Talk:Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 5/5.1.2

Reader Responses
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This article is a real eye opener concerning kids that suffer from poverty. When I was in school I could definitely pick out those kids but you have no idea what the long term effects are. It is sad to think of those kids and what they have to overcome everyday. Malnutrition for starters. How can anyone do well if you are not well fed? You can not concentrate or do well at anything. Parental support is so important I believe for a students success. Sadly most of these kids do not have parents that are involved in their school work or even help them at all. Some many kids go to schools that are inadequate, and do not seem to get a good education. If you get behind as a small child how can they ever catch up and be where they need to be to survive in the real world. I definitely agree that poverty has a great impact on the students education and life as a whole. Aferg006 (talk) 20:46, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

I had some idea of the ramifications that poverty has upon education but not to this extent. The information regarding the level of difference between an average child below the poverty line and one in an affluent community was shocking. High School graduates performing at the same level as 8th graders? Good god. Nor did I know that “No Child Left Behind” required students information to be distributed to military recruiters. That explains the persistent stalking and telemarketing campaign everyone receives around graduation time. Overall, this was a highly enlightening article, if not a little scary.BitterAsianMan (talk) 06:42, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

There is lots of good information given in this article. I know how hard it is for me to study if I am distracted by a growling stomach. I also know that all I have to do is go to the kitchen to get some food. I can see how a child in poverty has a more difficult time at school. Mlipl001 (talk) 00:11, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

After reading this article, it enabled me to more fully understand the negative impact poverty has on children in the academic world. Many poor children do not have access to the resources they need to succeed and score comparably among their more affluent classmates. I do believe that the NCLB act was a great step towards addressing the issue of including students in education, even those who are in poverty. I knew the definition of poverty according to the U.S. government, but it is still depressing to realize just how many Americans including children are living below the poverty line. I also didn't realize the difference in academic knowledge between affluent and poverty stricken children, and how vast it was. This article definitely opened my eyes to the issue of poverty, and how it can impact education. Rburt005 (talk) 18:15, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

One of the things I found very astonishing was the poverty rate in Virginia. Considering that there are 50 states and Puerto Rico, ranking 40th does not seem that bad. However, having a rate of 13% in child poverty is extremely high especially in just a single state. Personally I see this as a wake-up call for Virginia’s Department of Education, because it means that we need high quality educators to “pick up the slack” for these children. In other words, since children of poverty cannot reach the resources of children who have a higher SES, they are going to need teachers who can help them catch up to what they could have learned in their pre-school and primary years. The No Child Left Behind Act is also in need of serious revision, because too many students are suffering from the “benefits” of it. Another important aspect that the country needs to consider is the children poverty rate in America and how to create a budget around that. 18% is unacceptable in a country where the resources and people are available and willing to help. The government needs to give proper funding to schools, so that at least the children of poverty are educated. Adart001 (talk) 00:48, 19 July 2009 (UTC)