Does poverty hurt academic success?

          While reading through the various new articles about test scores, I have seen a common argument about poverty affecting test scores.  Is this true or is it just an excuse?

I will start out with a personal note. I was a very impoverished teen in high school. I had to work two jobs while going to school. My parents were so poor I eventually had to live with my grandparents, who although were not much better off than my parents, they at least provided a steady home.

However they were unable to afford all of the things that I needed for school. My school required special clear backpacks which my family could not afford. I had to buy those and  I was responsible for all of my clothing, car payment and insurance.
School supplies was another expense I had to work for.

While most students were sitting at home doing homework or out with friends, I was at work. I became an emancipated teen so I could work the late hours I needed just to survive financially.  Unlike the students who would go out with friends I was unable to stay up late doing homework, or do it in the morning before class. I worked so late that I was already only getting a few hours of sleep.  I did however pay attention in class, and read while on my lunch breaks at work.

Luckily most of my teachers, would focus on teaching an understanding of material rather that just rote memorization. My teachers also spoke to me on their level like I was a colleague in some situations, or they would at least speak to me like an adult rather than like a third grader. Not all of them were like this, I did have some bad teachers. However, most of it was due to the student to teacher ratio being so unbalanced that inexperienced teachers had to sometimes ":fill in" the gaps.  No matter how old you are , most teachers treat their students like small children.

 I believe it was the way some of my teachers would treat me that helped me not only understand the material, but also have the desire and ability to learn on my own.
Due to school policies homework was 2/3 of the grade and I did very poorly in my classes. However all of my final exams were A's and B's, which is the only reason I was allowed to graduate.  ( thanks to an amazing teacher Mrs Janice Miller who rallied the rest of my teachers to get the school to allow me graduation and a diploma) I also was ale to achieve a 35 on the ACT test which shows that I was still able to learn despite my financial situation.

I have gotten a little off topic here, but I believe it is important to see that the way we treat students can go a long way in helping them learn. So if you have a student who is on a free lunch program or their parents can not afford all of the things they need for school, treat them like an adult who is at the same economic status that you are. They will respect you so much more for it , and will be more apt to get a lot more out of your lessons.

I will leave off with a question. Does how much money you have determine intelligence? Does a student whose parents can buy them a a brand new laptop, have an advantage over the student whose parents can barely afford  pencils and paper? Should we change how we teach students of different economic backgrounds?

The answer to all of these is no. If a course in high school is designed to require a laptop the school should provide one, or not require it. If a school is in a lower income district it should still get the same amount of funding that a school in a high income district gets.

The controversy with common core:

The controversy with common core:

     Math has become a new phobia among youth and current parents. It has many wearing math illiteracy as a badge of honor. The problem began with adults experiencing negativity at a young age toward the subject. It was often taught in very rigid and mechanical tone. The rigidity is where the problem we face today finds its roots. Math was drilled into our heads with the idea that there is only one way to do things, and anything else leads to lower grades. Many teachers were strictly against alternative methods, and led to an ingrained aversion to the subject for their students.

     Other issues include the teaching methods themselves, as well as the lack of guidance for students who may take longer to grasp the subject. In the interest of time, and testing, the teachers are encouraged to cover large amounts of material in a short amount of time. These factors in combination are what has resulted in the attitude toward math that parents possess today. This attitude is also being passed on to their children, by encouraging an avoidance of mathematics. The parents own aversion and lack of proper education in mathematics makes it difficult to understand the material their children are bringing home. The new common core standards and teaching tools are incredibly different from what many of these parents are familiar with.

      

      Currently students are being introduced new concepts for learning math with the development of common core. Altering how things are done, can be beneficial to finding better teaching options. Sure many of these methods are breaking from tradition, but as with all things we are learning. Which forces us to integrate new information and approaches to teaching. Parents and educators all need to stay aware of this. As we learn and grow intellectually, knowledge must force us to change. However, this change conflicts with the fact that the parents of these children are unable to help them to better their skills in these areas. Here we see the roots of the problem. The parents were not taught by common core standards, and therefore cannot aid their children until first learning the methods themselves.

     If parents or teachers see common core standards as a problem maybe schools could host a week long open seminar on what is actually going to be taught and how it is implemented. The schools could have qualified instructors in the common core standards come and talk with parents and teachers. They could even teach some of the new math strategies to the parents so they can be better informed on how to help their children adapt to the new material.

     Given the chance to come to understand the common core math standards could help change the way some respond to them. I understand the problems many people have with common core math. Seeing a drop in test scores with new standards being put into place is a shock, but when you look into it you see it is not the problem with the tests, it is us. We are failing our children. The common core math standards are well informed and vetted by leaders in the stem fields. And these are the things our children need to learn to remain competitive with their peers around the globe.

Create inspiration to learn math.

               One thing the current math education policies do not address is relieving math anxiety. Many educators and policy makers talk about it, but do they really have a solid plan for relieving it.  The common discussion is all about how math is taught, but what about the kind of math that is taught.  Some educators are already implementing styles of teaching that relates to what students are interested in. This is a step in the right direction, and this does increase an interest in math education.  Many educators and even individuals have taken to the internet to provide lessons, practice, discussion boards on math education and homework. When you look at all of these education sites they all mostly just reflect the same things we teach in schools.

 Does this inspire students to learn mathematics? Does this relieve math anxiety? One way to answer these questions is to look at the students that are actively participating in these. Are they doing better on tests? Maybe…  We might be improving scores in the small groups that are actively participating in these online programs, but once again we have the question, are we relieving math anxiety?  Maybe to a small degree..

A simple way to relieve math anxiety is to introduce students to simple math “tricks”, or other ways to simplify or shorten the math calculations that most people only know one way to do.  I have already presented a couple of these methods. Such as Long multiplication in Reverse also called left to right multiplication, or multiplication without carrying. The “left-to-right” method is a good trick which helps with mental math. Students can learn to answer more difficult multiplication problems in their head with relative ease.                               

   This will make them more confident in their math skills. It will also change the way their peers look at them. They will feel smarter and it will increase their desire to be smarter by learning more about math.  The “left-to-right” method is not the only “trick” to make multiplication easy. There is also Russian Multiplication also known as binary multiplication. This method is great because you don’t have to have the multiplication table memorized to use it. You just simply have to double numbers and cut numbers in half and then add.  

All of these simple methods make math easier to students, relieving their initial anxiety. With the many ways that we can use to make math easier, we can teach a new “trick” every day.  The whole point is to increase desire for learning and relieve math anxiety.  These are the two main obstacles in helping children not only have better understanding of math, but also to do better on tests.