These effects additionally bleed into the subsequent generation. Arleen and Vanetta’s children were not given the opportunity to settle in a single neighborhood, matriculate at a single school, and build long-lasting relationships with peers and mentors. This cycle of poverty speaks to the greater effects that a trend can enact on a
“poverty”(170). Larger Occasion In 2007, 28 percent of Baltimore’s children lived in poverty. Both the author’s mother and the other Wes Moore’s mother struggled to provide for their children. Both took extra jobs in the hopes of providing their children with a better life.
I viewed Frontline a documentary series, which episode was entitled Poor Kids. The frontline personnel spent time with three children Kailey, Johnny, and Britany along with their families as they all struggle financially. We perceive a glimpse of what it is like to live below the poverty line in America through a child’s eyes. While observing the documentary, I became consciously aware that children who are considered poor or living below the poverty line were more mindful of the responsibilities of life. The children were worrisome of the lack of employment for their parents, bills, and in Britney’s case; how they would accommodate their way of living to support a new addition to the family.
In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with.
In the book “$2.00 A Day” authors Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer look into the lives of families who are living with an income of $2.00 day. The authors use storytelling throughout the book, but also interject into the stories to explain what policies are in place that perpetuate the circumstances that keep these families in such extreme poverty. The book focused on how the welfare policy reforms in 1996 created a shift in who primarily received assistance. Before the reforms in 1996, welfare “entitled families with children to receive cash assistance as long as they had economic need” (Edin and Shaefer, 2015, pg. 7). However, the 1996 reforms largely did away with this type of assistance by setting lifetime limits on programs cash welfare with programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Response to Lewisetta In practice, educators use many terms or labels to discuss children and families who live in poverty. Gloria Rodriguez and James Fabionar (2010) assert that the many terms we use should serve "as a reminder of how often we are called on in education to talk about -- but not necessarily to" -- our students and their families who live with low incomes (p. 64). As educators, we must be sensitive to the effects of poverty on our students' state of mind and ensure that we separate their developing sense of self from their living conditions. As a starting point, we must be extremely careful how we talk about children who live in poverty.
Millions of Americans found themselves homeless, as they were evicted from their homes because they were unable to pay their mortgages or rent. They struggled to find places to live. “Marriages and births…plummeted.” Low self-esteem was commonly see among fathers in the family unit. Being unable to provide adequate shelter, food, and other necessities was truly burdensome, and over time, took a toll on the self-worth of these men.
There is a startling 17.6% of youth under 18 in poverty (Baca Zinn, 2009, p. 195). The younger the child is the greater the probability of living in poverty is for them. Children in working poor households tend to have their parents more absent from their life. Working poor parents have to make ends meet, even if that means working day and night. This is an even more prominent problem for single parents because this means they need to find another source of childcare.
Lizabeth knew her family could not afford to get her new things, but wasn’t completely aware of her family's financial problems, “we children of course, we’re only vaguely aware of the extent of our poverty” (Collier par.4). Squeaky’s family could buy things that she absolutely needed and used frequently. Squeaky knew her family was poor, and that her family couldn’t afford to buy her new things that weren’t Necessities,“A poor black girl who really can’t afford to buy shoes and a new dress you only wear once a lifetime” (Bambara lines 25-26). Growing up poor impacts children’s health, social and emotional development and behavior
Although Poverty in the U.S. is minor compared to countries like Niger, Haiti, Yemen, and many more, 14.5% of our population is still living under the poverty line. This might be a small number against other countries, but compared to our immense economy, 48 million Americans under poverty is an enormous number. Within the 48 million, 22% (16 million) are children
According to Hodgkinson et al, there are “disparities in poverty rates depending on age, race or ethnicity, family structure, and geographic location. Although the largest number of poor and low income children are white, minority children are disproportionately affected, particularly African American, American Indian, and Hispanic children. In 2013, Hispanic and African American children were ~3 times more likely than white and Asian children to be poor. Children raised by single parents and children raised in the South or West are also more likely to be poor or low income than children residing in the Northeast” (Hodgkinson et al, 2016). Children and youth are a vulnerable population because they have no control over their situation or environment;
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.
One thing that Edin and Shaefer makes abundantly clear is that poverty has no face. Victims of a failing economic system come from different backgrounds and all have different stories. The 1.2 million families below the poverty line are black, white, Hispanic and Asian. Although there are different types of families living on $2.00 a day, many of the families have commonalities. For instance, I believe that Madonna, Jennifer and Rae had the most in common.
Vonnie McLoyd discusses in the book Child Development that black families are more likely to face poverty in America and the effects that poverty has on those children. McLoyd states that children that have faced poverty in their lives can have “impaired socioemotional functioning” (McLoyd 311). As a result from job loss creating parental stress, parents often become
The children of our nation are the future; however, America’s children are suffering. Child poverty, hunger and nutrition, and welfare are growing issues that need to be solved. The statistics provided in The State of America’s Children 2017 Report are eye-opening. Sadly, poverty is threatening America’s children. According to the State of America’s Children in the United States and Alabama 2017 Factsheets, 18 percent of the U.S.’s children were poor in 2016, and 25 percent of Alabama’s children were poor in 2016.
