A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne

A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruby Payne Chapters 7 -9 By: Ashley Rampino, Christina Giorgetti, Eileen Smith, Natalia Pierre, Samantha Grauna

Chapter 7: Discipline

Discipline l l When it comes to poverty, discipline is about penance and forgiveness, not necessarily change What helps students from poverty survive on the streets could be what keeps them from surviving in school l Many of the behaviors exhibited in school are what is necessary to survive outside of school

Structure and Choice in Discipline l Meeting disciplinary standards is all about balancing structure and choice. l l We must first make clear what expected behaviors are and then emphasize to our students that it is their choice whether they will abide by the behaviors. First model, then guide them from dependence to independence in making the decisions

Behavior Analysis l The Teacher: l l l Find the reason behind the student behavior. In the cases of discipline with a student of poverty, many behaviors are directly linked to their environment and home life. The Student: l l Should analyze his/her own actions Becomes accountable for behavior and makes them think of other ways to solve their problem

The Language of Negotiation l Many children in poverty have to function as their own parent. They may parent themselves or other younger siblings. Sometimes they even parent the adult in the household.

Three Voices l There are 3 voices inside everyone’s head: 1. The Child Voice * Is playful, spontaneous and curious 2. The Adult Voice *Provides the language of negotiation and allows issues to be examined in a nonthreatening way. 3. The Parent Voice * Can be very loving and supportive depending on the situation. This voice also to be authoritative and directive. tends

The Child Voice Defensive, victimized, emotional, whining, losing attitude, strongly negative non-verbal. q q q Quit picking on me. You don’t love me. You want me to leave. Nobody likes (loves) me. I hate you. You’re ugly. q q q You make me sick, It’s your fault. Don’t blame me. She, _______ did it. You make me mad. You made me do it.

The Parent Voice Judgmental, evaluative, win-lose mentality, demanding, punitive, sometimes threatening. § § You shouldn’t (should) do that. It’s wrong (right) to do _______. That’s stupid, immature, out of line, ridiculous. Life’s not fair. Get busy. § § You are good, bad, worthless, beautiful (any judgmental, evaluative comment). You do as I say. If you weren’t so ____, this wouldn’t happen to you. Why can’t you be like _______?

The Adult Voice Non-judgmental, free of negative non-verbal, factual, often in question format, attitude of win-win. § § § In what ways could this be resolved? What factors will be used to determine the effectiveness, quality of _______? I would like to recommend _____. § § § What are choices in this situation? I am comfortable (uncomfortable) with _____. Options that could be considered are _____.

Metaphor Stories l A metaphor story helps an individual voice issues that affect subsequent actions. It does not contain any proper names in it. l Situation: A child goes to the nurse’s office two or three times a week. There is nothing wrong with her yet she keeps going. l Adult decides to tell the student a story about a girl similar to her and asks for help in doing so.

Example Story: l “Once upon a time there was a girl who went to the nurse’s office. Why did the girl go to the nurse’s office? (Because she thought there was something wrong with her. ) So the girl went to the nurse’s office because she thought there was something wrong with her. Did the nurse find anything wrong with her? (No, the nurse did not. ) So the nurse did not find anything wrong with her, yet the girl kept going to the nurse. Why did the girl keep going to the nurse? (Because she thought there was something wrong with her. ) So the girl thought something was wrong with her. Why did the girl think there was something wrong with her? (She saw a TV show and…)” l The story continues until the problem is solved and ends on a positive note… “So she went to the doctor, and he gave her tests and found that she was OK. ”

A Metaphor Story: l Used one on one when there is a need to understand the existing behavior and motivate the student to implement the appropriate behavior.

Teaching Hidden Rules l Example: l A student from poverty laughs when he/she is disciplined: l “Do you use the same rules to play all computer games? No, you don’t because you would lose. The same is true at school. There are street rules and there are school rules. Each set of rules helps you be successful where you are. So, at school, laughing when being disciplined is not a choice. It doesn’t help you be successful. It only buys you more trouble. Keep a straight face and look sorry, even if you don’t feel that way. ”

Chapter 8: l Instruction & Improving Achievement

Traditional Notions of Intelligence: § § The Bell Curve purports that individuals in poverty have on the average an IQ of nine points lower than individuals in the middle class. Payne suggests that this might be a credible argument if IQ tests were measured on ability, but it is actually measured on acquired information. The questions on the handout are the type of questions asked on an IQ test, but the content of these questions is the only difference. This shows the point that the information on IQ test is only based on acquired knowledge. The tests we use in many areas of school are not about ability or intelligence, but are based on acquired knowledge.

Differentiating Between Teaching and Learning § § § In order to learn, an individual needs to have certain cognitive skills and a structure inside his/her head to accept learning. Research on learning must be addressed to work successfully with students from poverty. The four elements of a learning structure: § Cognitive Strategies: more basic than concepts; fundamental ways of processing information and are the infrastructure of the mind. § Concepts: store information and allow for retrieval. § Skills: includes the processing of content (reading, writing, computing). § Content: “what” of learning; the information used to make sense of daily life. Many students in poverty are coming to school without concepts or cognitive strategies. As teachers, we need to build learning structures inside our students.

Cognitive Strategies: § Reuven Feuerstein believed that between the environmental stimulus and the response should be mediation § § (ex: the intervention of an adult). Mediation consists of three things: § Identification of the stimulus § Assignment of meaning § Identification of a strategy

Cognitive Strategies cont… § Mediation builds cognitive strategies, which give individuals the ability to plan, systematically go through data, etc. § Feuerstein identified the missing links that occur in the mind when mediation had not occurred. Some examples of Missing Links: § “Mediated focusing”- Ability to focus attention and see objects in detail. § “Mediated scheduling”- Based on routine. Ability to schedule and plan ahead. § Missing links/mediations result in cognitive issues §

What are these Cognitive Issues? § § Blurred and sweeping perceptions and the lack of a systematic method of exploration- students have no consistent way of getting information. § In a new setting, the student will rapidly go from object to object. Impaired verbal tools- they do not have the vocabulary to deal with the cognitive tasks. § Students who rely on casual register do not use or have many prepositions in their speech. Impaired spatial orientation- inability to orient objects or people in space. Impaired temporal orientation- inability to organize and measure in time.

Cognitive Strategies That Must Be Built § Feuerstein identified 3 stages in the learning process: § § § Input Strategies: “quantity and quality of the data gathered. ” § Use planning behaviors, orient data in time, explore data systematically, etc. Elaboration Strategies: “use of the data. ” § Identify and define the problem, compare data, summarize data. Output Strategies: “communication of the data. ” § Communicate clearly the labels and process, control impulsive behavior.

Using Eye Movement to Follow the Learning Process l Eye movement allows a teacher to begin understanding the ways in which a student is processing information. l The teacher is able to determine the type of information the student is trying to process by observing the position they have moved their eyes to. l Eye movements help teachers identify how a student tends to store and receive information.

The Face is Divided into Three Zones l l l Top Zone: When a person’s gaze is directed at the top zone, they are processing visual information. Middle Zone: When a person’s gaze is in the middle zone they are processing auditory information. Bottom Zone: When a person’s gaze is at the bottom zone the person is either talking to themselves or processing feelings.

The Face as a Clock…

The Face as a Clock l Visual l Right handed person – the 2 o’clock position indicates that the individual is processing visually remembered data. The 10 o’clock position indicates that they are processing data that is visually constructed (data put together from several sources). l Left handed person – positions are reversed – 2 o’clock is visually constructed and 10’oclock is visually remembered data l Auditory l Right handed person – the 3 o’clock position indicates auditory remembered information and the 9 o’clock indicates auditory constructed information. l Left handed person – positions are reversed. l Feeling/Kinesthetic l Right handed person – the 5 o’clock position is auditory internal dialogue and the 7 o’clock position is feelings. l Left handed person — positions are reversed.

Instructional Interventions that Build Conceptual Frameworks and Cognitive Strategies: l l l Graphic Organizers Goal Setting and Procedural Self-talk Kinesthetic Approaches Rubrics Teaching students to make questions Systematic approaches to the data/ text: l l highlighting information using symbols to identify the five W questions.

Instructional Interventions that Build Conceptual Frameworks and Cognitive Strategies (cont. ) l Teaching conceptual frameworks as a part of the content l l l Teaching the structure of language l l teaching students to understand formal register Sorting relevant and irrelevant clues l l emphasis on relating content to personal experience take what they know and translate it into the new form cartooning helps students identify the main points of a text Teaching Mental Models l drawings, a story, a metaphor, or an analogy

Chapter 9: Creating Relationships *Key to achievement for students in poverty is in creating strong relationships Ø Relationships Ø Ø Significant motivator because in poverty, relationships (and entertainment) are valued 2 Research Sources Ø Ø Science Field Research Stephen Covey’s personal effectiveness work

Importance of Relationships >> Prior to Research: “Newtonian Approach” Dissecting teaching into parts--energies focus on achievement and effective teaching strategies >> Now: Most Important Part of teaching = establishing relationships Ex: 9 x out of 10 students from poverty who have successfully made it into middle class attribute his/her success to a meaningful relationship >>>> A teacher, counselor, or coach-- Us!

Covey’s (1989) “Emotional Bank Account”

In all relationships we make deposits to and withdrawals from the other individual l Payne adapted Covey’s chart from, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, with regards to students from poverty. l By understanding deposits that are valued by students from poverty, the relationship is stronger. l How can we create and build relationships in schools? l Through support systems, caring about students, and by promoting student achievement, by being role models, and by insisting upon successful behaviors for school.

Payne’s Adaptive Emotional Bank Account for Individuals in Poverty

What does this information mean in the school setting? >Main Points Revisited: l l l Students from poverty need to have at least two sets of behaviors from which to choose-- street & school/work settings Discipline should be seen and used as a form of instruction Instruction in the cognitive strategies should be a part of the curriculum Insistence, expectations, and support need to be guiding lights in our decisions about instruction People in poverty’s primary motivation for their success will be in their relationships. Find ways to establish natural connections that will enable you to build a lasting relationship with all of your students