Day 24 - Blogger Challenge

Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Well, today we learned about an educator named Ruby Payne. Let me preface  this by saying I think she is insane, has many unfounded beliefs, is cock eyed and cock mouthed, and has a super disingenuous Midwestern accent in an attempt to sound "home grown."

Okay a few things Ruby Payne taught us today (via video for SIX HOURS) [I am not joking]:
1. If you are in poverty you are never getting out of it unless you marry up
2. People (Note: ALL) in poverty hoard food
3. The reason parents don't come to school sponsored events (THIS IS AN ACTUAL QUOTE) is because "they have warrants or some reason to avoid the police and don't want to get caught on public property" [again, note: ALL people in poverty)
4. Children in poverty can not control their emotions and therefore when they get mad they beat the crap out of each other only
5. If you live in poverty you "know where all of the rummage sales are" and know which ones "have bag specials on certain days"

I mean, there's a lot more. I just just just can not handle this kind of stuff. The concept of "culture of poverty" is both frustrating and defamatory in my opinion. To group and explain to people a "culture of poverty" seems too ridiculous to begin. The culture of poverty is a social theory speaking to the cycle that, apparently, poverty level people participate in. It says that there are certain belief sets and value systems that are in place because of an adaptation to the burdens of society.

So essentially this: poor people will always be poor because that is what is ingrained through generational poverty.

A very uplifting thing to believe or hold stock in, eh? The answer is NO. This theory further instigates the negativity, lack of productivity, and takes further focus away from the STRUCTURAL things that need to be taken care of to aid people in poverty (ie educational reform).

Ruby Payne's anecdotal stereotyping is not only offensive, it is not cited in research but instead focused on a single site monitoring over a few decades. yet she applies it to all people of poverty??? Not something I will value or something that should be shown in Professional Development. And that's my two cents.