Customer Reviews

Framework for Understanding Poverty

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

As an educator, I found Dr. Payne's book to be one of the most useful and practical books I've ever read. Just as the title reads, she offers a framework for understanding an issue that is influencing not only our schools but also our society. Her definition of poverty as related to the eight resources she describes rather than being solely defined by one's lack of finances is especially helpful for educators. In addition, Dr. Payne offers concrete strategies for working with some of our most misunderstood students. I found her explanation of the registers of language and issues surrounding them to be particularly useful in understanding some of the problems in schools today that are related to both cognition and behavior. I highly recommend this book for educators and believe also that anyone who works with individuals from poverty will also find it helpful. It makes so much sense!

I teach in an inner-city school where poverty is prevalent in almost every family. Not until I read Ruby Payne's book did I have an understanding of the differences involved when one teaches a child who is living in poverty. The book gives specific case studies that make you think and relate to poverty-stricken people. It then goes even further and gives the teacher examples of how to use the new knowledge in the classroom. It is, without a doubt, the best book I have ever read on the subject of poverty and how it relates to school children. I learned more from the reading of this book about how to relate to the students I teach than I have from any other book I've ever read about any subject. I have no reservations whatsoever in recommending this book to any teacher who truly wants to understand the individuals she/he teaches.

Dr. Payne has authored a book that is intended to provide a framework for teachers or others who work with poor children to help them better understand and deal with the issues their behaviors present in the classroom. A major caveat for potential purchasers, however, is that this book is remarkably free of content supported by peer-reviewed empirical findings. It is more like a fragmented collection of chapters supporting the contention that a poverty culture produces children unlikely to succeed in the classroom or later as adults. It seems to be in use as companion reading material for the author's widely-held seminars on the subject. It is also authored by her own publishing company, Aha! Process, Inc.

While the literature predating the War on Poverty was replete with studies suggesting causal factors such as those espoused by Payne, some of the more recent empirically-referenced literature such as Rebecca Blank's, "It Takes a Nation: A New Agenda for Fighting Poverty," Princeton University Press/Russell Sage Foundation, 1997, takes a more balanced approach. That approach examines both the cultural as well as structural aspects of poverty and their impact on populations at risk, particularly damaging to women, children, and persons of color. Changing flawed character in the classroom is an uphill battle without understanding the structural factors that impact on adaptive behavior among the poor.

The egregious stereotyping of people in Chapter 3 pertaining to "Hidden Rules Among Classes" seems to stem from what the author characterizes as personal data-gathering over a twenty-four year period as a teacher employed in varying socio-economic school districts. Should generalizations based on an N of 1 truly be accepted as truth? This framework may well reinforce unintended biases about people of all classes, but particularly the poor where, as the author states in the final page of her conclusion, the choice for success "always belongs to the individual."

A Framework for Understanding Poverty provides a structure on which to build one's teaching. The way we teach is as important as what we teach, for , as Payne makes quite clear, we will not reach all children until we can understand--and accept--their backgrounds and any accompanying privileges or limitations children carry with them to the middle-class mindset of most American schools. As a high school English teacher, I found Chapter 2, "The Role of Language and Story", quite helpful--in fact, it has changed the way I approach writing in the classroom. Even if you have read bits of this information elsewhere, the author has gathered much relevant research in an easy-to-access format that any harried teacher can appreciate. For those teachers who balk at recognizing and/or accomodating behaviors related to class, I ask them to take the "Could you Survive in Poverty" quiz on page 53. I don't have any idea how to "get and use food stamps" or "how to get by without a car"--do you? I'd love to see a companion manual to this one that lists books for students that address class differences, either fiction or nonfiction.

Dr. Payne's book is essential reading for educators. Those who supervise people in the workplace who have roots in poverty would also benefit greatly from reading this book. It will affect the way in which you manage people. Dr. Payne makes all of us accutely aware of our own roots, our own middle class values and mindsets. A Framework for Understanding Poverty should become a part of every school's professional library. It will change the way in which you teach and discipline children from poverty. Our knowledge of children from poverty, and our skills in working with children from poverty must increase. Having worked as a teacher and administrator for 32 years, I have seen the impact of poverty on our schools firsthand. The growth rate for this segment of our population demands that we begin to look seriously at how we as educators interface with children from poverty. As members of a democratic society, we literally cannot afford not to attend to the issues related to poverty. Reading Dr. Payne's book will put you on the right path for your journey.

I have read the negative reviews and the positives...the book is not all five stars. It is not poverty that elicits certain behaviors, but the values & education level the family holds. I don't believe poverty equates to all the things Ms. Payne suggests, but values and level of education do. That is why we have so many "wealthy" people in America who behave like those Ms. Payne has characterized as the poverty class--their values and education are lacking. I work with immigrants, many of them display the characteristics of the "wealthy" set, though they are quite poor. The book is a generalization, and there are truths and like any generalization, there are dangerous falsehoods. It is illuminating for me to read it though and see that the behavior I see in my classroom is more universal than I thought. So for me it helps in some abstracted way, but nothing to herald as fact.

As a psychology researcher in inner-city schools, I am drawn to the description of this book because as a field (edu. research), we do indeed lack a theoretical framework to understand poverty in relation to school achievement. But this book falls very short in presenting such a framework. The conclusions drawn by this author is thinly based on a few limited writings (mostly on linguistics), while largely a collection of personal opinions. The author stated that the idea for the book proceeded her years of "research" experience. That may be the problem. A hindsight retrospection wears very tainted lenses. The "years of experience" is not examined in real-time with specific research questions. Rather, they are selectively drawn upon to be coherent only with the author's current thinking. The reference list in the back is more in depth than what the author actually put in text. The mostly pointless clip art inserted throughout the book made it seem like the publisher is trying to squeeze more pages into a other-wise small book. The two pages comparing classes are interesting (but by no means research or data based). They did become very stereotypical (like the local evening news). Educational recommendations are very simplistic and lack explicit logical reasoning. I question the book's treatment of poverty students as a different breed, indicating that somehow they need to be taught special rules in order to even begin learning. For example, the notion that somehow poverty students don't have a sense of choices thus fail to understand causal relationship leading from choices to consequences. That's a very very broad claim that is unlikely to be measurable. In child development, there comes a certain age where many children have trouble realizing (thus having to learn) that choices are related to consequences, regardless of their race, culture, or, income. These claims are quite outrageously stereotypical. Overall, Framework for Understanding is neither framework nor understanding. It may be of some interest here and there, but its title over-claims the substance of its content.

For interested readers, I recommend John Ogbu's ethnographical study on Shaker Heights, titled "Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb". A more controversial book is Tatum's "Why do all the blacks kids sit together". I don't necessarily agree with these two books, but they both represent good examples of "research" and attempts of form a "framework".

This book links the connection between poverty and the learning system in a clear, consise manner. The "Hidden" rules are fact. The sections dealing with language levels, --verbal and non verbal are on target. It should be required reading for all Law Enforcement Officers. It is plain, factual, and goes at the root cause of failure to learn, failure to plan, function, and communicate. The result, -impulsive behavior that ends one up in the criminal justice system! Should be required reading for all law enforcement personnel Lt. Gary L. Hoffman, Director of Training and Education, Office of the Sheriff of Charlotte County,Florida.

A Framework For Understanding Poverty, is the most useful book I have read in the twelve years I have been teaching. Payne gives solid reasons, not excuses, for the attitudes and behaviors of children living in poverty. Unlike some other authors, she does not stop there. Instead, she follows through by giving the reader practical ways to improve his or her dealings with these children who so often fall through the cracks.

The book is well organized and enjoyable to read. My principal had the insight to buy a copy for the entire staff, and as a result many formidable discussions have arisen. I would recomend it to anyone in direct contact with children living in poverty.

After circling the traits I possessed on page 59 in the "Framework for Understanding Poverty" and finding out I fell mostly in poverty, it was no wonder I got along better with these students than my colleagues.
This book not only helps teachers understand their students, but helps teachers to understand themselves and how they relate to children. By understanding our behaviors and the behaviors of our students, we can move beyond conflicts and toward achievement.
This book is entertaining, informative and career changing.