Our society leaves the poor behind
The following is a Counterpoint column:
By Martha S. Ward
Like Lonnie Groendes (Counterpoint, Oct. 25), I was disappointed by the Oct. 9 article on economics and education. The association between socioeconomics and school success is documented and well-researched. I agree that poverty is not in and of itself a cause of academic failure and that students from poverty backgrounds can learn.
However, the underlying issue that our country fails to address is poverty and the impact that it has on every aspect of life. Groendes' response revealed an appalling lack of knowledge, empathy and insight into the harsh realities that families living in poverty face each day.
Of course, family and home are central to education, another fact that is well established. But we as a society must own up to the part we play to ensure success for all of our children.
Stories abound about the courage and sacrifice of poor parents who instill the importance of education in their children. These heroic, everyday people work against all odds. How dare Groendes assert that most poor parents do not "care enough" to carefully track school progress, to "have the courage" to discipline, and are "overly indulgent and irresponsible" in supervision? This is the classic blame-the-victim mentality that stifles progress toward solving our national shame of failing to care for all of our citizens.
Have you ever considered, Mr. Groendes, that it might be difficult to carefully track and monitor the daily progress of your children if you are working one or two low-paying jobs and still do not have enough money to feed and clothe your children? Or that perhaps the parents themselves were not successful in school and don't know how to advocate for their children, or are intimidated by the well-educated teachers and administrators? How exhausting it must be to live surrounded by evidence that our society cares so little that we leave so many behind.
Groendes can redeem his holier-than-thou attitude by volunteering to be one of the special individuals who reach out to touch the life of a child not their own.
The community can focus on supporting the educators in the most challenging schools who make a difference in the lives of many children.
We can demand that government acknowledge and act against our shame of being the Western nation with the highest poverty rate among children.
The writer is program evaluation manger, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. She lives in Greensboro.