of mine will feel important and accepted by middle and high school because those years are usually the hardest since children start forming more cliques. Empathy is how someone feels about another person. These feelings can include jealousy, sympathy, excited, and others. I hope that my students will have positive feelings towards their peers. I can promote empathy by showing my feelings to my students so they will learn how to express their feelings in a positive manner. I can also share my students’ feelings when they tell me how they feel which will demonstrate empathy. I will plan activities that will demonstrate the different feelings and help my students to demonstrate their feelings and their peers’ feelings positively. Poverty of children is never good because it can place stress on a child and can also cause other harmful effects on children such as malnutrition and lack of health care. The timing of poverty matters because the children should hopefully be able to tell what is going on with them and hopefully be able to take care of themselves as far as food and shelter are concerned. The duration of poverty matters because the longer the poverty, the worse the conditions of the children.
With the number of children of poverty possibly increasing, there is a chance that I would have fewer students with a positive attitude towards school, along with an increase in more kids with low self-esteem, lack of family support, or rebellious attitudes. Dr. Jenson states, that absenteeism is correlated to dropout rates. I agree with him. If the students aren’t there to learn the chances of them learning it on their own is slim to none. Help is rarely offered in schools that are heavily impacted by students of poverty. If the student(s) miss a day it is hard for them to make up for the lost day. Once they fall behind there is a hard time of “catching” up. They eventually feel like since they aren’t learning and no one is trying to help them, why attend school?
Alienation is separating one’s feelings from something else. Children may sense alienation from their schools because they feel they don’t belong. If anyone feels uncomfortable in a situation or as if they aren’t meant to be there it is only natural to try and separate oneself from that particular situation to avoid that feeling. If the students aren’t learning what they need to they are going to fall behind. If they fall behind their grades fall also. Once the student has begun failing they are more discouraged than before and slowly separate themselves from learning, causing them to feel alienation from their schools.
I would prevent my students from feeling alienated by always providing help whenever it is needed. When I notice that my student is beginning to struggle I will offer my help then and change the strategy I was using to teach him/her to one that is more helpful. I also won’t put more on my students than they can bear. If they haven’t learned what was needed from one lesson, it would be almost impossible for them to complete the next. I would better manage my class time to be sure they have successfully completed the standard in a timely manner so there is time to correct some mistakes and begin the next standard on schedule.
Empathy is being sensitive towards something but not having pity towards it. To promote empathy I would always be understanding about a situation but never a push over. I would listen to what others may have to say without being judgmental. I would also recognize problems my students may have without allowing them to use them as a crutch. Meaning I will help them with their problems but I won’t let it be their downfall, I will try to teach them to use it to their advantage rather than disadvantage.
Timing is very important with the children of poverty. In some cases there is a lack of structure so they may not know the importance of timing. Students of poverty must have the appropriate amount of time to complete assignments. They need a good amount of time to complete the assignment but not too much time to where they can put it off. If the time period is too lengthy it is a possibility that they will procrastinate on it and/or not complete it. If there isn’t enough time most won’t try to complete it or begin because they felt they would finish anyway.
The prediction that children of poverty will increase in the future is sad, I think. It's sad for the children who have to deal with life's hardships at an early age. The teachers will be more challenged. Teachers will have to work harder with their children so they may reach their highest potential. Other students may be impacted as well. Teachers will most likely have to go beyond the classroom to help their students. Teachers may have to deal with parents more, try to understand individual students home life and how that effects their school day.
The factor that most closely correlates to drop out rates is absenteeism. This factor is not surprising to me. If a child is not in school how can they learn, receive help, and ultimately succeed in their education. At a young age a child is most likely not to blame, and teachers will then have to deal with parents about making sure their child is in school.
Alienation is the feeling of being alone. Feeling like no one cares or like you. Children might feel this way because they attend a low-income school which lacks qualified teachers. Another reason is that a child might have a teacher who cares and wants to help their student, however the teacher becomes frustrated and worn down from the feeling that they can not get through to the students.
Two strategies I will implement to prevent my students from feeling alienated is understanding my students and expecting effort from them. I will try to learn about my students home life and about them as individuals. I will try to give them advice and show them I care. I will not expect less from them, treat them differently, or take away their education by thinking they can not do certain things.
Empathy is being aware of and understanding of another's experiences, thoughts, etc. It's when a teacher being able to understand a child and what they are going through without having to actually go through it themselves.
Three behaviors that I could model to promote empathy is asking my students questions to get to know them better. To know how they learn best whether it be visual, hearing, discussion, etc. I can find out their interests and try to incorporate that into a lesson plan. I can share information about myself so they can relate to me not only as their teacher but as a person as well. I can give them information that can show them the power of learning and how it relates to their life.
Dr. Jensen states that with more and more immigrants coming into the country and taking lower paying jobs that the children in low-income situations will increase. This will impact my future classroom in many ways. There will be more students in my classroom from lower-income homes and with this they come with all of their individual stresses. Many of these children will not have English as their primary language which will make teaching them more difficult. As their teacher, I will have to become effective at communicating with them and helping them with their daily stresses. I will have to help them overcome their obstacles caused by poverty to be able to achieve success in school and in their life. These children will have more difficulties than the children of poverty born in the country mainly because English is not their first language and many will not know any English at all. My teaching practices will have to be effective in involving all of my students and that would be difficult in any situation but definitely more so with all the new challenges that will come with more immigrants.
Dropout rates according to Dr. Jensen are highly correlated with high absentee rates. These students are unable to attend school primarily because of illnesses, parents unable to get them to school, and students or parents who just feel school is not important enough to attend.
Many high school students feel alienated or believe that no one cares about them and their situation. These students often feel that they are talked down to or not liked by others. An example of alienation with a student would be if their class mates will not talk to them because they cannot afford the same type clothing that all the other students have.
As a teacher I feel that it is very important to teach all of your students from the beginning of their education to respect their class mates and teach them that just because someone is different that does not mean they do not have something to offer the world. I believe that it is important to integrate the different students into small groups and make them work together. This will allow the students to work together and gain respect towards each other by listening and talking through their lessons. Also I feel that it is the teachers place to treat all students the same and give all the attention that they deserve as individuals. If students learn this at a young age they will be less likely to judge and alienate others as they mature.
Empathy is to understand what one is going through. It is not to feel sorry for someone but rather relate yourself to what they are going through. Teachers can teach empathy to their students by modeling it. Talk to your students with respect. Encourage them in their studies as well as their behaviors. Children will mimic behaviors so if the teacher sets good examples the students will follow and do the same. The teacher needs to lift up the students and make them feel that that are wanted and cared about. If teachers do this then the students will also do this and all will feel better about themselves and their situations.
Timing of poverty in a child’s life can affect them differently at different ages. A preschool child or early elementary will have a harder struggle with poverty than a student who experiences it later in life. A young child who experiences poverty is more likely to drop out of school than a high student who experiences poverty for the first time. I believe this is so because a young child who experiences poverty does not have the awareness that an older child would have about the importance of their education and the younger you learn a behavior the more likely it will stick with you. Children in poverty have higher rates of tardiness and absences and when this is learned at an early age it is hard to correct it when children believe that it is okay to miss school.
Dr. Jensen states that the number of children in poverty and low income situations is to increase in the near future. This statement makes me feel really concerned about the future of children living in poverty. Knowing that more children may have to face poverty makes me focus on strategies to avoid the increase in the number of children in poverty. In the future, I will make sure I’m fully prepared to teach children of poverty. I will constantly be a positive role model for my students and encourage them to stay in school. Also, as a teacher, I will make the classroom environment fun for the students so they want believe that school is a drag. Another thing I would do in my classroom is treat every student equally no matter what type of living experience they may come from. As a teacher, I would constantly encourage my students that they can be anything they choose to be if they believe in themselves first.
Dr. Jensen believes that absenteeism is most closely correlated with drop-out rates among children of poverty. I believe a child being absent from the school environment has to do with the parents involvement in their child’s life. The child is not receiving a lot of motivation from their parent to attend school. A parent should always express the importance of school even if they hated school or didn’t complete school. A parent should encourage their children to stay in school and do their best so they want continue the cycle of poverty.
Alienation is a sense of feeling alone and a feeling of neglect from a person(s). A child who comes from poverty may feel alienation from school. A child may feel this way because a lot of teachers have little knowledge of children of poverty and may look down on them or judge them based on their background. Also the school faculty may have given up on children who they believe can’t succeed. Schools may focus more on children with greater academic achievement rather than the children who need their help the most. A child may feel alienation at school because they may feel alienation at home. The child may want to do better and break the cycle of poverty but just need a little encouragement.
Two strategies I would use in order for a child not to feel alienation at school is be an active and positive role model in their life. I would encourage children to do their best at everything they do. I am very passionate about children so I would communicate with them and see how school is going, what problems they are dealing with, and what goals they want to achieve. I’ll be their cheerleader, routing them on to become successful no matter what hardships they may have to face throughout life. Another strategy I would use is make the school environment fun, I would have make my entire classroom a family of one and we would all get along and bring ideas into the classroom. We will be each other’s support system.
Empathy is having feelings or showing care for another person. Three behaviors that I can model to help promote empathy would be to show care for students if they come to school feeling down. I would show care by talking to the student and helping the student solve his/her problem. Another way that I can help promote empathy is by discussing the term with my class and ask them to give me examples of how they show care for others. One other way I would model empathy is create a visual presentation such as read a book to the class that models empathy and then discuss the book I read to the class.
What matters the most about the timing and duration of poverty for children is the support the child receives. If a teacher comes in a child’s life at the right timing the duration of poverty may not last as long as it could of. If a teacher is a positive role model and makes a difference in the child’s life, the teacher may be able to break the cycle of poverty for the child. If someone is able to encourage the child not to let the hardships he/she faces discourage him from being all that he/she can be, they can make a big difference in the child’s life.
Part 1: 1) The first way is the factor of inadequate nutrition which causes problems with cognitive development. According to Bloom's taxonomy we see hat food is a basic need that needs to be met in order for children to be at their best. By not having the proper nutrition, child of poverty may not have the energy to fulfill daily tasks or attention will be very low causing some disruption during lessons. The teacher must be aware of this by keeping the child engaged as well as making sure that child has a chance to eat something to help promote the importance of nutrition. The second way is the absenteeism of the child. By not being in class it is very easy for the child to ,it's days and lessons causing them to be behind the class when they do return to school. This may be hard for a teacher to experience in the classroom because you don't want to leave the child behind. Which may cause the teacher to stay later to help catch the child up. Being absent from class causes children to miss vital learning and social experiences. That time can not be redeemed spits important to not condemn the child for not being in class but show understanding and that they're there to help and will take the time to do so.
2) The factor Jenson says correlates most with high school drop out rates is that of absenteeism. For students who experience a life of poverty, may also experience the lack of positive educational influences in the home. There has been evidence that has shown that the children's parents who do not see education as a necessity will not provide the adequate support to help the child when learning seems a hard task to grasp. Therefore allowing the child to stay home and figure a lower alternative than handling the school work. Which in turn will follow the child throughout their educational career. The attitude of its ok to quit will become a scapegoat for the child and seem ok to drop out of school when things get to hard for them.
3) Alienation is the feeling of separation from a particular group. In schools it is a breeding ground for social groups and clicks are easily formed. Humans are social creatures but for children who are experiencing poverty there may be several things appearance wise that makes them feel different from other children. For example child of poverty who may not have the latest clothes and come to school with clothes either too big or too small for them may cause the other children to draw attention to them. This process would be a form of bullying and cause the child to feel alienated especially if the group makes it obvious that the child is an outcast and not welcomed in their group because of their clothing.
4) Starting off in an Early Childhood classroom I would promote understanding of others situations and feelings. There's an activity to where the students and I would go outside and everyone would pick their on leaves from either the ground or tree. Then we would all get together as a group and everyone would have to say something unique about their leaf. At the end we will all have the chance to see tat although all the leaves are different each are special in their own way but they are all still leaves which is analogy to we are all humans and people ad no one person is better than the other. Second strategy would be that of acceptance of cultural differences. In the classroom every week will have a different country as a theme. During these weeks, different cultural facts will be shared as well as promoting the idea of assimilation. How different people are able to share so much but still be different.
Part 2: 5) Empathy is the ability to relate or understand the extent of someones problems. Empathy is not to be confused with pity or sympathy. It is its on entity and allows a person to bridge a gap between two totally different worlds. By not trying to be condescending but being understanding and providing positive support, it's possible to show that feelings are genuine.
6) I would model empathetic behaviors by promoting talking about one's feelings, role playing, and community service activities. When things happen In the classroom, I think it would be important to talk about how it makes them feel. If there's sadness then it's important to let the students know its ok to be sad and talk to someone when something is hurting them. Role playing would be another way to show the children empathetic behaviors. Using myself as an example as well as one of the students I would show the children the consequences for not showing empathy to someone. Lastly we as a class would perform a classroom community service project. It would be something small but something as simple as donating one of their books to someone else. Explaining to the children the benefits of performing community service and what it means to help someone else.
7) Children who experience poverty during their younger years are also less likely to complete school as well as more likely to carry continuous baggage with them throughout life resulting in higher stress levels and mortality as compared to those who experience poverty during their adolescent years. Poverty causes a multitude of problems that follows children through to their adult lives. The younger a child is when they experience poverty, the more likely they will not complete high school. This one factor can result in a chain events that can lead to situational poverty and even generational. One bad decision due to their economic status, could cause a life time of stressful events that without the correct coping resources, could result in earlier death than that of children who did not grow up in poverty. It's important for schools and teachers to break the cycle of poverty and show children that education and knowledge is key and that someone truly cares for their well being. There are alternatives to living in poverty.
I do not believe the fact that the number of children in poverty and low income situations will impact my future classroom and teaching practice greatly. This statement may be alarming but I feel this way because I have always planned to look for a position in a school that is predominately children living in poverty and low income. I see the major effect of the increase to purely open up far more districts and schools with the opportunity to work with these exceptional children. In regards to teaching these children I know that I will have to be careful in assuming the materials that these children have access to and making sure that the feel comfortable and safe at school. I also am very conscious of the fact that working in these schools will lower my own income and most likely cause me to have to use a lot of my own income for supplies and I will need to be extremely creative in my lesson planning.
Dr. Jenson identifies absenteeism as the most closely correlated factor with dropout rates. This is an important factor to know as a teacher because I need to help inspire students to want to be in school and associate it with a safe place to go to obtain help when they need it. I know that having children desire to be in school will not help with transportation and medical issues at home but it may help children reach out to me as their teacher and I may have a solution.
Alienation in this sense means that the students feel as though no one in their schools care about them or their situation which causes a disconnection from the classroom and a feeling of isolation and a lack of motivation. Students may report this feeling because they feel as though their teachers do not have time for them or label them instead of taking time to know and understand their situation. The number one way that I will help my students not to feel alienated is to set high expectations for all of my students and not lower my expectation based on their situation in life. I will also make sure that I always speak to my students with an encouraging and positive attitude and not condescendingly because that makes children feel disconnected and uninspired.
Empathy is a feeling of understanding of a students’ situation but not a feeling of pity or feeling sorry for the child. A culture of empathy can be created in the same way of not having alienation in the school. Teachers need to create a culture of high expectations and not lowering their expectations based on their situation. I can help create this culture by reaching out to my fellow staff members and explaining the situations that low income students and children living in poverty come from. I can also make sure that teachers talk positively about their students by modeling the behavior of encouraging my students not being condescending. Also I want to show other teachers how to be creative with their students and how to incorporate time for self expression for these students that can help the teachers gain a little insight into their life at home.
I think that any time a child is living in poverty it has an impact on their entire life. Situational poverty does have the opportunity to turn around but if a child is coming into your classroom having just moved out of situational poverty or just started living in situational poverty there are going to be effects. It will be extremely difficult for a child to adjust to situational poverty and may cause more discipline problems because of the difficult adjustment to their new situation. A teacher really needs to understand what type of poverty a child is living in because the teacher may not realize a child is in poverty especially in situational poverty because the child may come to school with decent clothes and the parents may have a nice vehicle but at home they may not have the food or may be facing foreclosure because of loss of a job. Never assume because a child looks like things are ok that they are. In generational poverty these children have been in this situation their whole life which means they are going to have different needs than situational poverty. No matter what type of poverty children will need care and understanding. As a teacher my students will need to be able to depend on me and know that I care about their well being.
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