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Kristof: USA Land of Limitations


February 11, 2019
Kristof: A Reflection


This article was interesting to me because the author made it clear that how much money a parent brings in can affect how successful a child can be. Kristof writes "parents' incomes correlate to their adult children's incomes roughly as heights do." And I could understand this because if the child grows up in a low income family, there will be certain stressors throughout their school years, which can effect their self efficacy, or what they believe they can achieve. Kristof gives the audience an example using a friend of his, a talented man, struggled from when he was born and had notable moments throughout his life. I understand the author's point of growing up from poverty can be extremely though, and favorable results aren't typical.

To reflect on this and relate it to my life, I know I could very well possibly be seeing some signs of poverty in my internships, because of the free or reduced lunch percentage requirement. I am expecting for those students to bring some baggage to the classroom because of the struggles they're going to be going through at home. They might be hungry, or irritated, both can bring a stressful mood into the classroom. I believe that was a very educationally beneficial requirement for the placements because we will see how much stress at home can bring to school, and the affect it can have on learning. That stress will also bring a sense of disparity to their attitude around learning. But I am confident, throughout the class, I will learn how to bring hope into their lives about school, and maybe help the struggling student become the NBA center with short parents, as Kristof refers to a child growing up struggling and eventually finding peace in their success.





I plan to bring up the affect poverty in a child's life can bring a sort of disparity to the classroom. Maybe the student was upset to leave home because they aren't able to take care of a younger sibling, a situation that is more common than we thing, which can bring a sort of guilt to their minds. Possibly a student could also feel guilty if they're able to go to school, but a parent of theirs didn't have that same opportunity, so they might not feel worthy of going to school. All of these, and then some, can be an onset of some major academic difficulties.

Comments

  1. Lauren ZanfardinoFebruary 10, 2019 at 8:56 PM

    The positive attitude and love you bring into the classroom will make such an impact on children's lives! I promise you that. I used to work at a Head Start which is a low income schooling system. I made connections with some families that I still have 5 years later. Positive role models are so important!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JolieFebruary 16, 2019 at 11:35 AM

    I agree when you say that problems at home reflect the child's mood and behavior at school. I even see this in my own field work. When a kid did not get proper food or sleep or is dealing with something greater than schoolwork at home, you can see that in their actions and speech.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SupriyaFNEDFebruary 17, 2019 at 7:50 PM

    I am eager to hear more about your placement experiences, I completely agree with your point of bringing stress from home to school. It is going to be a huge and long lasting lesson to learn. Hopefully you can help with their current struggling for a better and more provided future.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Akkaoui_BlogLogFebruary 20, 2019 at 7:17 AM

    I agree with you 100% you never know what could impact a child one good deed could be ingrained in their mind forever and give them a positive attitude towards education. We have the power to give future generations the tools we didn't have.

    ReplyDelete

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