When you are a teacher, there will be many times that you will come across students who have many different backgrounds and financial situations that may be different than yours. Recently, I have begun reading A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. She states that the definition of poverty is “the extent to which an individual does without resources”. I am including the list of resources she further goes on and uses in different scenarios:
Whenever someone says the word “poverty” most of the time you think about someone’s financial situation. Ruby Payne points out that this is not always the case; in fact, poverty goes a lot deeper than that. As a teacher, there are many different things I can do for my students to help them gain the resources they are lacking. One of the easiest things to do, in my opinion, is to become a positive role model in the students’ lives. This covers both their Support Systems and Relationships/Role Model resources. There are many different ways to do so. I like to show my students that I too make mistakes and I have bad days just like them. This makes me more like a human being, someone they can trust, in their eyes. You can also try to connect with your students on a more personal level. Education Degree posted an article titled “25 Ways Teachers Can Be Role Models” and I encourage you all to check it out. A few things they suggested are sending positive notes home, be humble, celebrate the arts (yay!), and more. What are some things you do as a role model in your classroom?
Caitlyn Ney- Classroom Management 