Framework for Understanding Poverty, A

From WikEd

[Tablet PC]

1 Introduction and Author Information
2 Important Definitions and Terms
3 Overview of the Book and Classroom Applications
4 Evidence of effectiveness
5 Critics and Their Rationale
6 Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
7 Signed “life experiences”, testimonies and stories
8 References and Other Links of Interest

Introduction and Author Information

A Framework for Understanding Poverty has sold over 1,000,000 copies. This book strives to be an inspection of the social and economic class structure of the United States and seeks to provide those living in middle class and wealth with a better understanding of the challenges that face those living in poverty. It is a self proclaimed "must read for educators, employers, policy makers, and service providers." The goal of the book is to provide the reader with "practical, real-world support and guidance to improve your effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds."

The author of the book, Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D., received her B.A. from Goshen (IN) College. She earned a master's degree from Western Michigan University and her doctorate from Loyola (IL) University. She has been in the field of education since 1972 and has been a teacher, principal, consultant, and administrator. Ruby Payne founded the company aha! Process in 1994 which works with various organizations (schools, churches, social service groups, etc.) to promote the understanding of the effects of poverty on our children and communities. She spreads this message by speaking to approximately 200 groups a year. aha! Process also publishes Dr. Payne's books, including A Framework for Understanding Poverty.

Important Definitions and Terms

Poverty - the extent to which an individual does without resources (p.7)

    Generational Poverty - having been in poverty for at least two generations (p. 47)
    Situational Poverty - a lack of resources due to a particular event (death, chronic illness, divorce, etc.)(p. 47)

Resources (p. 7)

    Financial - Having the money to purchase goods and services.
    Emotional - being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging 
                in self destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance, 
                and choices.
    Mental - Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life.
    Spiritual - Believing in divine purpose and guidance.
    Physical - Having physical health and mobility.
    Support Systems - Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external 
                resources.
    Relationships/Role Models - Having frequent access to adult(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing to the child, 
                and who do not engage in self destructive behavior.
    Knowledge of Hidden Rules - Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.

Four Reasons People Leave Poverty (p. 61)

    1.) A goal or vision of something they want to be or have.
    2.) A situation that is so painful that anything would be better.
    3.) Someone "sponsors" them (i.e., an educator or spouse or mentor or role model who shows them a different way or 
        convinces them that they could live differently).
    4.) A specific talent or ability that provides an opportunity for them.

Overview of the Book and Classroom Applications

This section will provide a brief overview of the chapters in A Framework for Understanding Poverty. A true understanding of Dr. Payne's message can only be understood by reading the entire book. This is only a highlight of what might be considered the most important components of the chapters.

Classroom Applications follow the chapter overviews in the boxes and are directly copied from A Framework for Understanding Poverty.

Chapter One - Definitions and Resource The first chapter of A Framework for Understanding Poverty prepares the reader to understand the messages in the rest of the book. There are several terms and definitions that are explained and the "resources" are elaborated upon. The most important component in the first chapter is the scenarios. Dr. Payne provides the reader with, what she contends, are ordinary and common situations a person in poverty might find themselves in. She then discusses the resources that the people in these situations both have and lack. For example, she gives the reader the scenario of Eileen and Wisteria. Eileen is a 10 year old girl living with her grandmother because her mother, Wisteria, is a prostitute with drug and alcohol addictions. She does not know who her father is. Eileen's grandmother is 70 years old and on Social Security. Wisteria sobers up once a year and comes around begging forgiveness and wants to be part of Eileen's life. The reader is asked to determine which if the seven resources are available to Eileen. The scenarios also include some home-school connection to help reveal the difficulties people in poverty have supporting school functions and issues when they might be dealing with hunger, legal issues, domestic violence, etc.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 25)
    * Resources of students and adults should be analyzed before dispensing advice or seeking solutions to the situation. 
      What may seem to be very workable suggestions from a middle class point of view may be virtually impossible given the 
      resources available to those in poverty.
    * Educators have tremendous opportunities to influence some of the non-financial resources that make such a difference in 
      students' lives. For example, it costs nothing to be an appropriate role model.

Chapter Two - The Role of Language and Story Chapter two is an overview of the five different registers of language. For the purposes of this book, the two most important registers are formal, the standard sentence syntax and word choice of work and school, and casual, the language used between friends which is characterized by a 400 to 800 word vocabulary. Dr. Payne purports that the ability to use formal register is a hidden rule of the middle class. Those in the middle class know when and how to use formal register, whereas those in poverty have limited access to it. This inability to use formal register has several ramifications. All state tests are written in formal register. Writing is expected to be done in formal register. Comprehension can suffer because story structure uses formal register. Of course, as is always pointed out, people are expected to use formal register in work situations.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 34)
    * Formal register needs to be directly taught.
    * Casual register needs to be recognized as the primary discourse for many students.
    * Discourse patterns need to be directly taught.
    * Both story structures need to be used as part of classroom instruction.
    * Discipline that occurs when a student uses the inappropriate register should be a time for instruction in the 
      appropriate register.
    * Students need to be told how much the formal register affects their ability to get a well-paying job.

Chapter Three - Hidden Rules Among Classes Chapter three begins with a quiz to help the reader understand his/her ability to survive in poverty, middle class, and wealth. The questions chosen for the quiz "have the most impact on achievement in schools and success in the workplace." The quiz points out to the reader those things that are taken for granted and those situations that are out of his/her comfort zone. The knowledge that is taken for granted are the hidden rules of that socioeconomic class.. For example, knowing how to enroll your child in Little League or where to go to get the best interest rate on a car loan are hidden rules of the middle class. However, would a person from the middle class know how to get and use food stamps if they were suddenly in a situation where it was a necessity? The quiz is followed by a brief summary and then a chart that gives an overview of some of the hidden rules among classes. An example of the hidden rules of the different classes in regards to money would be: Poverty - to be spent, Middle Class - to be managed, Wealth - to be conserved or invested. Another example in regards to food would be: Poverty - Was there enough? Quantity is important. Middle Class - Was it good? Quality is important. Wealth - How did it look? Presentation is important. The overall message of the chapter is best explained by Dr. Payne herself. "The key point is that hidden rules govern so much of our immediate assessment of an individual and his/her capabilities. These are often the factors that keep an individual from moving upward in a career - or even getting the position in the first place" (p. 44).

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 45)
    * Assumptions made about individuals' intelligence and approaches to the school and/or work setting may relate more to 
      their understanding of hidden rules.
    * Students need to be taught the hidden rules of middle class - not in denegration of their own but rather as another set 
      of rules that can be used if they so choose.
    * Many of the attitudes that students and parents bring with them are an integral part of their culture and belief 
      systems. Middle class solutions should not necessarily be imposed when other, more workable, solutions might be found.
    * An understanding of the culture and values of poverty will lessen the anger and frustration that educators may 
      periodically feel when dealing with these students and parents.
    * Most of the students that I have talked to in poverty do not believe they are poor, even when they are on welfare. Most 
      of the wealthy adults I have talked to do not believe they are wealthy; they will usually cite someone who has more 
      than they do.

Chapter Four - Characteristics of Generational Poverty Chapter four provides an overview of several characteristics that make generational poverty different from situational poverty and middle class. Some examples of these characteristics are background noise, significance of entertainment, matriarchal family structure, survival orientation, belief in fate, and polarized thinking. There is also an overview of family patterns in generational poverty, as well as an explanation as to how these characteristics surface with adults and students and in school situations.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 61)
    * An education is the key to getting out of, and staying out of, generational poverty. Individuals leave poverty for 
      one of four reasons: a goal or vision of something they want to be or have; a situation that is so painful that     
      anything would be better; someone who "sponsors" them (i.e., an educator or spouse or mentor or role model who shows 
      them a different way or convinces them that they could live differently); or a specific talent or ability that provides 
      an opportunity for them.
    * Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.
    * Many individuals stay in poverty because they don't know there is a choice - and if they do know that, have no one to 
      teach them the hidden rules or provide resources.
    * Schools are virtually the only places where students can learn the choices and rules of the middle class.

Chapter Five - Role Models and Emotional Resources This chapter discusses the importance of appropriate role models and emotional support to those living in poverty. It is explained that oftentimes, those living in poverty are raised in dysfunctional and co-dependent relationships. When a child is in these situations, s/he is not able to "go through the developmental stages at appropriate times and build emotional resources" (p. 65). Emotional resources must be present if one hopes to move out of poverty. These emotional resources can be provided 1.) through support systems, 2.) by using appropriate discipline strategies and approaches, 3.) by establishing long-term realtionships (apprenticeships, mentorships) with adults who are appropriate, 4.) by teaching the hidden rules, 5.) by identifying options, 6.) by increasing individuals' achievement level through appropriate instruction, 7.) by teaching goal-setting.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 66)
    * Schools need to establish schedules and instructional arrangements that allow students to stay with the same teachers 
      for two or more years - if mutually agreed upon.
    * Teachers and administrators are much more important as role models than has previously been addressed.
    * The development of emotional resources is crucial to student success. The greatest free resource available to schools 
      is the role modeling provided by teachers, administrators, and staff.

Chapter Six - Support Systems Chapter six is an overview of the support systems that can be accessed in times of need. The seven categories of support systems are 1.) Coping Strategies, 2.) Options During Problem Solving, 3.) Information and Know-How, 4.) Temporary Relief from Emotional, Mental, Financial, and/or Time Constraints, 5.) Connections to Other People and Resources, 6.) Positive Self-Talk, 7.) Procedural Self-Talk. An explanation of these support systems is followed by a sample list of support systems that can be used in schools to help students of poverty.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 75)
    * By reorganizing the school day and schedule, and often by making minor adjustments, educators can build support systems 
      into the school day without additional cost.
    * Support systems need to include the teaching of procedural self-talk, positive self-talk, planning, goal-setting, 
      coping strategies, appropriate relationships, options during problem solving, access to information and know-how, and 
      connections to additional resources.

Chapter Seven - Discipline Dr. Payne's approach to a successful discipline plan for students in poverty is to teach a separate set of behaviors. She states that, "many of the behaviors that students bring to school are necessary to help them survive outside of school" (p. 77). Chapter seven is an overview of several strategies that Dr. Payne feels can be used successfully with children of poverty. She advocates the use of structure and choice, behavior analysis, participation of the student, the language of negotiation, using metaphor stories, and teaching hidden rules. An important component of the chapter is a list of behaviors related to poverty and interventions that a teacher could use in response to the behavior. Another important section of the chapter discusses the use of child voice, adult voice, and parent voice (p. 83 & 84).

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 86)
    * Students from poverty need to have at least two sets of behaviors from which to choose - one for the street and one for 
      the school and work settings.
    * The purpose of discipline should be to promote successful behaviors at school.
    * Teaching students to use the adult voice (i.e., the language of negotiation) is important for success in and out of 
      school and can become an alternative to physical aggression. 
    * Structure and choice need to be part of the discipline approach.
    * Discipline should be seen and used as a form of instruction.

Chapter Eight - Instruction and Improving Achievement In A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Dr. Payne seeks to improve the academic achievement of students from poverty. This chapter seeks to provide teachers with instructional strategies that will lead to achievement. First, Dr. Payne differentiates between teaching and learning and then explains the learning structures of cognitive strategies, concepts, skills, and content. Using information gathered by Reuven Feuerstein, she purports that children in poverty come to school without cognitive strategies. Furthermore, when cognitive strategies are missing there are learning ramifications such as, blurred and sweeping perceptions and the lack of systematic method of exploration, impaired verbal tools, impaired spatial orientation, impaired temporal orientation, impaired observation of constancies, lack of precision and accuracy in data-gathering, and the inability to hold two objects or sources inside the head while comparing and contrasting. Therefore, Dr. Payne believes that for children of poverty to be able to be more successful in school, cognitive strategies must be taught directly. A list of strategies that must be built are given in this chapter, as well as a lesson design and intervention strategies that a teacher could use.

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 108)
    * The focus in schools should be on learning.
    * Instruction in the cognitive strategies should be a part of the curriculum.
    * Staff development should focus on a diagnostic approach rather than a programmatic approach.
    * Efforts to promote learning should pay greater heed to what is in the student's head.
    * Insistence, expectations, and support need to be guiding lights in our decisions about instruction.

Chapter Nine - Creating Relationships Chapter nine seeks to provide educators with strategies to develop relationships with children in poverty. Relationships are significant motivators in poverty and therefore can lead to achievement for students. Dr. Payne states that "to honor students as human being worthy of respect and care is to establish a relationship that will provide for enhanced learning" (p. 111). A school can create and build relationships with students "through support systems, through caring about students, by promoting student achievement, by being role models, by insisting upon successful behaviors for school" (p. 111).

    What Does This Information Mean In The School Or Work Setting? (p. 112)
    * For students and adults from poverty, the primary motivation for their success will be in their relationships.
    * If your school or work setting presently affords new opportunities for building relationships, find ways to establish 
      natural connections that will enable this vital resource to take root and grow.

Evidence of effectiveness

Dr. Ruby Payne has become what some consider a leading expert in poverty education. She speaks at approximately 200 conferences a year and is in great demand. She has spread her message throughout the United States and has also traveled to Australia. Her company, aha! Process, has developed what they call the Payne School Model. The aha! Process Websitedefines the model as, "a comprehensive, research based approach to success in schools that meets the requirements set under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. The Model is based on the trainings, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Learning Structures, and Meeting Standards and Raising Test Scores and focused on small group technical assistance to embed proven concepts and strategies into daily practice. The Model has been successfully implemented across the country. To measure the effects of the Model on student achievement, aha! Process is conducting an ongoing evaluation in 28 schools." This webpageprovides links to the full explanation of the Payne School Model, as well as various related information, including scientific research based results.

A second resource provided by the aha! Process website to support the effectiveness of the strategies and models Dr. Payne teaches is a list of News Articles.

The aha! Process website also provides a space entitled What Participants Have to Say for people to share their experiences with Ruby Payne's models, books, and strategies.

A quick search of the internet will also lead to several web discussion boards where people are sharing their positive experiences with Dr. Payne's books and strategies, as well as book reviews. One such discussion board is on a professional teacher website called ProTeacher Community. One such review is posted on Education World.

Critics and Their Rationale

There is a growing critical movement of Dr. Payne and her body of work. Although this movement is just at the beginning stages and there is little information that can be found that criticizes her work, it is clear that there will be more oppositional work available in the near future.

The most accessible proponent to Dr. Payne is an assistant professor at Hamline University and the founder of EdChange, Paul C. Gorski. Mr. Gorski has written several articles and essays in response to Dr. Payne's teachings and books. One such essay, Savage Unrealities: Uncovering Classism in Ruby Payne's Framework, can be accessed through the EdChange website. This essay seeks to reveal Dr. Payne's focus on blaming those in poverty, supporting stereotypes, and looking at poverty as a choice. It also challenges Dr. Payne's plan to teach those in poverty how to successfully work within the system, rather than change the system which he affirms is flawed. Following are some key quotes from Mr. Gorski's essay:

Page 2: "But when I read the growing collection of books and essays written or co-written by Payne, I see regression, stereotyping, and classism. I see a framework for understanding poverty that disregards the 'sociopolitical context of schooling.'"

Page 4: "...Instead, she leads readers to believe that these characteristics result from poverty and not, if they result at all, from the classist conditions that keep people in poverty."

Page 4: "...the multitudes of educators consuming her framework are left with an ungrounded understanding of the relationship between poverty and education."

Page 5: "Instead of tackling inequity and injustice, instead of describing ways in which schools and a complicit upper and middle class (Brantlinger, 2003) contribute to cycles of poverty through classist policies and practices like tracking, inequitable expectations, and high-stakes testing, Payne (2001) insists that we must understand these 'hidden rules' of poverty and teach students in poverty the rules that will help them navigate the system (p. 8)."

Page 8: "The roots of her framework - that people in poverty must learn the culture of the middle class in order to gain full access to educational opportunities - is steeped in deficit thinking."

Page 9 (In regards to the scenarios in chapter one): "These characters exhibit all of the stereotypical moral and intellectual 'deficits' of economically disadvantaged people, strengthening the underlying message that the real change must happen within people in poverty and not within the systems that create and maintain poverty, such as education. Moreover, the most dysfunctional characters in Payne's scenarios tend to be African American or Latina/o, adding a racist element to her deficit model."

Some of these same sentiments can be found on web discussion boards. One such discussion board can be found on the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education website.

Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations

Diversity considerations are the center issue of Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty and her critics opposition to it. How can students of different ethnicities, nationalities, socioeconomic standings, and life experiences all be taught in a manner that meets their needs and provides opportunities for the success of all students? Dr. Payne believes that the strategies she suggests in A Framework for Understanding Poverty along with the rest of her literature will support academic success for students in poverty. Mr. Gorski feels that her suggestions further perpetuate the classist workings of the education system and ignore the need for change to be made within the system. The "right" model educational equality remains to be unclear and we can only hope for clarification through further research and investigations.

Signed “life experiences”, testimonies and stories

Recently a representative of "aha!" came to my district and spoke to the faculty, staff and administrators about the "Framework for Understanding Poverty". I will have to say that I was a little skeptical when I was told (with all the other staff) to attend this presentation. But after listening to the speaker and viewing the presentation, I was impressed. I came away with some insight. I am African-American and I thought, "What can someone tell me about poverty? I've seen poverty, I've lived poverty...this is a waste of time". But I will have to say, I was wrong. From one perspective, I do understand poverty but from another standpoint, I didn't know where my "style" of teaching came from. The gentleman that spoke gave everyone there an understanding of why we do the things we do and say the things we say...it all has history. It was very interesting and I would suggest that anyone desiring to teach should read this book, it's an eye-opener. - L.S. - Educator.