16
coming from a home that
is
considered
impoverished.
Read more about this
and
other
impactful
strategies in Marzano’s
book titled “Classroom
Instruction
That
Works” (2001 ASCD,
Marzano, Pickering &
Pollock).
Marzano also pointed
out that the teacher is the
most important factor
affecting
student
learning. So the teacher
has to know his/her
subject area, learn and
reflect on these teaching
practices, and receive
coaching
on
these
practices once they are being implemented in the
classroom.
Marzano is not the only one with insights about
classroom practice. Since the variance in student
achievement is often greater between classrooms of
students on the same grade level in the same school
than it is between the schools within the same school
district, this in-school variance is worth pursuing.
The secret lies in finding out what the teacher who is
succeeding with children of poverty is doing that is
different from the teachers who have not been able
to be as successful.
It is the work of Marzano, other researchers and
the successful teachers in our schools that give us
great hope in our ability to face head-on the dilemma
of the achievement gap when it comes to children of
poverty.
*Test Scores, Poverty And Ethnicity: The New American
Dilemma,
October 20, 2006 Phi Delta Kappa “Summit on Public
Education,” Washington, D. C., Donald C. Orlich and Glenn
Gifford, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4237.
(Continued from page 15)
“Poverty in and of itself is not necessarily a debilitating factor. Some families in
poverty lack resources for such important skills as language development. For
example, a lack of books, magazines or conversations with children by the adults
puts children of poverty at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the opportunity
to hear and learn words...
The intervention that is required to overcome any anticipated disadvantage for
the condition of poverty is usually a combination of three or more elements such as:
lower class size (especially with K-3), a developmentally appropriate curriculum,
and the consistent use of research-proven best practices.”
--Dr. Peter Flynn, 2012 Illinois Superintendent of the Year
Poverty in the public education classroom
