All students, no matter their families' economic status, can learn if the educators make the effort to teach them. And that includes students living in poverty.
That was the message relayed to faculty and administrators from area schools on Monday when Ruby Payne, one of the nation's leading authorities on working with those living in poverty, spoke at Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium.
Nearly all of the schools in the Crawford County area scheduled an inservice day so staff could attend Payne's all-day presentation. And the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center in Greenbush wanted Payne to speak in the area so badly that it booked her two and a half years in advance. Then again, Payne's schedule is so packed, it really had no choice.
A professional educator since 1972, Payne founded aha! Process, Inc. in 1995. Her organization, which includes more than 7,000 certified trainers and a cadre of more than 75 consultant presenters and 25 employees, is "committed to improving the educational and occupational lives of people in poverty," according to its Web site. Payne gives presentations on more than 150 days per year and has spoken throughout the United States and in countries such as China, New Zealand, Australia, Slovakia and India.
"I've been keeping busy," Payne said.
Payne, who received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Loyola University, has authored dozens of books covering issues of poverty in areas of education, social services, the workplace, communities and churches.
On Monday, in front of more than 1,600 area educators, Payne spoke about the importance of how to work with students who live in poverty and how to better understand why some may act differently than others.
"Kids from poverty can learn," she said. "They don't necessarily have the same rules they follow, they don't necessarily have the same support systems, but if you want to develop relationships and teach them, you can."
Payne said some of the major differences between students living in poverty and those who do not can include how they speak and also how they react to conflicts.
"The rules they follow are sometimes different," she said. "If you grow up in a poor neighborhood, you have to physically fight to survive. But if you bring fighting into school or work, you're out. So there are different rules and we teach them that.
"A lot of the supports and knowledge bases that school requires, (students in poverty) don't necessarily learn in their environments," she said. "Some people want to make it about intelligence. It's not that. How you spend your time is what knowledge bases you have."
Jim Rodman, SKESC director of school improvement services, said Payne's message is vital to understanding how to interact with students from different backgrounds.
"It's important for us to understand that where we are from and economic status makes a difference and that we have to approach dealing with those students from those variety of backgrounds," he said. "We have to learn that economic status can impact things and we have to be aware of that."
Susan Fox, Pittsburg Community Middle School teacher, said she enjoyed Payne's presentation and came out of it with a better understanding of how students' home lives affect their school lives.
"As far as dealing with students, it's good to be able to look past the attitudes they have and try to look further into their lives and where they're coming from," Fox said.
PITTSBURG —
