A Couple of Engagement Factors That May Cause Distraction from Learning

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.