There are seven factors that can potentially cause
distraction from learning for children from poor families. I have seen the
first two in my classroom experiences. The first is regarding health and
nutrition. The illustration from class was that low birth weight could lead to
the lack of brain development. Low birth weight is generally due to poor
nutrition or pre-natal care of the mother.
Poor families are less likely to exercise, have access to regular
healthcare, or be able to afford recommended prescriptions or other
interventions. According to a study of two neuroscientists, intelligence is
linked to health (Gray & Thompson, 2004). Health- related factors can
affect attention, reasoning, learning, and memory.
Good nutrition is essential for children to develop both
physically and mentally. Children who grow up in poor families are exposed to
food with lower nutritional value. This can adversely affect them even in the
womb (Antonow – Schlorke et al., 2011). Also, poor nutrition at breakfast can
affect children’s brain development (Taki et al., 2010). Missing breakfast is
widespread among intercity youth, and it negatively affects students’ academic
progress by negatively affecting perception and increasing absenteeism (Basch,
2011).
When students have poor nutrition and limited or
non-existent healthcare, its harder for them to listen, concentrate, and learn.
Children are prone to ear infections. If
the children suffering form ear infections have limited access to healthcare,
they will be more likely to suffer from complications from them, resulting with
hearing difficulty, making it difficult to follow directions and understanding
the teacher. This can lead to trouble learning to read and other basic learning
foundation skills. Students lacking proper nutrition may also appear lethargic
or restless.
In the class I am currently in there are signs of poor
nutrition. Many of the students receive free or reduced breakfast and lunch. I
personally have not witnessed the complications of hearing loss, but understand
the importance of hearing screenings. If a poor student suffers from hearing
(or vision ) loss in kindergarten they probably do not realize it, because that
is how it has always been. In my class I will be sure to have all students
screened for hearing (and vision) if they are struggling. I have seen many
examples of the lethargic or restless students. In my classroom, I will get the
students moving doing slow stretching while taking deep breaths (similar to
yoga) to get their metabolism a kick start and hopefully level them out by
increasing their oxygenation. As far as
access to healthcare, hopefully the country is moving in the right direction
now and we will see a change in our schools.
The other factor I see a lot in the class I am working with
is the lack of vocabulary. The more
words a person knows the more likely they will be successful. Children raised
in low- income homes usually have a smaller vocabulary than middle-class
children do, which increases the risk for poor academic performance. Children
from low-income families hear, on average, 13 million words by age 4. In
middle-class families, children hear about 26 million words during that same
time period. In upper-income families, they hear a staggering 46 million words by age 4, three times as
many as their lower income counterparts (Hart & Risley, 1995). A child’s
vocabulary is their key to the world around them.
Children need words to express their needs and ask questions
to learn more. Students form low–income families are less likely to know the
words a teacher uses in class or the words that appear in reading material.
When students don’t understand the vocabulary in class, they don’t want to
read. Also as a result of the frustration of not understanding the class
materials, students don’t want to look stupid in front of their peers and won’t
participate in class. This may ultimately lead to the students dropping out of
school.
In the class I work with, I see this often. I’m in a
kindergarten class, so I see the frustration starting. I also see the great
divide through out the school year of the students that are grasping the
concepts of the alphabet, letter sounds and sight words, and the students that
a struggling and can’t quite put it all together. If students do not have the foundations of
the alphabet and the ability to read sight words and basic reading strategies
by the end of the school year, they will be more likely to continue to fall
behind in the higher grades. One positive
observation is that in kindergarten they are not yet concerned with peer
pressure or getting embarrassed by asking a “stupid” question, they ask all
kinds of questions and try to answer questions, even if they have no idea what
the answer is. They are not yet afraid to be wrong, if only we could keep that
innocence a little longer so they would continue to try. They do get frustrated
and give up sometimes. I think
encouraging struggling students is probably one of the most difficult parts of
being a teacher, because you may be the only one encouraging, with no support
form peers or home. When I get my
classroom my goal will be to promote vocabulary every chance I can. I will tag
everything (that doesn’t move) in the classroom as we learn the words so
students can begin to decipher the letters and make meaning of the
combinations. The only way to combat
lack of vocabulary is with MORE vocabulary.
References:
Antonow-Schlorke, I., Schwab, M., Cox, L.A>, Lic, C., Stuchlika, K.,
Wittea, O.w., et al. (2011). Vulnerability of the fetal primate brain to
moderate reduction in maternal global nutrient availability. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science of the United states of America, 108(7), 3011 – 3016.
Basch, C.E.(2011). Breakfast and the achievement gap among urban minority
youth. Journal of School Health,
81(10), 635-640.
Gray, J.R.< & Thompson, P.M.(2004). Neurobiology of intelligence.
Discovery Medicine, 4(22), 157 – 162.
Hart, B., &Risley, T.R.(1995). Meaningful difference in the everyday
experience of young American children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Taki, Y., Hashizume, H., Sassa, Y., Takeuchi, H., Asano, M., Asano, K.,
et al.(2010). Breakfast staple types affect brain grey matter volume and
cognitive function in healthy children. PLoS
One, 5(12), e15213.
