Online Assignment for 4/13

It appears as though the economic troubles of the poor families we’ve encountered would be exacerbated if these families lived in New Jersey. Even with an adequate income, it appears, through the Cost of Living Index, that a family of 4 cannot exist on 60,000 dollars a year, let alone less than that. It appears that the cost of living in Virginia would be less of that in New Jersey- so children and families living here need that much more to get by. New Jersey appears to offer low income housing opportunities to families who need it, but amenities like food stamps or government assistance seems harder to come by. The reality of the situation would certainly be graver for the families we have read about if the location was moved to Essex County, New Jersey.

First, the Self-Sufficiency Standard is based on several family types: one adult with one preschooler; one adult with one preschooler and one school age child; and two adults with one preschooler and one school age child. The economic strain varies between the family types. As the number of children increases, the wage needed to support them naturally increases too. In the case of New Jersey, from $13.78 for one adult to nearly $30 an hour for a family of two. This would be impossible to attain for the poor families encountered in Unequal Childhoods. For example, the cost of child care will increase for a family with two kids versus a family with one.

Thus, the cost of living index would be troublesome for Harold McAllister’s family, especially since the family situation there includes the economic strain on his mother to take care of his cousins as well as her four children with no job and no professional job training. The Self-Sufficiency Standard described in the cost of living index doesn’t include statistics for a family of four. Mrs. McAllister provides a home for her niece and nephew, but takes on the burden of providing for them as well. If Mrs. McAllister could obtrain a job that offered her the $30 an hour wage needed to get by, she would still have too many mouths to feed and the resources available would be over-extended. The income of $67,000 would not be enough for the McAllisters as it is the lowest possible amount needed for a family of two in New Jersey. (40,000 for one adult and one child in Essex County)

Reading Unequal Childhoods has been eye opening. All the while, it hasn’t been hard to relate the issues that the children of various economic statuses experience to the classroom. Having worked as an aide in an affluent area of the state, I am aware that just because children are economically privileged doesn’t mean that they don’t have problems. A few of the children were experiencing divorces between their parents, illness, and pressures from their parents, a possible bi-product of “concerted cultivation” that teachers regularly have to manage. I distinctly remember a boy in a family of four that appeared to struggle with perfection and living up to his parents astronomical expectations as a means of gaining entry into the Accelerated Math program. One bad grade and he was in tears. Therefore, it’s important to know the diverse needs of the students you’re working with, because often times kids go to their teachers for help. Perhaps if you aware of their struggles and understand them, you can give them the help they need, educationally speaking or not.

However, these issues are a different kind than those that the children in poor families experience in Unequal Childhoods and I would venture to think that they’re a lot more manageable than insufficient food, lack of funds, parental involvement, or issues stemming from the neighborhood that the child lives in and the type of family environment, or lack thereof, that is created there. The research presented in the book has given me a window into these kids lives and I wouldn’t perhaps get that just from teaching them. The book shows you what happens after school and what happens in the home. It gives you the opportunity to understand what is pulling on kids and what could affecting their education based on economic status.

Economics and demographics relate to teaching because we will likely use any statistics or information to better teach those students. It’s important to know the “population” you are serving. As a teacher, one would need to know the make up of an area that they plan to teach in. What types of jobs might their parents have? Is it an industrial area? What’s the median income? All of these may in turn relate to how children learn and the approach they take towards their education. If, say, a majority of the town doesn’t hold a college degree and works mainly in local industry, the accepted attitude may not be one of placing importance in higher education, so the student may not be as active in pursuing a college education, especially if economics and demographics tell the teacher that he or she may not be able to afford it.

In regards to the definition of disposition, one’s nature or temperament also plays a role. Situations, like teaching children in poverty, may affect one teacher more than another. Personally, I’ve always debated how much my emotional nature and tendency to “take in” the plight of others will affect me as a teacher and my ability to do my job. Others, however, may be of the temperament where they figure that they will just not get involved and keep a distance from issues in the classroom. Unfortunately, it appears that you need to do your very best to treat each child equally. I foresee this being a problem when the world, in a sense, is very unequal and some are more advantaged than others. As a potential urban educator, I think it may be difficult to encounter inequality and still manage to maintain at atmosphere where everyone receives the same treatment. Or, better put, you need the poster board to do the project whether your economic status affords the student the opportunity to buy it or not.