"Mr. Z, What is Poverty?"

This is a question that I have been asked a handful of times over the past two weeks. Last week I went to a staff development meeting at the high school. As I walked down the hall I was admiring the class pictures. One class picture grabbed my attention. It was from the mid 1960s and along the bottom it has a quote, “Ignorance is Conducive to Slavery, Education Emancipates the Mind.” I was blown away, what a powerful statement. I used the statement the next day in class as my warm up. I asked the students what it meant and where they think I found the quote. The overwhelming majority thought that it meant not to act foolish and that I found it on the internet. I explained to them how not knowing in life can make you a slave to things such as bad choices, drugs, alcohol, a lifestyle that will lead you to prison, and poverty. I then explained how by becoming educated you are not able to become enslaved by the ills of this world. You have a choice. My explanation of the quote was more long winded than what I have above but I believe you get the point. In each class a student raised their hand and asked, “What is poverty?” I did not know how to answer so I said, “When you do not have a lot of money.” How do you explain to a 7th or 8th grader what is poverty? Does your household income decide it, your parents education, number of people you know who are in the “system”. As a child I grew up in very humble beginnings. It was not uncommon to see drug deals on a regular basis in my neighborhood. I did not know I did not have until I left my environment for an extended period of time. It seems like every person who graduates from college knows how to fix poverty in America, if you asked a republican they would say, “Go find a job”, if you ask a democrat, “More government services.” I do not know if I have a point, but I want to know “what is poverty?”

Career Day

Today we had Rev. Johnson from Belzoni come and give the best inspirational speech that I have ever heard. I was so inspired I knew I could be someone one day. He may have known only a handful of kids by name but you could tell he loved every child at the school. The students then went to their assigned areas and heard from at least ten different speakers. Professionals ranging from an owner of a Subway franchise to a Drug Court Counselor. None of the speakers were told what to speak about, but from the seven speakers I heard they all came back with the reoccurring theme, "Respect authority, Trust in God and Abstain from sex." What a powerful message. It is hard to tell how much the kids retained or took away from the day, they are kids.

A small handful of kids "showed out" in front of the presenters. It was a sad sight. A colleague informed me that we have 29 days left with the kids. That means we have been at school for 156 days. I felt clueless as how a small handful of kids still do not know how to control themselves or follow directions when we have been at school for 156 days. All the teachers teach, no teachers classroom is out of control, and the students know exactly what is expected and what to do.

I have no way of coming close to understanding what it is like to fail a grade multiple times, come from a less than perfect home, and be labeled as trouble.

I witnessed a kid doing something completely rude and disrespectful to another student today; I called him over and was going to say something along the lines of, "What you just did was hurtful to that person, etc, etc..." Instead, all I could say was "I have nothing to say to you, go sit down and be quiet." What was the point? We have been at school for 156 days and you still can't act right. Maybe after a few years of experience I will be able to find the words for that situation.