Poverty has long plagued society and has never possessed a feasible or apparent solution. As the phenomenon is so ingrained within societies across the world, numerous studies have been conducted by various institutions looking to document its effects. Most all of the results have found them to be adverse, but specifically to a very vulnerable subset of the world’s population, children. As children learn and grow within the confines of poverty there are many indications that point to developmental delays, or intellectual disparities. Causes like those of hunger, unstable housing, and lack of funding lead to poor performance, worse standardized test scores, and a lack of social development and belonging among peers.
Poverty in Schools
Poverty by definition is the lacking of stable resources to meet one’s basic needs. Children and their families face it on a varying scale worldwide, but the problem has always been prevalent. However, in a first world country such as the United States, more must be done to lessen its effects on the nation’s children. Public schools were created with the intent to level out the educational field, and provide equal opportunities to learn to all students regardless of income. However as time progresses, the amount of high poverty schools grows (Simons, 2001). When children are occupied by
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Examples of this can be seen with children of divorce, or children facing deaths in the family. Both divorce and death are more common amongst those in poverty, chiefly due to a combination of financial issues and lack food and medical access, and both cause psychologically damaging effects to the children. When a child is focused on the wellbeing of their family, they are less likely to be focused on their studies. This causes them to get behind or even be retained a grade in school, further alienating them from their peers causing even more