Through the several workshops in class that I took part in, I was able to incorporate the skills learned to produce my final essay. One of the reflection blogs we had focused on Gawande's use of narratives throughout the book to convey his arguments. I decided that I would use this in my essay by continuing to tell Marcell's story throughout my essay. This change was in attempt to reflect the narrative nature that Better  has.  Another skill I focused on was improving my topic sentences to incorporate the why it is important. This improvement was made after seeing my peer's essay that the professor presented in class. I also made sure to make revise the essay myself for errors and had my room mate do the same. She offered the advice for me to separate my paragraphs along with correcting several errors I had overlooked. In addition, I incorporated multimodal artifacts that I had not yet practiced, except for during my self assessment. The self assessment was a learning experience because these artifacts were able to strengthen my argument rather than distract the reader.  

Zulema Cuevas

Prof. Fischer

Writing 39C

22 October 2015

The Detrimental Effects of Child Poverty on Education

Marcell is a 12-year old boy living in Camden, New Jersey with his grandmother. She is struggling to provide the basic needs for Marcell with the minimal government support she receives. He is placed in an environment with high levels of crime, unemployment, and school dropout rates (Coen). Under those circumstances, Marcell is one of the astounding 15.5 million children living in poverty today (Bureau 14). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this number has remained stagnant for the past four years, meaning that there has been no change in the level of poverty. Children under the age of 18 have the highest rate of poverty compared to all other age groups. Innocent children are suffering the most from this epidemic. Studies such as one conducted by Sum and Fogg (1991) show the relationship between living in poverty and demonstrating low academic performance (Lacour and Tissington 522). Child poverty places unnecessary chronic stress on families and their children— which results in brain development and health problems (Engle 2). With poverty targeting America’s future, what does the future have to expect? Child Poverty, is a persistent issue that urgently needs to be solved because it inevitably leaves children at an academic disadvantage and ultimately becomes detrimental to their future.

The long lasting fight against poverty taught America that this is not an easy war to win. In 1964, a shocking 22% of America’s population were living in poverty. President Lyndon B. Johnson needed to find a solution to this outbreak and decided to call a “War on Poverty” (Crooks 2). This initiated interest among researchers to understand if there was a link between malnutrition and mental performance. Their research found that malnutrition “impaired cognition by structurally altering the brain” (Brown 1). Subsequently, programs that provided school meals, food stamps, head start, and special supplemental programs for women were instilled to help alleviate the future of many children that were being deprived of food. At last, the poverty rate drastically decreased from 22.1% to 12.16% from 1960 to 1970 (Crooks 2). But these programs to solve America’s problem were only momentarily successful. The poverty rate began to rise once again in 1970. However, this time around, poverty began to target America’s children. In 1970, the poverty rate for children was 15.1% (Crooks 2). Fast forward 40 years, today there are a whopping 21.1% of children under 18 living in poverty (Bureau 14). Many experts, like Melissa S. Kearney, an Economics professor at the University of Maryland and Research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, believe that the largest contributor to the increase in poverty rates is the rise in income inequality. In an oral testimony given at an “Income Inequality in the United States” hearing, she states that “the growing levels of income inequality have translated into sizable gaps This graph demonstrates that children (shown by blue trend line) are the most impacted age group by poverty since the 1970’s. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2015 Annual Social and Economic Supplements. in educational achievement between the children of the rich and the poor” (Kearney 1). Kearney’s argument is one of the several reasons children are being deprived of a proper education because they are living in poverty.

Poverty comes with many detriments to a child’s academic success, beginning with the poor health and nutrition that is inevitably partnered with poverty. Children living in poverty primarily struggle with Undernutrition and overnutrition, which cause a deprivation in the functionality of a child’s cognition and behavior, along with serious health problems. Overnutrition has become shockingly popular amongst the children living in poverty. According to the Food Research and Action Center, between the years of 2003-2007 there was a 23% increase in the obesity rate for children living in poverty. In contrast, children living in high income households only experienced an obesity rate increase of less than 10 percent (Dabrowska 12). Although it may seem paradoxical for a child living in poverty to be struggling with obesity, it is a reality. This is a problem 12-year old Marcel is struggling with as well. In an interview with the UNICEF, a humanitarian foundation, Marcel explains that, “‘It’s harder to eat healthy than to eat junk, because junk is always going to be there’” (Coen). The reality is that many children have no other option but to eat food with low nutritional value. Healthier food is less affordable. Dr. Tanumihardjo, an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains in her article, “Poverty, Obesity, and Malnutrition: An International Perspective Recognizing the Paradox”, that “compromising diet quality often leads to a higher intake of energy from foods that are higher in fat and carbohydrate, but lower in nutrient-density. These energy-dense foods are often less expensive” (Tanumihardjo 1). In hopes of improving his diet, Marcel shares that one year his grandmother had to spend $100 more than the usual charge, for a healthier school lunch (Coen 1). Having poor health is often inevitable for children living in poverty, which does not allow for them to fully participate in school. According to an article from the School Psychology International, “Students with poor health have a higher probability of school failure, grade retention, and dropout” (Shaw). Dr.Shaw a professor from McGill University explains the importance of having a healthy life style in order to achieve higher academically. His research indicates that obesity directly influences meta-academic skills. He further describes that living an unhealthy lifestyle leads to more absences and therefore less time learning (Shaw). Marcel’s obesity is not only putting his health on the line but also his education.

Additionally, poverty does not provide a child the home environment to develop their cognitive skills. Several studies, including one from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, have demonstrated the clear effects that poverty has on the child’s performance, more specifically their cognitive skills. Evidence from this study established that children in poverty have lower cognitive and academic performance and more behavior problems than children who are not exposed to these same stressors. (Engle 2). At home, children living in poverty are scarcely ever fueled with explanations or thought provoking questions. But rather they are often linguistically limited to commands and rudimentary understanding by their chronically stressed parents (Scott-Jones 260). Because parents in poverty are usually uneducated they are limited in helping their child “Students with poor health have a higher probability of school failure, grade retention, and dropout” - Dr. Shaw, McGill University academically —hence, continuing the cycle of poverty (Engle 2). Professor Engle from California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, explains that, “families who are poorly educated with poor decision-making skills may have more difficulty protecting their children from the effects of poverty than families who are better educated with rational decision-making skills” (Engle 4). Children living in poverty are often subjected to unorganized environments that expose them to stressors. (Ayoub 2). The stress that comes from living in an unstable home, often distracts the parent from giving attention to the child. As a child is developing, their cognitive functionality relies on the social interactions they make — most which usually come from the parent (Engle 2). When the child is limited so is their development. Poverty is inhibiting a child from having an equal opportunity of achieving academically. Consequently, most children living in poverty are not exposed to reading at an early age in their home environment, which is critical to their academic success. According to a report from a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged students, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, “Children who read proficiently by the end of third grade are more likely to graduate from high school and to be economically successful in adulthood” (Early Reading Proficiency 1). However, the report further explains that children living in poverty are less likely to read proficiently. In fact, 80 percent of children living in poverty are below the The percentage point difference in the reading proficiency rate between lower and higher income fourth grade students. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress(NAEP), proficiency in reading. Over the past decade, the gap between children living in poverty and their affluent peers increased by 20 percent in nearly every state. (Early Reading Proficiency 2). It is important to a child’s future that they are exposed to reading. the A child should have the choice to change their future and child poverty is a culprit to that possibility. The adverse effects of poverty deny a child from achieving academically, therefore, condemns them to a negative future. Children who are struggle in school tend to become discouraged from improving, which ultimately leads to dropping out (Christle and Joivette 2). According to Professor Christle, University of South Carolina, and Professor Joivette, Georgia State University, “students from low-income families [are] 2.4 times more likely to drop out of high school than middle-income students”. This being said, it is important to realize that a child dropping out of school is more susceptive into becoming susceptive to negative outcomes such as unemployment and incarceration. According to an article from the Public Broadcasting Service, incarceration rates were a whopping 63 times higher among dropouts between the ages of 16 and 24, than among college graduates (Breslow).

Poverty is diminishing the chances of a child getting out of poverty because their education is being deprived of. It is imperative for America to solve the child poverty problem because children are the America’s future. Children are innocent and are being dictated to a cycle that impedes their future achievements. The number of children living in poverty has remained stagnant for way too long now. The detrimental outcomes of child poverty should not impede a child’s success in school. While there have been several studies that show the significant impact that head start programs have on academic levels, there is still a lack of funding to allow this to become a  possibility for all children. Knowledge is power, and the nation is wasting massive human potential by not helping these children have an equal opportunity at achieving in school. Ronald Reagan once said, “We waged a war on poverty, and poverty won” (Lemman). America can not afford to give up on the fight against poverty, not with the nation’s future at stake.