Poverty is no excuse?

One of the current mantras used by reformistas is "poverty is no excuse for poor performance at school", I heard our Education Secretary make a similar statement while explaining  poor test scores and the recent study that indicates that poverty is linked to poor reading scores in the 4th grade 


We can ignore the problem of poverty all we want, but it will not go away.  Poverty is the core of the education problem in the United States.  These children miss more school, come to school needing better nutrition and are frequently stressed from problems at home.  They have cortisone coursing through their systems impairing their ability to learn.  We can probably get them to sit still and appear to pay attention, but learning requires much more than these kids can give.


Instead of indicting the entire education system, going on witch hunts for bad teachers and closing schools that don't measure up why don't we use all of data gathering to find out who needs help and then truly look at the research and use it to help those in need of help. 


No matter what your political beliefs, the young children who go to school do not know what you mean when you tell them they are failing.  They did not cause this problem and unless someone helps them create quality environments for learning they will have a hard time helping themselves.


I would like to share an article by Daniel T. Willingham from the spring 2012 edition of the American Educator online.  Click here to read "Why Does Family Wealth Affect Learning?"  Dr. Willingham, a cognitive scientist, explains that in addition to having fewer material and social supports, children from low-income families also tend to have chronic stress that can significantly impede their learning.  Research shows that besides social service supports, a teacher' warmth toward and high expectations for disadvantaged children can help them reach their potential.