Diversity Conference Experience

The Diversity Conference at Benedict College in Columbia South Carolina

The Diversity Conference at Benedict College in Columbia was an eye opening experience to the struggles those who live in poverty face on a daily basis. The college decided to step out of the box this year and try a new approach by creating a poverty simulation that allowed future teachers to experience the life of someone who lives in poverty for one hour. Considering that in our nation twenty-one percent of children live in poverty, this is a real problem that teachers must be aware of when working with students in the classroom since they will surely have students who are affected by poverty.
During this hour time frame, with fifteen-minutes equaling one week,

Many of the students who sit in our classrooms experience poverty for the duration of their lives. This experience made me think about the students in my class. During this simulation I realized that school may not be a top priority for these families. They are just trying to survive, feed, and shelter their families. These families barely have enough money to put food on the table. There are no extra funds for snacks, ice cream money, school supplies, or field trip money. They cannot afford to miss work so they keep their older children home to care for the younger children when they do not have a baby sitter or when another child is sick. I have seen this happen first hand with students in my classroom. The bottom line is there are numerous realities that students face outside of the classroom that affects the students’ learning and behavior in the classroom setting. We as teachers need to keep this at the forefront of our minds each and every day as we love, care for, and teach the students in our

For example, there are students in my class who never have their agenda, reading log, or other papers signed by the time they are due. When I asked why, they informed me that their parents were working leaving no one there to sign. My next question was “Who is taking care of you while your parents are at work?” In most cases it was an older sibling. Fortunately, this year at Hendrix Elementary School, a local church bought and donated the school supplies for every student at the school. However, this is not the case at every school. In my future classroom, I will find ways to ensure that all students have the supplies they need even if I have to buy them with my own money. I would hate for a student to feel defeated before the year even begins because of circumstances that are beyond his/her control. Since they lack of food is an issue that plagues families who live in poverty, I will have a snack closet so that every child can have a snack during the day. A hungry child is not a learning child. I also think it is important to consider the field trips and other activities that school hold when students are required to provide money to participate. Students who live in poverty cannot afford to go on expensive field trips and pay money for various activities at the school. However, the most important idea that I will take back to the classroom from my experience during the poverty simulation is