According to the American Psychological Association, socioeconomic status is defined as "the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. Examinations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control".
Well, we have to start from something. As a teacher, I do recognize the three BIG factors-education, income and occupation (of the parents)- as common "excuses" for the failure of certain groups of students. When we talk about American schooling system as a "forgiving" one, that's exactly what we are referring to.
I think it is interesting that you use the word "excuses" in your explanation. What is your position? Is SES a reason for failure? How does the American system differ from your experience concerning SES?
I would like to talk about the idea of excuses too. Does this word imply that we are being too forgiving of those who have not succeeded in our current academic system, and thus we should be encouraging them to travel down another path? I think that stance places blame on the individuals. Or does the word excuses imply that the educational system is using SES as an excuse for the failure of low SES individuals, and thus not doing enough to address it? I think this stance places the blame on those of us in the system.
I agree the stance places the blame on those of us in the system. The next logical question is what are we going to do about it? How can we reach out to those kids who are failing and close the achievement gap they have been facing since kindergarten, or even before?
The quote from Howard: " These characteristics, which do not offer new or radically different approaches to school success, are: (1) visionary leadership, (2) teachers' effective practices, (3) intensive academic intervention, (4) the explicit acknowledgment of race, and (5) engagement of parents and community"(p.134). Howard, T. C. (2010). Why race and culture matter in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
So, what are we going to do? I wonder if it is the visionary leadership that might come first. Have you seen the video about Baruti Kafele, a principal in a low SES school? He is a visionary and he has done amazing things. However, he lives and breathes his work. I get the feeling that makes a big difference, and it seems that rare individuals can sustain that effort and energy. But still, it must happen.
If the leadership doesn't show those visionary qualities, the second point is where the classroom teacher has the most influence.
As I think about this, I keep wanting to write about barriers to implementing those 5 things. And the biggest ones are time, energy, and life balance. Perhaps bringing together a group of like-minded teachers in your school, and having a plan to provide the interventions (which at my school would be on our own time), and bringing supportive parents from the PTO into the dialogue.
I like the idea of bringing together a group of like minded people to motivate and inspire teachers to try and close the achievement gap. I am also thinking of barriers all the time.
I'm embarrassed to say it but sometimes in class I think this is such a big systemic problem. How can are little class even make a dent?
I design curriculum so my idea of think about things I CAN do is I can add more multicultural people into my trainings. White people are more readily available in my picture library but I can add more races and cultures especially since my trainings do go to a diverse group of people. That is something I can do.
I think Alayna brought to light another solution for teachers in her discussion last week. I like the idea of using culutural modeling (Howard, 2010) and the student's knowledge to enhance the learning environment.
Howard, T. C. (2010). Why race and culture matter in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
The question of what we are going to do is huge. I do believe there are small things we can implement in classrooms/school environments but I believe the problem is much, much bigger than school. Cultural Modeling can be implemented in classrooms to help student use 'out of school' knowledge to acquire 'in school' knowledge. I can see how it can contribute to an open and honest environment and help decrease the achievement gap.
Going back to your initial question about how SES impacts education, I believe it has a significant impact. Howard (2010) states that students from impoverished backgrounds are less likely to have access to medical care. While Medicaid is readily accessible to help provide for these needs, students who have vision, dental, hearing, etc problems go unnoticed and may have significant failures in school related to those ailments. Further, Howard (2010) contends that children of low SES households often have parents with low-wage jobs (or no employment) and as a result frequently move. Their moves cause disruption in school attendance, continuity is lost and so are these children. It can be assumed that these children become lost in the system, fall behind and drop out. Only to be set-up for a nice, low-income job. And the cycle seems to start again.
It seems that the impacts can be grave for both the individual and the community. There may be those who contend that society needs to have people who don't graduate from high school and hold low paying jobs. But, I don't think that is particularly just.
Doesn't everybody deserve a fair chance to live the "American Dream"?
As a side note, for some reason it has linked my husband's name to my blog responses. While his responses would be much more entertaining, I promise...it's only me :/
Socioeconomic status (SES) is commonly thought of as the standing or position of wealth, privilege, and power (or lack thereof) of an individual, a family, or a group within the community. SES affects all realms of behavior including educational attainment. Solving the inequalities of SES is a great humanitarian challenge (I have often wondered if it is possible). Some have thought that a high quality education is the best hope for improving one’s SES.
You talk about whether or not solving the inequalities of SES is a great humanitarian challenge. What do you think we have done as a nation to help solve for this challenge? Is it the nation's responsibility to solve for this problem?
I do think we have a responsibility for solving this problem, but I also do not know that it can be solved. Inequities go way back in history. Maybe we aim to make things better, and that is all we can do. I find Kristin's question intriguing. For as long as I can remember, I've felt we have a responsibility to our community and society. What is it that causes that feeling to develop? Do we all have that feeling? If not, should we make it a priority in our "character education?" And another thought--if high quality education is our best hope, do communities with a higher SES have to give something up to improve education in communities with a lower SES?
Kristin, I think it is a double edged sword. What does it look like to help those considered to be poor? Do other people have to give them more money so they are no longer considered low SES or is there a way to better educate people which will allow them to acquire better jobs so they can pull themselves into a different category?
Angie, I believe people should become responsible for themselves and "pull themselves up by the boot straps." If they need help getting an education in order to do this there are already a myriad of programs in place to do just that. Another thing to consider, is it our decision whether or not people considered low SES are to be brought up to mid or high SES? It seems to be taking away freedom of choice. I think of Kelli's story about her daughter. If she is happy doing what she is doing, isn't it her choice to continue doing so?
I used the word humanitarian to describe an educational system that goes beyond just replicating the status quo to one that improves the welfare and happiness of the people; and that is an upwardly mobile system. I believe that we have such a system. However, it doesn’t work for everyone, because the upwardly mobile part usually only pertains to those who have the vision and drive (and luck)to get to the top. In American a person’s SES usually means most people stay about where their parents were. People tend to live what they know.
I believe we (as a society) do have a responsibility to solve the problem of SES. The idea of people "pulling themselves up by the bootstraps" is a dangerous assumption that others struggling in the situation CAN and a notion embedded in American Culture. I agree there are several programs available to help others but me knowing about those programs and knowing how to access them is likely due to my privileged--we can assume other's know how to access the information or that they can access the information.
A good example of this is computers. Our society has turned from individuals applying for jobs in person, (ie filling out applications with pen and paper) to employers having online applications available and relying on email for communication. What about those people who don't have access to a computer? Sure, they can go visit the local library, but only from 10am-9pm. And what if the low SES individual doesn't have transportation and local library isn't really that local and not within walking distance (because low SES individuals have been slowly pushed out of the urban area to the suburbs)? Maybe turn to public transportation? Good luck, it only runs until 7pm around here...
Regarding Kelli's daughter, I think a key point is that she has made a choice to be in a low income bracket, and she has the social network to get out when she wants.
I think that is part of Alana's argument around computers and job applications. The social network for success in that specific arena isn't there for many people.
Yes, I've read "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America ". For those of you not familiar with the book, it was written by an undercover journalist, who basically is looking at the impacts on the welfare reform of 1996 and it's impact on the working poor. I read the book not long after it came out, so that's already been more than 10 years, but from what I can remember, the book is a great example of what my post above was about. And definitely a good read!
Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York, New York: Metropolitan Books.
In the past, I was under the impression that socioeconomic status was tied only to money. I was unaware that educationl and scoial class played a role. Jednoróg, Altarelli, Monzalvo, Fluss, Dubois, Billard, Dehaene-Lambertz, and Ramus define socioeconomic status as, "a multidimensional construct that includes not only measures of material wealth, but also education and social prestige" (2012, p.1).
Jednoróg et al. go onto explain one of the impacts of socioeconomic status. They studied the brain structure of 23 10 -year-old children and discovered the brain was physically different depending on the child's socioeconomic status.
Jednoróg, K., Altarelli, I., Monzalvo, K., Fluss, J., Dubois, J., Billard, C., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., ... Ramus, F. (January 01, 2012). The influence of socioeconomic status on children's brain structure. Plos One, 7, 8.)
Kristin, That is a fascinating article! I wish I understood more about the biology. Interesting that the correlations were stronger for literacy and verbal skills, trended somewhat for memory and visuo-spatial processing, but not present for phonological ability. And the changes to brain matter--that is a really important result. But they did address that correlation is not causality. As I read that paragraph, I was relieved (which I guess reveals my bias) that there was some evidence from other research about the hippocampus being sensitive to stress and reduced environmental stimulation.
I think if we had evidence in the other direction, it would be frightening. It would be like phrenology all over again.
What would it mean if SES and brain matter were related in a cyclical way, creating a cycle of problems? This morning I read an interesting article from an on-line magazine, Nautilus. It's related to that question, in a way... http://nautil.us/issue/2/uncertainty/the-genome-in-turmoil
I also found this article on brain research that I thought was interesting. It compared found low SES children and teens had higher rates of "depression, anxiety, attention problems, and conduct disorders" (Hackman, Farah, & Meaney, 2010, p. 651). This study showed these effects were not really due to the low SES factor as much as the pre-natal nurturing of the unborn. Which, I guess could be argued as those from low SES backgrounds may not know as well how to take care of themselves.
Hackman, D. A., Farah, M. J., & Meaney, M. J. (2010). Socioeceonomic Status and the Brain:
Mechanistic Insights from Human and Animal Research. Neuroscience , 651-659.
I think brain research and prenatal/early childhood care is so fascinating. I may be a little extra interested due to being pregnant and having a little one at home. I think the time in the womb and early childhood are the best opportunity to make a big difference in their cognitive development. I think brain research and physical changes are so fascinating. The article I read talked about adding nutritiounal supplements to enhance academic achievement. They tested infants cognitive development from birth to 36 months based on the supplements. Waber, Vuori-Christiansen, Ortiz, Clement, Christiansen (1981) found that the nutritional supplements helped minimize the gap in academic achievement based on SES, but it did not close the gap.
It is interesting to see how all the details can really make a big difference in academic performance.
Kristin
Waber, D. P., Vuori-Christiansen, L., Ortiz, N., Clement, J. R., Christiansen, N. E., Mora, J. O., Reed, R. B., ... Herrera, M. G. (January 01, 1981). Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34, 807-13.
According to the American Psychological Association, socioeconomic status is defined as "the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation.
ReplyDeleteExaminations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control".
Well, we have to start from something. As a teacher, I do recognize the three BIG factors-education, income and occupation (of the parents)- as common "excuses" for the failure of certain groups of students. When we talk about American schooling system as a "forgiving" one, that's exactly what we are referring to.
Leni,
DeleteI think it is interesting that you use the word "excuses" in your explanation. What is your position? Is SES a reason for failure? How does the American system differ from your experience concerning SES?
I would like to talk about the idea of excuses too. Does this word imply that we are being too forgiving of those who have not succeeded in our current academic system, and thus we should be encouraging them to travel down another path? I think that stance places blame on the individuals. Or does the word excuses imply that the educational system is using SES as an excuse for the failure of low SES individuals, and thus not doing enough to address it? I think this stance places the blame on those of us in the system.
DeleteI agree the stance places the blame on those of us in the system. The next logical question is what are we going to do about it? How can we reach out to those kids who are failing and close the achievement gap they have been facing since kindergarten, or even before?
DeleteThe quote from Howard: " These characteristics, which do not offer new or radically different approaches to school success, are: (1) visionary leadership, (2) teachers' effective practices, (3) intensive academic intervention, (4) the explicit acknowledgment of race, and (5) engagement of parents and community"(p.134). Howard, T. C. (2010). Why race and culture matter in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
DeleteSo, what are we going to do?
I wonder if it is the visionary leadership that might come first. Have you seen the video about Baruti Kafele, a principal in a low SES school? He is a visionary and he has done amazing things. However, he lives and breathes his work. I get the feeling that makes a big difference, and it seems that rare individuals can sustain that effort and energy. But still, it must happen.
If the leadership doesn't show those visionary qualities, the second point is where the classroom teacher has the most influence.
As I think about this, I keep wanting to write about barriers to implementing those 5 things. And the biggest ones are time, energy, and life balance. Perhaps bringing together a group of like-minded teachers in your school, and having a plan to provide the interventions (which at my school would be on our own time), and bringing supportive parents from the PTO into the dialogue.
I like the idea of bringing together a group of like minded people to motivate and inspire teachers to try and close the achievement gap. I am also thinking of barriers all the time.
DeleteI'm embarrassed to say it but sometimes in class I think this is such a big systemic problem. How can are little class even make a dent?
I design curriculum so my idea of think about things I CAN do is I can add more multicultural people into my trainings. White people are more readily available in my picture library but I can add more races and cultures especially since my trainings do go to a diverse group of people. That is something I can do.
I think Alayna brought to light another solution for teachers in her discussion last week. I like the idea of using culutural modeling (Howard, 2010) and the student's knowledge to enhance the learning environment.
Howard, T. C. (2010). Why race and culture matter in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
The question of what we are going to do is huge. I do believe there are small things we can implement in classrooms/school environments but I believe the problem is much, much bigger than school. Cultural Modeling can be implemented in classrooms to help student use 'out of school' knowledge to acquire 'in school' knowledge. I can see how it can contribute to an open and honest environment and help decrease the achievement gap.
DeleteGoing back to your initial question about how SES impacts education, I believe it has a significant impact. Howard (2010) states that students from impoverished backgrounds are less likely to have access to medical care. While Medicaid is readily accessible to help provide for these needs, students who have vision, dental, hearing, etc problems go unnoticed and may have significant failures in school related to those ailments. Further, Howard (2010) contends that children of low SES households often have parents with low-wage jobs (or no employment) and as a result frequently move. Their moves cause disruption in school attendance, continuity is lost and so are these children. It can be assumed that these children become lost in the system, fall behind and drop out. Only to be set-up for a nice, low-income job. And the cycle seems to start again.
It seems that the impacts can be grave for both the individual and the community. There may be those who contend that society needs to have people who don't graduate from high school and hold low paying jobs. But, I don't think that is particularly just.
Doesn't everybody deserve a fair chance to live the "American Dream"?
As a side note, for some reason it has linked my husband's name to my blog responses. While his responses would be much more entertaining, I promise...it's only me :/
DeleteSocioeconomic status (SES) is commonly thought of as the standing or position of wealth, privilege, and power (or lack thereof) of an individual, a family, or a group within the community. SES affects all realms of behavior including educational attainment. Solving the inequalities of SES is a great humanitarian challenge (I have often wondered if it is possible). Some have thought that a high quality education is the best hope for improving one’s SES.
ReplyDeleteBill,
DeleteYou talk about whether or not solving the inequalities of SES is a great humanitarian challenge. What do you think we have done as a nation to help solve for this challenge? Is it the nation's responsibility to solve for this problem?
Kristin
I do think we have a responsibility for solving this problem, but I also do not know that it can be solved. Inequities go way back in history. Maybe we aim to make things better, and that is all we can do.
DeleteI find Kristin's question intriguing. For as long as I can remember, I've felt we have a responsibility to our community and society. What is it that causes that feeling to develop? Do we all have that feeling? If not, should we make it a priority in our "character education?"
And another thought--if high quality education is our best hope, do communities with a higher SES have to give something up to improve education in communities with a lower SES?
Kristin,
DeleteI think it is a double edged sword. What does it look like to help those considered to be poor? Do other people have to give them more money so they are no longer considered low SES or is there a way to better educate people which will allow them to acquire better jobs so they can pull themselves into a different category?
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAngie,
DeleteI believe people should become responsible for themselves and "pull themselves up by the boot straps." If they need help getting an education in order to do this there are already a myriad of programs in place to do just that. Another thing to consider, is it our decision whether or not people considered low SES are to be brought up to mid or high SES? It seems to be taking away freedom of choice. I think of Kelli's story about her daughter. If she is happy doing what she is doing, isn't it her choice to continue doing so?
I used the word humanitarian to describe an educational system that goes beyond just replicating the status quo to one that improves the welfare and happiness of the people; and that is an upwardly mobile system. I believe that we have such a system. However, it doesn’t work for everyone, because the upwardly mobile part usually only pertains to those who have the vision and drive (and luck)to get to the top. In American a person’s SES usually means most people stay about where their parents were. People tend to live what they know.
DeleteI agree with Angie on this...
DeleteI believe we (as a society) do have a responsibility to solve the problem of SES. The idea of people "pulling themselves up by the bootstraps" is a dangerous assumption that others struggling in the situation CAN and a notion embedded in American Culture. I agree there are several programs available to help others but me knowing about those programs and knowing how to access them is likely due to my privileged--we can assume other's know how to access the information or that they can access the information.
A good example of this is computers. Our society has turned from individuals applying for jobs in person, (ie filling out applications with pen and paper) to employers having online applications available and relying on email for communication. What about those people who don't have access to a computer? Sure, they can go visit the local library, but only from 10am-9pm. And what if the low SES individual doesn't have transportation and local library isn't really that local and not within walking distance (because low SES individuals have been slowly pushed out of the urban area to the suburbs)? Maybe turn to public transportation? Good luck, it only runs until 7pm around here...
Regarding Kelli's daughter, I think a key point is that she has made a choice to be in a low income bracket, and she has the social network to get out when she wants.
DeleteI think that is part of Alana's argument around computers and job applications. The social network for success in that specific arena isn't there for many people.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHas anyone read "Nickeled and Dimed"?
DeleteYes, I've read "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America ". For those of you not familiar with the book, it was written by an undercover journalist, who basically is looking at the impacts on the welfare reform of 1996 and it's impact on the working poor. I read the book not long after it came out, so that's already been more than 10 years, but from what I can remember, the book is a great example of what my post above was about. And definitely a good read!
DeleteEhrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York, New York: Metropolitan Books.
In the past, I was under the impression that socioeconomic status was tied only to money. I was unaware that educationl and scoial class played a role. Jednoróg, Altarelli, Monzalvo, Fluss, Dubois, Billard, Dehaene-Lambertz, and Ramus define socioeconomic status as, "a multidimensional construct that
ReplyDeleteincludes not only measures of material wealth, but also education
and social prestige" (2012, p.1).
Jednoróg et al. go onto explain one of the impacts of socioeconomic status. They studied the brain structure of 23 10 -year-old children and discovered the brain was physically different depending on the child's socioeconomic status.
Jednoróg, K., Altarelli, I., Monzalvo, K., Fluss, J., Dubois, J., Billard, C., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., ... Ramus, F. (January 01, 2012). The influence of socioeconomic status on children's brain structure. Plos One, 7, 8.)
Kristin,
DeleteThat is a fascinating article! I wish I understood more about the biology.
Interesting that the correlations were stronger for literacy and verbal skills, trended somewhat for memory and visuo-spatial processing, but not present for phonological ability.
And the changes to brain matter--that is a really important result. But they did address that correlation is not causality. As I read that paragraph, I was relieved (which I guess reveals my bias) that there was some evidence from other research about the hippocampus being sensitive to stress and reduced environmental stimulation.
I think if we had evidence in the other direction, it would be frightening. It would be like phrenology all over again.
What would it mean if SES and brain matter were related in a cyclical way, creating a cycle of problems?
This morning I read an interesting article from an on-line magazine, Nautilus. It's related to that question, in a way...
http://nautil.us/issue/2/uncertainty/the-genome-in-turmoil
I also found this article on brain research that I thought was interesting. It compared found low SES children and teens had higher rates of "depression, anxiety, attention problems, and conduct disorders" (Hackman, Farah, & Meaney, 2010, p. 651). This study showed these effects were not really due to the low SES factor as much as the pre-natal nurturing of the unborn. Which, I guess could be argued as those from low SES backgrounds may not know as well how to take care of themselves.
ReplyDeleteHackman, D. A., Farah, M. J., & Meaney, M. J. (2010). Socioeceonomic Status and the Brain:
Mechanistic Insights from Human and Animal Research. Neuroscience , 651-659.
Tana,
DeleteI think brain research and prenatal/early childhood care is so fascinating. I may be a little extra interested due to being pregnant and having a little one at home. I think the time in the womb and early childhood are the best opportunity to make a big difference in their cognitive development. I think brain research and physical changes are so fascinating. The article I read talked about adding nutritiounal supplements to enhance academic achievement. They tested infants cognitive development from birth to 36 months based on the supplements. Waber, Vuori-Christiansen, Ortiz, Clement, Christiansen (1981) found that the nutritional supplements helped minimize the gap in academic achievement based on SES, but it did not close the gap.
It is interesting to see how all the details can really make a big difference in academic performance.
Kristin
Waber, D. P., Vuori-Christiansen, L., Ortiz, N., Clement, J. R., Christiansen, N. E., Mora, J. O., Reed, R. B., ... Herrera, M. G. (January 01, 1981). Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34, 807-13.