Poverty In America - Report Example

Introduction The complications of poverty and the economy are known to be associated with several different factors. Those who are living in povertyare not only faced with the basic struggles that come from a lack of monetary capabilities. More importantly, there are other environmental influences that cause those who are living in poverty to remain disadvantaged over a longer period of time. The lack of education and the inability to find necessary employment are two of the leading causes of poverty. These two variables have led several to remaining in poverty and continue a cycle of low income that continues with families. Defining the complications of poverty and how it relates to education and employment, as well as how this moves between generations can then lead to finding proper solutions to ending poverty. Causes of Poverty There are several that have questioned the position of poverty and why it continues to define areas of society through time. The inability for countries to move outside of poverty, despite continuous growth of economic and material resources has also raised questions to the intergenerational poverty that afflicts every nation. From this questioning, there is also an understanding that poverty is one that is not exclusively related to economic positions and opportunity within a country. According to the author, Galbraith, the situation of poverty is one that thrives even when those living in low income families have a degree of employment. According to conventional economic wisdom, it is mostly those in poverty that are able to drive forward the economy, specifically because they offer more options for labor in a thriving economy, as well as in economic turns. The case and affects of poverty can then be said to relate to deeper issues and other dimensions that are often not considered in society (Galbraith, 407). The concept of poverty, since it is not only attributed to the case of the economy, relies on other complications within society that don’t provide opportunity for those at certain income levels. According to Galbraith, the concept of poverty ending relies on a change in the economy, starting from politicians and moving into reforms that are intertwined with policies and opportunity. Everything from clean streets to opportunities in education, as well as ways to care for the health and well – being of children can assist children in overcoming poverty and not being dependent on low wages and a lack of resources. If the community begins to build resources that are conducive to the health of every income level then poverty can begin to diminish in society (Galbraith, 411). Education and Poverty A central problem that is linked to poverty is known to relate directly to education and the lack of opportunity to have a proper education. It has been found that there are different times of growth among children that are more influential and which change their ability to become educated for the longer term. According to Marks, literacy and mathematical performance are directly influenced by a child’s background and the education that is within their family. There are three dimensions that will affect the education of a child, including parental education, wealth and the occupation of the parent. The education of the parent is known to be the most important. If this is not altered, then by the ninth year of school, a student will most likely have significantly lower scores on both literary and mathematical lessons. This impact will continue through the rest of the child’s school and will most likely influence them after their graduation. More importantly, the performance is known to be reflected in the schools and the outlook that is given to those who have parents of a lower educational level, which limits the opportunities that are available to children (Marks et al, 3). The findings from educational programs are one that is not only influenced by the basic stance of the parents, but also continues to create a cycle of poverty from the lack of education that is available. Intergenerational illiteracy is known to be one of the main problems that are facing those who are in poverty. The concept of intergenerational illiteracy is known to be a social and cultural problem that begins in high poverty and urban settings. Typically, the cycle will begin from at least three generations back and will be directly related to parents not having the capability to get printed materials or to move into a proper educational setting. More importantly, the need to maintain a level of income through longer working hours and minimum wage leads those in poverty to remain illiterate and to continue to struggle for their needs within society. For those that are struggling with income, literacy becomes a secondary component. This is passed through to the next generation, which then continues this cycle and has very little influence in the early stages of life to overcoming problems with poverty (Cooter, 698). Employment and Poverty The difficulties with education that move from parent to child and which create a cycle of poverty is one that is not only directly associated with literacy and influences on children. More often, this begins with the need to have a source of monetary income, usually which is at a lower level. It is known that children who have wealth in their family, as opposed to children who are living in poverty, are also given more opportunity and chances to excel within their field of choice while having the provisions for education before them. It is known that the intergenerational income will not differ by more than .20 percent, specifically because of the lack of opportunity or capabilities to excel for those that have higher amounts of income. The inability to invest in children and the lack of substantial programs further this problem. More importantly, parents who don’t have a substantial income don’t have the provisions to provide a quality environment for children so they have more capabilities to learn, remain healthy and to grow into new opportunities for their future. Many believe that the parental influence is related to both stress factors from low income as well as behaviors that incorporate a specific role to children, which later creates a cycle of how a child should respond in given situations (Mayer, 48). The several complications that are related to employment and underemployment in families lead to intergenerational problems because of the lack of opportunity. At the same time, families that are facing poverty are known to create different family structures that result in different influences that create poverty. For instance, in a current research study (Albrecht et al), it was found that the family units of those in poverty levels are usually broken families. Single mothers, divorced homes and families that don’t have the correct adjustments are usually at the center of the difficulties for those who don’t have the right level of employment. This leads to other complications that don’t provide children with opportunities that are needed and causes gaps in the opportunity that is available. Psychological considerations are also taken into affect, specifically in which children learn different behaviors from the family structure and the levels of employment that are within the family (Albrecht et al, 87). Finding Solutions to Poverty The two factors of education and employment that create an intergenerational cycle of poverty then need to find specific solutions that will break the continuous trends in low levels of employment. The first factor that relates to this is based on changing the ways that educational systems function so lower income families have more opportunities, similar to those who have a wealthier status. To do this, teachers, educators and administrators need to offer more opportunity to those that are underprivileged and those who are not able to have satisfactory options because of poverty. A challenge that is currently being posed to educational systems is to offer assistance by changing the available training to teachers. If educators are able to see the needs of those who are in poverty, then more opportunity can be created and reliance on family units and intergenerational poverty can help to reach more success. Models such as the professional development school (PDS) can be implemented which focuses on career based outcomes for students and which assists in the needs for those at lower income levels (Miller et al, 17). Another concept that can be applied to poverty is based on changing the teaching and learning for both education and employment opportunity. Many of the challenges that children face in terms of education comes directly from the family. Continuing the cycle of low employment, psychological understanding of poverty and the difficulties that come with low wages in the family are not being looked into within educational systems. To change this, developments need to be developed in terms of educational opportunities for children with low wage families. More importantly, different skills need to be taught in terms of employment so there can be different learning outcomes and a change in opportunity and understanding for employment. One of the ways to do this is through interdisciplinary connections that students can use. This will incorporate educational opportunities for those that don’t have the same privileges. More importantly, there is a sense of service learning which prepares children for different types of jobs, specifically which are not interrelated to the intergenerational links of those that are employed from the family. By looking at this option, it allows children to have a chance to break out of the cycle of low employment and other problems that are a part of low wage families (Astin et al, 2). Conclusion Breaking out of the cycle of poverty is one that is not only based on the economic status of low wage earners and those that don’t have the same economic opportunities in society. While this is the outcome of those that are at lower levels of poverty, it is not the only reason why there are high levels of poverty, despite the economic booms that are within a community. The lack of education and the inability to understand different areas of employment are some of the leading factors that create poverty within society. More importantly, those that are faced with poverty come from intergenerational links that are passed down from parents to students. Family structure, occupation, wealth and the influence that this has on children is one that directly affects the poverty levels that are within society. To change this, opportunity for education and the ability to shift poverty through service oriented learning needs to be considered. This approach will break children out of the cycle of poverty and will create new opportunity to those that come from low income backgrounds. Works Cited Albrecht, Don, Stan Albrecht. (2009). Poverty in Nonmetropolitan America: Impacts of Industrial, Employment, and Family Structure Variables. Rural Psychology (65), (1). Astin, AW, LJ Vogelgesang, EK Ikeda. (2000). Poverty: Interdisciplinary Connections to Students Service-Learning. (2005). [PDF File] http://dpi.wi.gov/fscp/pdf/slpovrty.pdf Cooter, Kathleen. (2006). When Mama Can’t read: Counteracting Intergenerational Illiteracy. Reading Teacher (Vol. 59, pp. 698-702). Galbraith, John Kenneth. The Position of Poverty. Jacobus, 407-411 Marks, G., McMillan, J., Hillman, K. (2001). Tertiary Education Performance: The Role of Student Background and School Factors, LSAY Research Report 22, Melbourne: ACER. Mayer, Susan E. 1997. What Money Cant Buy: Family Income and Childrens Life Chances. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Miller, S., Dully, G., Rohr, Jean, Gasparello, Mercier. (2005, May). Preparing Teachers for High-Poverty Schools. Educational Leadership (Vol. 62, Issue 8). Read More