This book explores the deficit views that we adopt as teachers based on our personal biases and stereotypes. The book states that “when we adopt a deficit view, seeing students’ poverty as of intellectual or moral inferiority, their academic performance and school engagement recede” (Gorski, 2018). The book further stress the point that we shouldn’t “make ourselves incapable of seeing the biases” (p. 146) that students in poverty experience daily. The author defines a “deficit ideology” that school, teachers and society promotes “believing that poverty itself is a symptom of ethical, dispositional, and even spiritual deficiencies in the individuals and communities experiencing it” (p.56).
The book goes on to encourage us to adopt a structural view where we can address the bias and inequities while providing us with curricula strategies, relational strategies, and leadership strategies. The book also defines “grit theory” which essentially pushes teachers to place emphasizes on effort and deemphasizes intelligence (Gorski, 2018). The author explains how this ideology causes to focus on fixing students experiencing poverty rather than the conditions that students face (Gorski, 2018). The book provides over 30 different strategies that will help us “mitigate the barriers that we cannot eliminate” (p.64).
The book starts of by denoting the notion that “if you work hard, do well in school, and follow the rules, you can be anything you want to be” (p. 1). It focuses on the “savage inequalities” (p.1) that students in poverty experience compared to their counterparts. The promise of doing well in school to gain greater financial access, and better educational opportunities is referred to as the “great equalizer” (p.1). The author goes on to further explain how these barriers both affect students in poverty directly and indirectly. After describing the inequities that students in poverty experience the book talks about how to “create and sustain equitable learning environments for students experiencing poverty” (p.3). The first half of the book is spent on “real confrontation the inequities harming students that we build initiatives for closing educational outcome gaps around anything” (p.5). The author then begins to layout the framework for “equity literacy” which “is comprised of the knowledge, skills, and will that enable us to become a threat the existence of bias and inequity in our sphere of influence” (p. 5-6). The purpose of this term as described by the author is to keep equity at the center of our conversations when focusing on how to reach and teach students in poverty (Groski, 2018).
The book provides the knowledge that “poverty is a form of marginalization” intersectionality linked with class and race which is a societal barrier that influences student engagement (Gorski, 2018). The purpose of the book is to focus on fixing the barriers rather than fixing the false “cultural mindset” of poverty (Gorski, 2018). The book also addresses the issue of viewing poverty as a cultural mindset which essentially “mask equity concerns like racism, heterosexism, and economic injustice” (p.17). The book goes on to further provide solutions by actively listening to the parents of the students who are impoverished as a means to gain more knowledge to be a threat to inequities (Gorski, 2018).
The author suggest incorporating “student- centered, higher-order curricula and pedagogies that encourage deep learning and foster student engagement” (Battey, 2013; Dudley-Marling, 2015). The book explores the “overemphasis on direct instruction in high-poverty schools” (p.113). The author focuses on the solution of increasing family involvement by acknowledging the “trepidation about the possible emotional or psychological toll visiting the cool might take on you” (Graham, 2009). The author stresses the practical strategies of literacy being the true way out of poverty through making it engaging, relatable, and practical. He then focuses on the relational strategies which requires teachers to focus on getting to know their students. He finally concludes the book with leadership strategies and encourages teachers to come up with their own plans and reforms which is a form of leadership. “We have the accountability power, and our first responsibility is to hold ourselves accountable for taking the lead on equity” (p.176). “The idea is to aspire to something close to perfection, and then work toward that aspiration as vigilantly as possible” (p.190).
Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty is a must have book for all teacher candidates and new teachers. The book is definitely worth the purchase starting with Chapter 1 when Gorski makes the reference “If you work hard, do well in school, and follow the rules, you can be anything you want to be (Gorski, 2018).” Even though it’s a fantastic idea, it’s just not possible for all students. There are valid reasons why you should purchase this book as well as valid reasons why you could do without it. The pros of the book are topics such as confronting your own stereotypes and the idea that Gorski gave of the different strategies that educators should use to teach students that are in poverty. The cons of the book would be that it was extremely too wordy and repetitive. The book is only eleven chapters, however, within those chapters there were quite a few places in the book where the same content was discussed more than once but I understand his reasoning in it making a very important point. With that being said, I feel that you won’t regret buying this book and you’ll get your money’s worth. There’s enough valuable information that as an educator, you will be able to make those necessary connections with the students that are in poverty.
Created by:
Mercer Graduate Teacher Candidates: Esau, Lauren, Tyler, and Nicole
7.3.2019
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