I found a great deal of the information from Dr. Payne's book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, very useful, but three things that particularly stood out were the hidden rules of poverty, the types of register and identifying support systems.
The first thought that entered my mind when reading over the hidden rules among the classes was how important the quantity of food was to those living in poverty. After living in the heart of the deep south, Montgomery, Alabama for a few years, I came to understand that the first question on the lips of every host and hostess after a meal was whether or not you had enough to eat, regardless of whether the setting was at the Montgomery Country Club or an informal gathering with friends. I always smile when hearing Tim McGraw's current hit, Southern Voice, containing the lyric, "Hi y'all, come on in. Did ya eat well?" because it reminds me of the unique culture that is the south. I had never associated it with poverty. The lack of proper tools was also discussed in the hidden rules and mentioned using an object for a purpose other than its intended use such as a knife as scissors. I also never related this to poverty because I often use a knife or letter opener as a tool when my son didn't put something back where it belonged. When in dire straits, creativity is the mother of invention, but again, I never related this directly to poverty. I grew up in rural northeast Ohio as the oldest of nine children. Needless to say, there was never a surplus of money, but I never thought we were poor (when we were.) We always had somebody to play with, outside of course, and our imaginations were behind every new game we ever thought up. My parents stressed the importance of a good education and always doing your best, were supportive in all of our extra-curricular endeavors, and made sure we knew the value of hard work and accomplishing a task with only the materials present. So were we in poverty or just lower middle class?
We have had several students move into our district over the years from inner-city public schools, including Detroit. These students had a definitely distinct way of speaking that Dr. Payne refers to as casual register. They took a very long time to get to the point and their grammar was also not what I was used to. These students had experienced more troubling and devastating events in their young lives than most do in a lifetime, but they were resilient. When relating the casual register that Dr. Payne refers to, I am reminded of the evening news and how the camera always manages to find the most downtrodden individual to comment on a crime that they witnessed. These students were like that, but that had not given up hope yet. They started to fit in and make friends, were willing to accept helpful advice on any matter, but were not always able to complete homework because of the responsibilities at home and lack of materials. After several months of continued improvement, they were no longer attending school. I wish I knew where they went.
The latter directly leads into Dr. Payne's identification of support systems and resources. I have had security chase a student into my classroom, another hide from his probation officer, with tears streaming down his face, because he failed a drug test and was being taken back to juvenile detention, another ask me to keep the secret that she took 27 extra-strength Tylenol the night before in an attempted suicide, but "was fine." I have learned never to be shocked when students share things with me, though some definitely have. It is critical that students understand that it is my job to help them in any way that I can, whether it is just listening to them vent, suggesting alternative choices, having a ready stash of school supplies or escorting them directly down to the counseling office, the school resource officer or a principal. Before I became a full time teacher, I actually had a parent blame me for her daughter getting arrested for shoplifting because I was not there at school for her daughter to talk to and she couldn't understand why her daughter put me on a pedestal. Maybe because I never yelled at her, was always respectful, and listened to what she had to say without interuption?
Payne, R. (2005). A Framework for Understanding Poverty (4th ed). aha! Process, Inc.: Highland, TX.
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