IMPACT OF POVERTY

Columbus Dispatch Article Summary

- Dr. John Barnard’s response to Theroux’s Deep South and a Neuroscience Case Study
- Theroux’s Deep South:
- Explores rural areas of southern U.S. highlighting poverty, unemployment, and
racism.
- Paradox of the South
- Hard to break the cycle of poverty, especially when children involved
- “In the U.S, poverty affects children more than any other age group - an astounding 22%
of all children and higher for minority groups.”
 Columbus Dispatch Article Summary Continued
- Children’s physical and mental health linked to socioeconomic status
- Study published in Nature Neuroscience from 9 U.S. Universities using MRI’s:
- Lower income = smaller brain surface area
- Less educated the parent = smaller brain surface area in child
- Another study links poverty to altered brain structure and poor school performance
- We should intervene ASAP, or the cycle will continue
THE EARLY CATASTROPHE ARTICLE
- Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley
- Interventions did not “change the developmental trajectory”
- Decided to study early childhood experience
- 3 groups: welfare, working class, and professional
 WHAT THEY FOUND:
- Almost everything comes from parents, 86-98% of words
- Children on welfare “added words more slowly”
- Children were all taught the same basics and had similar toys
- Differences: number of words heard and discouragement vs encouragement
- Were able to predicted language skills at age 9-10
 30 Million Word
Gap by Age 3 =
Importance of
Early Experience
NINE POWERFUL PRACTICES ARTICLE
- One: Build Relationships of Respect
- Two: Make Beginning Learning Relational
- Three: Teach Students to Speak in Formal Register
- Four: Assess Each Student’s Resources
NINE POWERFUL PRACTICES ARTICLE
- Five: Teach the Hidden Rules of School
- Six: Monitor Progress and Plan Interventions
- Seven: Translate the Concrete into the Abstract
- Eight: Teach Students How to Ask Questions
- Nine: Forge Relationships with Parents
 Other Insights from Ruby Payne:
- Language of Negotiation: 3 Internal Voices
- 1.) Child Voice - emotional, whining, playful, curious.
- 2.) Adult Voice - non-judgemental, factual, negotiation.
- 3.) Parent Voice - authoritative, judgemental, loving.
- Hidden rules come with certain groups (class)
- Ex: laughing when disciplined to save face

- https://www.ahaprocess.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Understanding-Poverty-Ruby-
Payne-Poverty-Series-I-IV.pdf
 THANK YOU!
ANY QUESTIONS?