Ruby Payne: Chapter 4-6

By: Ronilyn Aquino, Samantha Basile, Michael Mancuso & Ashley Sims

Chapter 4: Characteristics of Generational Poverty

What is Generational Poverty?

Generational Poverty is defined as having been in poverty for at least two generations Often the attitude in generational poverty is that society owes one a living

Case Study: Walter

Showed many examples of generational poverty
The mother holds the most powerful position. She will make up excuses to protect her children Humor is used to entertain and make fun of others regardless of the situation Dialogue is in a causal register

Family Patterns
One of the most confusing things about understanding generational poverty is the family structures In generational poverty, many marital arrangements are common-law and divorces do not occur
This can becomes confusing because there are often many sexual relationships with no legal documents to mark the starting and ending points

Role of the Female

The mother is always at the center, even though she may have multiple sexual relationships Women in generational poverty tend to stay at home and have only other female relatives as friends Caretaker for the family

Role of the Male

Often in and out, sometimes present, sometimes not, but not in any predictable pattern

Men in generational poverty socialize with men and women

Men also have social outlets, which women do not: work and bars Valued if they can physically fight and act as a lover

How Do These Characteristics Surface at School?

Students are very disorganized, frequently lose papers, dont have signatures, etc. Bring many reasons why something is missing or the paper is gone, etc.

Missing homework assignments

Getting out of Generational Poverty

Four main ways:
1: Goal or vision of something they want to be or have. 2: A situation that is so painful that anything would be better. 3: Someone sponsors them. 4: Specific talent or ability that provides an opportunity for them.

Reflection
We can help by providing the students with a solid education and academic opportunities.

Many individuals stay in poverty because they dont know they have a choice.
We must help them to learn the hidden rules and to access necessary resources, so they can have a chance at getting out of poverty. Sometimes schools are the only place were the students can learn about these things.

Chapter 5: Role Models and Emotional Resources

Importance of Role Models & Development of Emotional Resources

An individual must first decipher between functional and dysfunctional systems System: a group in which individuals have rules, roles, and relationships.

Dysfunctional: the extent to which an individual cannot get his/her need met within a system.
No system can be considered completely functional A select system is not equally functional or dysfunctional for each person within a specific system The degree to which an individual must give up meeting his/her needs in order to meet the needs of another person is the degree to which the situation is dysfunctional.

Case Study: Ellie

Mother = Victoria who is bedridden with multiple sclerosis Father = small storekeeper This situation can be considered dysfunctional Ellie must sublimate her needs to address the needs of her mother In order for Ellie to have an appropriate developmental process emotionally, she needs to first experience childhood, then adolescence, and then adulthood By being forced to take on an adult role at such a young age, Ellie must put her emotional development on hold while she functions in an adult role

Victoria has become enraged by disease & mistrust for Larry and attempts suicide when Ellie is 9 years old
Ellies job is to count mothers pills and make sure shes alive

Ellie wants to be a secretary

13 years old Ellie becomes pregnant and drops out of school

Emotional Road to Adulthood

To become a fully functional adult, individuals need to move through the following stages:
1: Dependence 2: Independence 3: Interdependence

This process is referred to as the Maturity Continuum by Stephen Covey & Being a Whole by John Bradshaw The constant fluctuation between dependence and independence is co-dependency

Appropriate Role Models

When the appropriate role models are present, the child can go through the developmental stages at appropriate times and build emotional resources
Emotional resources are built by: the child watches the adult for emotional responses to a given situation and notes the continuum of behaviors that go with those responses

Emotional Memory Bank & Moving Forward

Emotional Memory Bank: the emotions that are accessed habitually and feel right When a relationship is traded off for achievement , the EMB must be held in abeyance until the new feel right feeling can be obtained:
1: 2: 3: 4: Current situation is too painful to stay Compelling goal/vision for future drives Talent/skill takes individual to new surroundings Spouse/mentor provides an emotional comfort level while individual learns new skills/knowledge

Reflection
Teachers need to help children decipher between what is functional and what is not functional and what is functional.
Teachers therefore need to set up a good example of a functional environment within the classroom community through rules, roles, and relationship building.

Children need to constantly be moving through the process of dependence, independence, and interdependence when being introduced to new topics throughout the content areas.
This will best prepare them for moving through these stages when applying these skills to their years ahead academically and socially.

All educators are held responsible to be excellent role models for their students, therefore students have an adult in their life that they can look up to for all kinds of support and guidance.

Chapter 6: Support Systems

Support Systems and Parents: How They Impact the Ability to Do Homework and to Navigate School and Work

Support Systems
Friends, family, and backup resources that can be accessed in times of need. Support systems (sometimes also termed social capital) tend to fall into seven general categories:
coping strategies options during problem solving information and know-how connections to other people and resources (bonding and bridging social capital) temporary relief from emotional, mental, financial, and/or time constraints positive self-talk procedural self-talk

Case Study: Lakeitha

Lakeitha is 15 years old and a 10th grade student who is responsible for taking care of her four younger siblings, work part-time, and go to school full time. The book lists some support systems that Lakeitha can access to help her . Support systems some schools use to help students like Lakeitha are: school wide homework support supplemental school wide reading programs keeping students with the same teacher (s) for two or more years or having a school within a school teaching coping strategies school wide scheduling that puts students in subgroups by skill for reading and math parent training and contact through video or DVD the direct-teaching of classroom survival skills requiring daily goal setting and procedural self-talk team interventions.

Working with Parents

The chapter diverted from childrens issues when it had a section on working with parents. It was about what happens when parents move from stability to instability because of job loss, health issues, divorce, a recession etc. The author outlined the five stages of grief that parents face when they move from stability to instability:
denial anger bargaining depression acceptance

In addition, the author also discussed the feelings of personal failure, fear, and anxiety

Schools Helping Students

The chapter also discussed how the school helps students deal with the grieving process and the shift in resources.
The school can help a student by:
journal writing, having teachers look for red flag behaviors to refer the student to a counselor or office

Schools Helping Parents

The chapter concluded with how the school helps parents deal with the grieving process and the shift in resources. The school can help parents by:
encourage parents to talk put the situation in long-term perspective link the homeless family with a church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious organization pair men together provide a list of places where food and other forms of assistance are available share material with parents develop a plan to address the current situation provide a list of books that you have read or staff has read that talk about what its like to go through difficult times do not engage in pity

Reflection
Support systems are an important resource for individuals to have access to.
Students as well as parents can benefit from these many resources.

Support systems are also useful at all times; they are not exclusive to times of need.