The Impoverished: A Discussion

I spoke to a guy from Honduras today. I am sad to say that that is one of the most difficult conversations I have had. I had such a hard time understanding his English- and I think he had a hard time understanding me as well. It was altogether probably very frustrating to him. I felt bad for not being able to communicate better. And I never knew the Honduran accent was so difficult to understand.

So on to our topic today:
 
We have been listening to presentations in my sociology class about different issues in society- focusing on the city of Houston. My topic was on the achievement gap in the Houston ISD schools, and on whether the Apollo 20 program can breach this gap. (You should research the program- it is quite fascinating)

Looking at the demographics of the HISD schools, particularly the school we observed, what we found is that the majority of the students are African American or Hispanic (about 70%), while 80% of the school was living in poverty. The more I listened to the presentations, the more I realized how much injustice is taking place in the lives of these students.

First of all, considering that they live in poverty, their parents probably work multiple jobs and are not there majority of the day. Looking at the demographics of the African American society in particular- that consists of primarily single parents, and a higher than the national average birth rate. The possible implications of this are obvious- such as not having a parental figure available, and older kids taking care of younger kids. Along with this, we learned that the type of food available is also depends on the poverty and demographics of an area. So there are food deserts particularly in the areas where the HISD students live- meaning that they mainly have access to either convenient stores or fast food areas- neither of which provide a nutritious meal. And the implications of such malnutrition are that students are not able to be active in their daily lives (leading to potential obesity) and cannot fully focus on school work- because nutrition is an essential part of academic performance.

Along with these food deserts, what we also find is that there is a lack of music teachers and a lack of Latino teachers. Latino teachers in an environment where a majority of the population is Latino is helpful as a presentation mentioned because the students can connect better with their their teacher and have a role model they can look up to. Also, what is surprising to me is that you do not need to bilingual in the HISD district to get ESL certification. How are we expecting students to understand complex material if we do not have anyone who can actually communicate with them? And although there was not much data about the impact of demographics on music education, but my guess is that HISD schools do not focus on music education. This denies students with an outlet that can increase their self-esteem and also provide them with a way to reduce stress.

What was also frustrating was the issue of gentrification. It seems that gentrification is occurring, but it is not creating the results that I expected from the readings where impoverished people in the neighborhood benefit a lot from more affluent people moving nearby. It seems that slums in gentrified areas get left the way they were before. Some old homes are torn down to create better looking homes right near the older homes, with the improvement occurring mainly in the new and improved homes. And because of white flight, and a private school emphasis among more affluent communities, the children of the middle/upper class will probably attend either private school, or will take Advanced Placement and GT classes, continuing to be physically separated from the impoverished and the ethnic minorities. And gentrification still does displace many, and as the presentation mentioned- the services for the homeless are also quite inadequate, with several conservative rules preventing many from getting help.

Other issues that connect with the students is also how much of the city waste, and environmental pollution gets dumped in "poor" areas of the city, making the water, and the air unsafe.
It seems that overall, there are so many issues that are "punishing" the poor, and I really feel that more needs to be done to create more justice. With the issues mentioned, the result seems that students of the HISD district, particularly the Apollo 20 students, lack a proper home environment, due to a lack of food, good breathing environment, role models and parental figure, access to culture and music, understanding teachers, and access to diversity. The result of all these issues are clearly shown in the large achievement gap we observe, where the performances of these students are simply not up to par.

The method of closing the achievement gap in school is not simply something that can be done through better education. It takes a complete transformation of a person’s environment. And that means better teachers, teachers who not only teach better, but also those who can understand the students’ situation better. It also means more parental involvement, access to better food, resources, clothing, proper shelter and an overall feeling of safety.

I hope you enjoyed that- and were not bored... Am I interested in boring topics? I hope not- I do believe that these topics are worth reading about.