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Hope and Growth Mindset
Our school does such a great job addressing the needs of our disadvantaged students by making sure they are fed at school, fed at home, and by raising money to help with a need.  I try to be the cheerleader for my students by creating a positive learning environment.  I use the growth mindset to teach and model, because that is how I learned to get through difficult circumstances.  I empathize, but I also let my students know that it is better to be proactive rather than reactive.  We discuss ways that they can better themselves or a situation they find themselves.  Just talking out the difficulties these children face is a first step.

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These sentences from the "What can you do" section really stuck out to me: "Research from 60 high-poverty schools tells us that the primary factor in student motivation and achievement isn't the student's home environment; it's the school and the teacher (Irvin, Meece, Byun, Farmer, & Hutchins, 2011). Effort can be taught, and strong teachers do this every day." So often, we as educators are quick to blame parents or say the student "came that way" to our classroom. We have to understand the great impact that we can have on these students' lives. If you don't include time spent sleeping, Monday through Friday, I spend more time with my students than they do with their own parents. The potential is there to change lives.

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Theresa E James
One Difference that I have focused on is building relationships with our students who face poverty. This is a very important factor we should consider when dealing with our students. I find that students are more likely to respond in a positive manner when they feel they can trust you and they sense a feeling of care, love, support and respect. This is important to establish from the first day of school. These students react to a safe and nurturing environment where they are shown love and they feel safe to reach out to us, not only their teacher, but as a care giver. This is where building a bond and cementing this caring relationship will allow them to perform better academically. It will also promote growth socially and emotionally. They will strive to do more and do it willingly especially for teachers they respect and enjoy being around.

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Matthew Denvir - It is important to teach struggling students basic skills--organization, note-taking, etc.--in order to make them comfortable with the classroom environment. Students who are intimidated by these tasks "shut down" (learned helplessness), but if we guide them and show them that the classroom is a safe space, they'll be more likely to take risks and do the work.

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Emma Williams - One would think that high school juniors and seniors would by now know how to properly choose foods to eat. They know, but they don't. They choose foods that are quick and convenient, or some don't eat at all. I have given a few some money here and there to purchase food from our culinary department. They cannot focus in class if they are in pain from not eating or pain from not eating properly. Several students will not eat due to lack of time between their home school and the Tech Center. They often complain there just isn't time to eat. Everyone should eat a proper meal. Everyone.

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We as a staff have been spending some time learning about Responsive Classroom and Personalized Learning. I think this study of poverty brings to light the imperative need to connect with each student, each and every day, and build relationships born from trust and mutual understanding.  I wonder how much our students are holding inside, hoping no one finds out about their current situation in poverty.

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I agree that children need to have proper nutrition & physical exercise each day.  Our body is the tool we have & need to accomplish tasks in life.  If it isn't in proper running order, it handicaps us in all we do.  I would like to see physical education require more of students, where they have to achieve certain tasks & participate each day.  It seems like more & more students sit out of gym or simply do not participate any more.  This, coupled with proper nutrition will put our students in a position to be successful in the classroom.

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Difference 2:Vocabulary
Eric Jensen's article is an excellent a quick resource for any educator or staff member who needs insight into the world of poverty and student engagement. The affects of the seven areas were explained simply yet gave recommendations and research. Vocabulary interested me the most in that the number of words a child hears based on the household can vary dramatically from 13 million words by age for in a low SES home to 46 million in a high SES home. The data from Bracey 2006 was shocking; toddlers used more words in talking to their parents than low ses mothers used in talking to their children. I have seen this with various parents over the years and I can distinguish when a child comes from a language rich home and one that is deprived of words, books, sounds, etc. There is a difference too with children who come from quiet or reserved families. They may have a large vocabulary but don't express it like other students. There is a direct correlation to language scores and IQ scores until the age of 8 according to psychological testing. This predicts so much of a child's success in school and for future test taking. I liked the ideas about trading cards and class mixer for vocabulary building. Having a good command of the language allows for so many subject areas to flourish. Decoding skills in reading, fluency, vocabulary acquisition, spelling, comprehension.

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Health and nutrition play such a vital role in student’s success. I can’t even imagine a student being able to focus with proper nutrition. Their focus will be more on where their next meal is coming from than what concepts you are trying to present to them. To help elevate this as a teacher you should make an effort to find resources that can help nourish that child. There are so many programs that can help if you look in to them. I know my school provides a program that gives out bags of food over the weekend to insure those students are getting some form of nourishment while not at school. Then the free breakfast and lunch programs. These ensure while at school food is one less thing students have to worry about getting because the price is covered.
Then just for my own push to help. I provide snack in my classroom. I feel that one little thing I can do to help. I've learned, little things and acts of kindness, can go a long way.

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Once I attended a talk led by Scott Habeeb. He has a website called 'Goingbeyondthecontent.com'
You will find inspirational videos that the students will find uplifting. I have used these resources in my classes. It may not fulfill an objective but sometimes, for 5 minutes, students just need some hope.

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To help students in poverty be successful at school, we need to be able to take the time to teach the underlying skills (e.g. organization, prioritizing, and working memory). I think the pacing of objectives and testing pressure can quickly focus all of our teaching time on academics, but students in poverty need to build cognitive skills before they can be successful.

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I really think children need proper nutrition and exercise. If they don't take care of their bodies first then they won't be able to take care of their minds. These kids need to run and be kids. It releases stress and prepares them for learning. -R Irwin 

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I really think children need proper nutrition and exercise. If they don't take care of their bodies first then they won't be able to take care of their minds. These kids need to run and be kids. It releases stress and prepares them for learning. -R Irwin 

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According to the article a students achievement or lack there for children of low income households is not based on the home environment rather it's the school and the teachers, effort can be taught and should be everyday.  One way to do this is through feedback and positive reinforcement.  I have my students write goals on what they want to achieve each nine weeks.  I also provide my students with weekly evaluations to show progress and areas that they need to work on.  The article talked about tracking comments that we as teachers make to our students, the number or positive comments to negative comments.  That is one of my classroom rules, even a wrong answer receives a positive comment because the student made the effort to answer so they would hear from me that is a good response but the correct answer is...I find that my students will participate, because they know they will be praised for their effort.
G.Wood

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I have a student who usually shuts down when he knows it takes a little effort to complete the task. I break it down for him in order that he know it isn't as difficult as he is making it. I also allow him to sit by himself in the classroom with me by his side for a short period of time to do his work. This works because I give encouraging words, positive prompts and make him feel valued. I also publicly let the class know of his success.

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I find this to be such a major factor in a child's life. It affects their classroom behavior and learning potential. Children from low-income households tend to take on the troubles of the home, and adult related stressors. Some parents try to mask the issues but children still pick up on what's going on and it affects them. The older children who may have a clearer understanding of the family hardships may worry about how can they help or make it better, they may even blame themselves as we've  seen in the previous videos.  These concerns inturrupt their learning and focus in the classroom and cause them to either act up or be zoned out with worry. As educators we can make sure that these children have an opportunity to still be children in our classrooms. Create fun and interactive opportunities into our lesson plans that allows them to be creative and included, so that these children can put aside these adult stressors at least for the school day.

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This is the single biggest tool I have found to engage students in poverty in the classroom.  At Renaissance academy a majority of our students are on a free or reduced lunch and I have found when I stop pushing them to learn and start truly caring for them they will turn around.   When I have a student that cannot see to focus on a simple assignment I try to sit down next to them and just talk to them. I get to know them and show them that I care about them as a person.  This can lead to greater engagement down the road because I can make something more relatable to them and they know that I care.
Amanda Baxter

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Being an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, the differences in vocabulary development are concerning.  The statistics quoted in the article said that by age 4, children from lower-income families had heard only 13 million words.  That doesn't sound like a low number, until you continue reading and see that for middle-income families, the children have heard 26 million words by the same age.  That's double!  And for upper-income families, the difference is even more staggering - 46 million words!  These numbers were based on a study from 1995.  I honestly wonder if the difference would be even greater today.  At the Preschool Assessment Center, my colleagues and I have noticed a really disturbing trend - parents do not talk to their children anymore.  Of course this isn't true of all parents, but more often than not, when I walk into the waiting room to greet a family, the child (who is between ages 2 and 5) is exploring the toys quietly on his own, while the parent is focused on his/her phone.  Rather than relying on the sounds of parents talking to their children to alert us that someone has come into the waiting room, we know from the sound of toys being moved around as the child plays in the pretend kitchen in silence.  Children learn language from hearing language, and I wonder how many children will be diagnosed with language delays who would not have been if they had only been talked to more.  And it seems that the parents who put their phones away and talk to their children generally tend to be those from at least middle-income families.  To help children develop language, we need to expose them to language rich environments in preschool, and educate the parents to provide greater language stimulation at home as well.

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I am a Health and Physical Education teacher and this difference really hits home with me. I think a school-wide overhaul needs to take place with education for each teacher and adminstrators about the extreme importance of proper diet and exercise. I know many of us struggle to always exercise and always eat healthy but these kids rarely even have the choice to do so. If every teacher understood that students living in poverty can't function without some nutrition (a car can't go without gas) and were provided with healthy snacks to give to students and if the physical educators really created intense cardiovascular workouts that got adrenaline pumping we would see a change in ability to concentrate, a change in mood, and a change in overall confidence.

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Donald Hamilton-(#4: Hope and Growth Mind-Set) Many students living in poverty feel hopeless and have a negative attitude about their future. Since they have never known anything other than poverty, they feel they are destined to live the same way. I have had many of my students confide in me at the end of the year "Mr. Hamilton, I'm going to be the first person in my family to graduate high school!" As proud as I am of these students for finishing high school, it also makes me sad because in the world I grew up in, high school graduation was just expected and there was no discussion. People should know that these students need that extra motivation of knowing that their teachers expect them to succeed and have confidence in them that they can graduate. Many time no one at home has those expectations or they do not know how to help their children gain the confidence they need.

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Relationships are so important.  It is important to get to know your students.  This will allow teachers to know what motivates them and interests them in order to prepare lessons/activities.  If students trust you they will listen to what you have to say.  Their behavior is better and they will be motivated to do their best each day regardless of what is going on outside of school.  With relationships comes high expectations.  We should always set our expectations high for each student.  It is surprising how hard some students will work to achieve what is expected of them.  Without positive relationships some students seem to just not care what they do in the classroom.

Megan Duke

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This is the huge difference I have seen when working in a strictly middle class school to the school I am in now. To be successful and fully engaged, students need the opportunities to improve their vocabulary in multiple ways. I have found the using real world examples of the words and getting students to make connections and even sharing my connections has a huge impact on them.

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Ashley Faher- This different is actually with me.  The teachers at school often complain about our high number of absences (myself included), but when you consider the diet most of these children are on, it is no wonder they are sick so often.  We see students eating 4 bags of Hot and Spicy Cheetos and then they wonder why they are in the bathroom for 20 minutes.  If a student doesn't have a healthy diet, and the schools don't provide a healthy diet (last week our cafeteria ran out of patties and students were receiving macaroni and cheese with a roll for their lunch.  Students need vegetables and protein in order to function.  We need to emphasize the important of a healthy diet and eating breakfast.  Many students don't eat breakfast and then they skip lunch.  By the end of the day, they are falling asleep in class.

A greenhouse would be a great way to teach students about nutrition and a self-sustaining skills, and then they could actually cook with it. Culinary art classes should be mandatory in order to give students the basics of cooking so they don't rely on processed meals they can microwave. I think what others have to understand is that nutrition education doesn't just start at home. It also starts at school with providing the types of meals they should be eating. I think we also need to understand why students may be hyper or listless, and discuss with them (especially in the middle school years) how going without meals or eating only carbs/sugars affects them. If students are more aware, they can make better choices.

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Students who live in poverty have a lack of hope about their future.  Many may see their future as being filled with more negative events than positive ones.  They may also think they aren't smart enough, so they don't try as hard.  As teachers we need to praise their efforts and make sure they realize that their brains can grow and change.    Remind them that they are in control of their futures.

Written by Carrie Bedell

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McLauchlin
According to the reading, teachers simply get it wrong when they believe that poor childrens' parents do not care about their children's educational future.  They do care. Many lack optimism and have given up hope. Teachers do have to show these students that they care and then students i return will work ashard to perform diligently in the classroom. Some research has shown the teacher to be the strongest variable in student achievement. We, as teachers, must realize that at any given day, our worst day is some child's best day, depending on our response to them.

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relationships.   The thing teachers need to know about relationships with low income students is that the kids have very limited knowledge and experience with them.  The adults in their lives may not be present to role model correct or positive interaction.  The students will likely behave negatively to others.  It is up to the teacher... the adult... to find a positive strategy to bridge the gap and invest in building the relationship with students

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relationships.   The thing teachers need to know about relationships with low income students is that the kids have very limited knowledge and experience with them.  The adults in their lives may not be present to role model correct or positive interaction.  The students will likely behave negatively to others.  It is up to the teacher... the adult... to find a positive strategy to bridge the gap and invest in building the relationship with students

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Difference 4: Hope and the Growth Mind-Set

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Difference 4: Hope and the Growth Mind-Set