Education, poverty inextricably linked
Tuesday’s Chattanooga Times editorial is a brilliant summary of the relationship between education and poverty. As a 30-plus year teacher, I know that schools alone cannot solve the problems of poverty, even if they were funded a hundred times what they are now.
Generally, poverty kids come to school without the enabling environments of the more fortunate. Deficiencies are particularly acute in reading and the social skills necessary to learn in the school culture.
Unlike the acute depression-era poverty of the parents we baby boomers had, many contemporary families have lived in public housing and been unemployed for three generations. Many children lack adults in their home lives who can help them with school or to develop the behaviors or values needed for educational success.
The reality is that once many children walk out the school doors, they return to pathological environments and cultures of survival, not enrichment. If any education they receive at school is going to stick, other agencies, professionals and volunteers must assist families and communities with health, safety, employment opportunities, and social issues like divorce, gangs and teen pregnancy.