The statistics and discussion regarding poverty caught my attention in the readings this week. As a teacher at Milton Hershey School, 100% of my students come from socially, emotionally, and financially disadvantaged backgrounds. They receive an outstanding education and are given extensive opportunities to be successful and live a self-sustaining life as adults. The sad reality is, however, that for every student sitting in my classroom, there are many more like them who will not receive the education and resources to guide them to success. This makes my call as a teacher even more important to me.
At one time I'm pretty sure I believed the myth that "escaping poverty is as easy as getting a job (Brown, 2012, p. 9)." Then, about ten years ago I started spending a lot of time serving meals to the homeless on the streets of Philadelphia. I started listening to their stories and started changing my understanding about people in poverty. Six years ago I started teaching in Philadelphia and broadened my understanding a bit more. I spent time in the homes of my students. I helped students find homes. Suddenly math and science test scores became a lot less important when I was fully aware that many of my students were going home to no food or inadequate housing. Three years ago I began working at Milton Hershey School and I continue to discover the long term effects of poverty on education and eventually careers. The status attainment model (Blau and Duncan, 1967) supports the argument that individuals begin their career journeys in very different places (Brown, 2012). I have begun to learn this in a very personal way as I try to prepare twelve and thirteen year old students for their futures. The reality that I am learning - and trying to teach my students - is that success comes by focusing on the present and setting attainable goals for the future, not from dwelling in the past.
This first reading definitely gave me a new found interest in learning about the theories and best practices regarding career development. It has given me a new passion and purpose within my daily agenda as well. 50% (or more) of my students could be classified as minorities, which already sets them behind their peers statistically in unemployment rates, median family income, and poverty percentages (Brown, 2012). The questions we asked and discussed in class last week helped me begin to think of ways to start asking my students these same questions within the context of a math class. It is never too early to start preparing our children for their futures. I want to be the kind of teacher that does not just get students ready for important tests and the next grade in school, but that helps prepare people for life.
Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment