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Hannah Slaughter

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103

November 12, 2010

Bridging the Gap between Poverty and Success

When beginning this Inquiry Paper I was nervous. I felt confused and had no idea where

to start. I researched for days, hoping to find everything I could. While I was nervous I would not

get enough information and research, I was also worried about the quality of my paper. I am

getting more comfortable with writing papers, but not so much an Inquiry Paper. I have spent a

lot of time researching for this paper and putting it all together. I hope that it is very informative

and interesting, as well as stresses how important bridging the gap is. I feel like I have done the

best I can on this paper and hope that it comes across to my readers.

Poverty is something that not only affects one’s day-to day survival situations, but

without the aid of resources, even at a young age, poverty can affect one’s achievement of an

education. Natasha Hank and Hélène Deacon of Dalhousie University state, “Research has

suggested that the gap in academic achievement between the highest- and lowest- achieving

pupils, even as early as the first grade, can be attributed to the socio-economic status of the home

in which the child is raised” (29). One in poverty can feel as if they are doomed for failure.

People who come from low-income families often have no hope and feel incapable of achieving

an education or being successful. Ruby Payne, the leading expert on the mindsets of poverty,

middle-class, and wealth, states “Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability”
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(62). However, this is what most individuals with a poverty background feel like. Some people

from poverty view obtaining an education as “uncool” possibly because no one else in their

family or even community has gotten an education. According to Payne, an education is the key

to getting out of, and staying out of poverty. (61) To help children achieve education and

literacy from low-income, poverty backgrounds, parent involvement is crucial. Most learning

starts at home before a child even begins school. Lynn Fielding, co-founder of the National

Children’s Reading Foundation, believes, “100% of the achievement gap in reading and 67% of

the gap in math originates in the home before a student’s first day of kindergarten” (226). Given

mandates from No Child Left Behind, minimum competency goals in reading and math require

95% of all students to reach these goals by 2013. With these targets required, much pressure is

placed on the teachers and school systems to help students meet these requirements. With the

research I have conducted, I have found that the key points to bridging the gap for low-income

and poverty schools is early intervention, quality curriculum, vocabulary knowledge, and high

expectations. Equally important to literacy development for impoverished children is building

relationships between teachers with students and parents as well as the relationship between the

parents and students.

Early childhood education and school readiness are precursors to successful literacy

development. Hank and Deacon report that increased quantity and quality of language and

literacy experiences appear to have significant effects on language development. (29) Judith

Bernhard, a professor of Early Childhood Education at Ryerson University, believes that poor

reading skills during preschool and early school years predict low levels of academic success and

higher dropout rates. (2) One of the main keys for preparing children for school is to ensure that

child-care providers and parents are aware of where children should be when entering school.
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Fielding states that creating this awareness will significantly increase the number of students

entering kindergarten with grade-level skills. (226) If these child-care providers and parents are

given the right training and objectives, then less catch up time will have to be spent when the

children enter school. Fielding also states “Our data show that providing targets, tools, and

training to parents and child-care providers can significantly decrease the number of students

coming to kindergarten with skills below grade level” (226). Time and money invested in quality

early childhood programs could possibly increase literacy success rather than literacy

deficiencies.

In order to progress in bridging the literacy gap and helping students from low income

homes, quality curriculum and consistent instruction have to be in place. The curriculum that is

being taught to these students needs to be one that has been researched and proven effective.

Once a curriculum is chosen, the teachers have to be willing to be consistent with the

implementation of the curriculum. There are various building blocks for early literacy and

reading. Building vocabulary is one of the first and most important building blocks in bridging

the gap. Whether it is from making the students converse with each other or the teacher,

exercising their vocabulary has shown a great increase in bridging the literacy gap. Hank and

Deacon suggest, “Growth in vocabulary was related to the richness of language interactions

provided by the teachers” (29). In Hank and Deacon’s intervention that they reviewed, they

found that having in-depth conversations with the children and making them give explanations

for all of their answers, increased scores on standardized assessments of vocabulary. Diane

Barone, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, believes, “Students need a more

systematic approach to learn vocabulary, one in which the words become their own” (104).
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Another aspect of choosing quality literacy curriculum would be to include phonological

awareness, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Bernhard tells

what she believes to be the most important building blocks for early literacy and reading:

(a) phonological awareness -understanding the relationship between letters and

corresponding sounds and manipulating such units; (b) phonemic awareness—the ability

to isolate or segment one or more of the phonemes of a spoken word, to blend or combine

a sequence of separate phonemes into a word, or to manipulate the phonemes within a

word; (c) fluency—the development of rapid word identification processes that allow one

to read with accuracy and speed; (this includes the combination of sub skills such as

decoding, dividing text into meaningful chunks, pausing appropriately at the end of

sentences, changing emphasis and tone appropriately, and grouping words quickly to gain

meaning that allows one to read with accuracy and speed); (d) vocabulary; and (e) text

comprehension, referring to the meaning that a text is given (2).

With all of these building blocks in a curriculum, the teachers as well as parents will see an

increase in the literacy scores compared to what they were at the beginning of the year. Although

not all students may require as much help as others, these building blocks will make the more

fortunate students more successful as well. According to Barone, “Teachers matter…They can

also help struggling readers become successful and they can push successful students to newer

understandings and challenges” (176). While the students may have not started on the same

levels, hopefully by the end of the year, they will be equal or not far behind.

While children that come from poverty backgrounds might have a harder life than

children who are from middle-class families, you cannot have different expectations for the two.

While it may be much easier for the middle-class students to get their work done, teachers cannot
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let the others slack off or fall behind just because it may be harder for them. Students will give

as much as is expected of them to give. If one expects nothing, one will get nothing. If one

accepts no excuses, then more work will get done. Students from low income families are just as

capable as anyone else; it may take a teacher believing in them to actually realize his or her

potential. The students should not be restricted academically because of the neighborhoods or

homes in which they live. The students should get the same access and support that any other

student is getting. Often children from low socio-economic backgrounds, arrive at school without

strategies to learn, attend and behave. This lack of exposure to needed precognitive skills places

these children at a disadvantage for learning. Payne states, “The true discrimination that comes

out of poverty is lack of cognitive strategies. The lack of these unseen attributes handicaps in

every aspect of life the individual who does not have them” (107).

Although teachers have to be a network of support for the students, the parents should be

as well. Payne thinks that schools need to focus on parent training. Although it is important for

the parents to be involved at school and attend school functions, parents should also provide

support and have expectations at home. (107) While some parents will provide this support

system for their children, there will still be some parents that do not. Payne includes a list of

resources for students who do not have access to appropriate role models: Using appropriate

discipline strategies and approaches, establishing long-term relationships with appropriate adults,

identifying options, and teacher goal-setting. For this information to work in the schools, Payne

suggests, schools establish schedules and instructional arrangements that allow students to stay

with the same teachers for two or more years, and for the teachers, administrators, and staff to be

role models for these students. (66, 67) I think that with these resources for the students, they
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will find school to be more comforting than home, and may encourage them to come to school

more often.

Although teachers need to focus on bridging the gap, Barone thinks teachers must “Find

time to talk genuinely with students, be consistent with high student and teacher expectations,

nurture and support students so that they are successful in attaining their goals, form friendships

with students and their families, and have confidence that their students will succeed in school

and go on to be successful” (177). If a teacher is able to accomplish these goals as well as be

consistent with their curriculum, I believe there will be a huge achievement rate with

impoverished students. When students know that teachers not only care about their grades but

their lives and their stories, they begin to respect their teachers. With respect in place, the

students will want to give their teacher respect and succeed. When these teachers provide this

support and form these relationships with their students, hopefully the students will know that

there is a world of people that do care about them, and if they are successful or not. Although

research suggests that families from poverty backgrounds may not have much parent

involvement, it is proven that parents who read with their children daily will affect their literacy

skills. According to Fielding, “Parents who read 20 minutes a day with their child provide

significant support to the direct instruction he or she receives at school” (233). While this task

may not be as valued by parents from low socio-economic backgrounds, it is almost vital in their

child’s literacy development.

The research that I have reviewed has shown that children from low income families

struggle in school, whether it is related to lack of attendance or lack of exposure to literacy and

cognitive skills. However, there are various techniques to help bridge this gap. Most importantly

is for the teachers to be knowledgeable of the correct resources and curriculum as well as
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providing parents with helpful resources. Another important bridge is to offer opportunities for

early intervention and exposure to pre-literacy skills. The students need to know they have a

support group to help with their struggles along the way. With these strategies in place, bridging

the gap should be easier and more successful.

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Works Cited

Barone, Diane. Narrowing the Literacy Gap. New York: The Guilford Press, 2006. Print

Bernhard, Judith K., et al. "Read My Story!" Using the Early Authors Program to Promote
Early Literacy Among Diverse, Urban Preschool Children in Poverty." Journal of
Education for Students Placed at Risk 13.1 (2008): 76-105. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
Fielding, Lynn, Nancy Kerr, and Paul Rosier. Annual Growth for All Students, Catch-Up Growth
for Those Who are Behind. Kennewick, WA: The New Foundation Press, Inc., 2008.
Print.
Hank, Natasha and Hélène Deacon. "Building vocabulary in high poverty children." Literacy
Today 54 (2008): 29. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
Payne, Ruby. A Framework for Understanding Poverty. 4th Revised. Highlands, TX: aha!
Process Inc., 2005. Print.
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