The Myth of the Culture of Poverty

With our scholarship awards coming up next month, we are increasingly aware of the concerns that people have around education.
We came upon this very interesting article from ASCD, an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. The Myth of the Culture of Poverty discusses preconceptions or misconceptions about poverty. The author cites concrete research that debunks various myths like; Poor people are unmotivated and have weak work ethics. He points out that, according to the Economic Policy Institute, "Poor working adults spend more hours working each week than their wealthier counterparts."

Here is the link for this thought provoking article http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr08/vol65/num07/The-Myth-of-the-Culture-of-Poverty.aspx

And something very encouraging in this article - action steps we can take to help improve the education experience for all students while dealing with our own perceptions of classism.