At a Real Disadvantage

Okay, so the Street publication isn't on the radar for most Americans. However, that doesn't mean that its reporting is without merit and importance. Just last week the newspaper/newsletter carried an important piece of research put out by the Southern Education Foundation.

The report, sadly, reported the growing epidemic of poverty among public school students in America. Tragically, 48% of all American public school students (there are 50 million of them) are considered low income. The poverty levels for the hardest hit states, 17 of them were in the south (13 states) and in the West (4 states). As one might expect, cities were high on the poverty chart. 60% of all public school students in 2011 were considered low income.

Having written at length in this blog about both the implications of poverty on learning and teaching, this report is disheartening. Forget the computers, white boards and IPads for a moment. These students often don't have access to basic school supplies, proper clothing, nutritious food and a whole host of other daily essentials.

Unless and until there are real efforts to stem the tide of poverty the pressures on students, teachers, the community and the educational system, then we will have reached a bursting point.

Dick