Only a handful of books have impacted my career as an educator, but none as much as Dr. Ruby Payne's, A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Through reading and studying Dr. Payne's book, I came to find out that what I really needed to know was what my students were dealing with outside of school and how that was affecting their behaviors in college. I teach at Big Sandy Community and Technical College in eastern Kentucky, working with developmental education students (transitional students) who do not have entry-level skills in reading, writing, and/or math. With each page that I read, I found myself thinking more and more about what my developmental education students say and do. Why they don't have any self-esteem or have any sense of responsibility toward their education. And why many times they don't even have any motivation to persist toward graduation. Payne's book helped me look at my students' behaviors through a different lens. As a result, I have completely changed my perspective and my pedagogy. --Judith Valade, Faculty, English, Big Sandy Community and Technical College
The concepts from Framework were taught by Bethanie Tucker to many of our faculty and Administrators last spring. Those concepts, combined with increased Student Services advisors & Program Directors, community outreach, faculty involvement and a lot of hard work resulted in our annual attrition rate going from 6% to 4.3% last year. After all, it does take a village. --Ada Gerard, Campus President, Heald College, Rancho Cordova, CA
Poverty is not just a condition of not having enough money. It is a realm of particular rules, emotions, and knowledge that override all other ways of building relationships and making a life. This book was written as a guide and exercise book for middle-class teachers, who often don't connect with their impoverished students--largely because they don't understand the hidden rules of poverty In the same way, poor children misconnect with school because they don't understand the hidden rules of middle-class life. Ruby Payne, a former teacher and principal who has been a member of all three of the economic cultures of our time (poor, middle-class, and wealthy) compassionately and dispassionately describes the hidden rules and knowledge of each. I think it's useful not just for educators, but for anyone who has to deal with people of different backgrounds. Having read it, I feel a lot more confident about dealing with people as people, not as representatives of their social class. Especially noteworthy is the Could you survive? quiz on page 53. For example, can you keep your clothes from being stolen at the laundromat, or entertain friends with stories? (That's essential knowledge for the world of the poor.) Can you get a library card or use a credit card? (Essential for middle-class life.) Can you ensure loyalty from a household staff, or build a wall of privacy and inaccessibility around you? (Essential knowledge for wealth.) Every class assumes that their knowledge is known by everyone, which is one reason they assume that people in other classes don't & get it. I also appreciate the telling point about upward mobility in America: It's possible for anyone to shift classes, but only at the price of leaving behind your existing personal relationships. One sign of A Framework's value is the way that educators who grew up in poverty from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, embrace this book. --Whole Earth, Art Kleiner, [former editor]
The concepts from Framework were taught by Bethanie Tucker to many of our faculty and Administrators last spring. Those concepts, combined with increased Student Services advisors & Program Directors, community outreach, faculty involvement and a lot of hard work resulted in our annual attrition rate going from 6% to 4.3% last year. After all, it does take a village. --Whole Earth, Art Kleiner, [former editor]
The concepts from Framework were taught by Bethanie Tucker to many of our faculty and Administrators last spring. Those concepts, combined with increased Student Services advisors & Program Directors, community outreach, faculty involvement and a lot of hard work resulted in our annual attrition rate going from 6% to 4.3% last year. After all, it does take a village. --Ada Gerard, Campus President, Heald College, Rancho Cordova, CA
Poverty is not just a condition of not having enough money. It is a realm of particular rules, emotions, and knowledge that override all other ways of building relationships and making a life. This book was written as a guide and exercise book for middle-class teachers, who often don't connect with their impoverished students--largely because they don't understand the hidden rules of poverty In the same way, poor children misconnect with school because they don't understand the hidden rules of middle-class life. Ruby Payne, a former teacher and principal who has been a member of all three of the economic cultures of our time (poor, middle-class, and wealthy) compassionately and dispassionately describes the hidden rules and knowledge of each. I think it's useful not just for educators, but for anyone who has to deal with people of different backgrounds. Having read it, I feel a lot more confident about dealing with people as people, not as representatives of their social class. Especially noteworthy is the Could you survive? quiz on page 53. For example, can you keep your clothes from being stolen at the laundromat, or entertain friends with stories? (That's essential knowledge for the world of the poor.) Can you get a library card or use a credit card? (Essential for middle-class life.) Can you ensure loyalty from a household staff, or build a wall of privacy and inaccessibility around you? (Essential knowledge for wealth.) Every class assumes that their knowledge is known by everyone, which is one reason they assume that people in other classes don't & get it. I also appreciate the telling point about upward mobility in America: It's possible for anyone to shift classes, but only at the price of leaving behind your existing personal relationships. One sign of A Framework's value is the way that educators who grew up in poverty from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, embrace this book. --Whole Earth, Art Kleiner, [former editor]
Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. is founder of aha! Process and an author, speaker, publisher, and career educator. Recognized internationally for A Framework for Understanding Poverty, her foundational book and workshop, Dr. Payne has helped students and adults of all economic backgrounds achieve academic, professional, and personal success. As an expert on the mindsets of economic classes and overcoming the hurdles of poverty, she has trained hundreds of thousands of professionals who work with people from poverty, from educators and school administrators to community, church, and business leaders. She has presented to groups in every state in the U.S. and more than 10 countries.
