Many facets of the story of immigration to the United States are well known, captured in endless iterations in family narratives, legends, poems, folk songs, novels, memoirs, films, history and civic textbooks, academic monographs, and research reports.
This quote shows that the story of immigration to the United States is widely represented through family narratives, literature, media, and academic research, reflecting its importance and varied perspectives in American culture.
To better understand the library, the recreation center, and the church as lit-eracy spaces constructed by the boys and their networks of support, we con-ducted interviews with the children’s librarian, the head of education for the church, and the rec center director. The first two clearly communicated an understanding of their roles as teachers and their places as literacy spaces. They believed that literacy is a decoding process that is mastered when chil-dren engage in the activities they provide.
This quote highlights how the library, recreation center, and church function as literacy spaces supported by staff who view themselves as educators. Interviews reveal that these spaces encourage literacy through structured activities, reflecting the belief that literacy is a skill children master through active engagement in provided programs.
Benny completed his homework on his own though it was sometimes checked by his grandmother. The family’s computer with Internet access was in his bedroom and, thus, the virtual world was an important literacy space for Benny that he entered sometimes on his own, sometimes with assistance.
This quote shows Benny’s independence in learning, supported by his grandmother’s occasional checks. His computer and internet access provide an essential literacy space, enabling both personal exploration and guided learning.
It tends to focus on learning in the home and is divided between studies that look at children’s formal learning experiences of school-related information and skills and more informal learning involving popular culture and/or new technologies.
This quote outlines two types of home learning: formal learning focused on school-related skills and informal learning involving popular culture and technology. It emphasizes that both structured and experiential learning at home contribute to children's development.
McAllister family made do. Ms. McAllister rightfully saw her-self as a very capable mother. She was a strong, positive influence in the lives of the children she looked after. Still, the contrast with Ms. Williams is striking. Ms. McAllister did not seem to think that Harold's opinions needed to be cultivated and developed. She, like most parents in the working-class and poor families, drew strong and clear bound-aries between adults and children.
This shows the effect of finances on a family dynamic because although both Mrs. McAllister and Ms. Williams are good mothers who provide for their kids, the difference shows in their parenting styles. Mrs. McAllister does not possess the time and money that allows Ms. Williams to think Alexander is more than just a child, his opinions need to be cultivated and developed.
He and Ms. McAllister have never married. He visits regularly, sometimes weekly, stopping by af-ter work to watch television or nap.
It's interesting to note the family dynamic differences between Harold McAllister's family and Alexander Williams'. One important note is the lack of a typical family structure, because Harold's father and mother never married. Therefore, the father figure is not a permanent fixture in Harold's life as his visits, though regular, are not the same as living in the same household.
Sometimes Alexander complains that "my mother signs me up for everything!" Gener-ally, however, he likes his activities. He says they make him feel "special," and without them life would be "boring."
Children born into wealthy or middle class families are not ever exposed to the harsh reality that children born into poverty are, which is that their families will not be able to afford basic necessities, much less extracurricular activities. This is why children born into wealthy or middle class families often have a sheltered "bubble" in which they even complain about the multiple opportunities offered to them that other children cannot even dream of.
ttendance problems often indicate negative parent attitudes toward school. Parents who did poorly in school themselves may have a negative attitude about their children’s schools
This goes to show that it tends to be a generational issue in terms of negative parent attitudes towards school. If a parent has negative experiences in school, his attitude may reflect on his child as they try to "protect" their child from the same things they had to go through. This can lead to their child not participating in school functions or activities, which can have a negative effect on their social behavior.
Because of the massive infl ux of immigrants entering the United States every year, the ensuing competition for low-wage jobs, and the statistical link between low-wage earners and increased childbear-ing (Schultz, 2005), the number of U.S. children in low-income situations is forecast to rise over the next few decades.
I wonder what different strategies can be implemented to combat the increase of US children in low-income situations. If there are less and less low-wage jobs available, but the correlation with low wage jobs and increased childbearing is evident, would providing improved access to birth control be one way to combat this rising issue?
Situational poverty is generally caused by a sudden crisis or loss and is often temporary. Events causing situational poverty include environ-mental disasters, divorce, or severe health problems
It's important to note that there can be many different types of poverty but situational poverty seems especially relevant considering the recent hurricanes that thrust many residents of Florida into chaos.
These multilayered issues do not make an education or a successful life impossible, but they certainly provide more than a healthy dose of challenges for young people like Denise. This is why I stayed at my "failing" school, with poor students, for years. I could not change the larger circumstances of their lives, but I could do small things within my classroom to ameliorate their situations. All students are capable of learning.
I understand this author's approach to her teaching students at a "failing" school with lower-income students. She not only attempts to understand her students living in poverty, she tries to change small things to assist their situations. No matter what, she believes in them as she notes "All students are capable of learning".
But my 1ve ex . . . · . 1 • was a teenage mom, I have b1rac1al meces and a nephew a sister w 10 twice . . . . , h k d ler l·n my family my dad died of diabetes complications when I ave a crac ea ' dult and I was adopted as a baby because I was accidcntly ere-I was a young a , . . . . atcd by two curious high school semors.
I appreciate how the author does recognize that she does fit a lot of the typical stereotypes that a white female would incur, and yet there's more beyond what the eye can see. When she goes into detail about her living experiences, I was shocked by the level of harsh reality she was thrust in. It allows her students to recognize that she is not just their white teacher, she is her own person who has also gone through difficulties in life.
As much as I enjoy teaching, I might enjoy learning from the students even more. My students taught me during my career. They were the student teach-ers, and they gave me an education I could not have gotten anywhere else.
I love this quote because it not only shows the author's willingness to be open to learning from his students, it conveys his gratefulness towards his pupils for giving him a priceless education. He even goes on to say they may not have "walked in with a learning objective that matched the common core standards", but he appreciates the beauty of students teaching the teacher, calling it "organic and spontaneous".
The son of a single parent, my father suffered an abusive home life that made him suspicious and untrusting of authority. He rarely speaks of his time in school, and when he docs it is to recount the anger and embarrassment he felt about being treated by teachers and authority figures as though he was not good enough to warrant their attention. I don't think that my teachers ever questioned why my parents never came to the school; they just knew that they didn't, and this led to my being allowed to fade quietly into the background in the classroom.
This quote recognizes the importance of a healthy family environment for a student to be able to thrive in a school setting. The author's father feels suspicious and untrusting of authority due to an unstable home life and thus this translates into his raising of his son, as he refuses to show up to school functions unless he has to be.
When I started school, I soon learned that being poor might mean both the things I thought it did and also something much, much worse: It meant that I was inferior to those who were not poor; I was less than
Poverty is not only related to lack of material resources but also involves social shame. In school, students are taught that being poor is seen as inferior, leading to a feeling of being lesser than those who are not poor. This internalized classism demonstrates how economic status can have a detrimental impact on an individual's sense of self and self-esteem.
We had no heat other than plug-in heaters and an old propane heater that stunk to high heaven. No air conditioning. No telephone.
The author describes harsh living conditions, emphasizing the lack of basic amenities like reliable heating, air conditioning, and even a telephone. These are things normal families take for granted, illustrating how poverty can shape one’s daily existence through limited access to necessities. The necessities that the author's family did not have access to were proper climate control, safety, and communication.
I wasn't good enough, I didn't have enough, and what I had was the wrong thing.
This mindset that children born into poverty have conveys the internal struggle with class-based exclusion and insecurity. Their self-consciousness stems from repeated verbal and nonverbal cues that allowed for feelings of inadequacy due to poverty during their school years. Now, standing in front of students as a teacher, the narrator returns to the “scene of the crime,” reflecting on how deeply these formative experiences of social exclusion shaped their sense of self-worth.
Over and over and over again, holidays seemed an endless curriculum review of how I couldn't afford what the other children brought to school. My worst school holiday memory by far, though, was Easter.
This is how every low-income student must feel when their possessions can't measure up to their peers because of their family's inability to afford what other children's families could. It conveys the author's disheartened tone through his painful memories that served as a reminder of his family's financial limitations.
However, children in poverty can be resourceful, can be leaders, can exhibit maturity beyond their years, can triumph every day—as Clifton expresses—over those things that try to (psychologically and otherwise) kill them
I agree with the author, as I do believe children who are born into poverty possess an innate resourcefulness that typical children are not forced to develop. This is due to the lack of resources available to them, which leads to a mentality of making the best out of what you have.