I intend to save Ken Miller’s Your Voice, “Kids living in poverty have little chance at education” (TNT, 3-12), because to me, a retired teacher, it says it all why there is an achievement gap between students who are born and grow up in poverty and those who are fortunate to be born to more affluent families.
It is why I suspect that teachers, especially those who work with students who live in poverty, are reluctant to be judged in the end by how their students achieve, because teachers actually have no control over the parenting/lack thereof and the conditions kids have to grow up in.
I have recently read articles talking about how stress affects people’s ability to think and do well at school – all verified by brain research – as well at any job they might land. I wish the solution were easy, but short of confining poor pregnant women during pregnancy, making sure they eat right and then controlling the lives of their children, there really is no answer except to provide a better standard of living for our people.
This is certainly something to keep in mind as we read about achievement gaps.
