Today’s lecture in my Community and Diversity class was so revealing. The topic was based on several articles we had to read over the weekend regarding poverty in the classrooms of America (I finished reading them this morning!). Two of the articles were by Ruby K. Pane, Ph.D. (1996) who also wrote A Framework for Understanding Poverty, suggested that poverty was not just the lack of money. Instead, she defined poverty as “the extent to which an individual does without resources.” There are 8 resources in this definition:
1. Financial: the money to buy things
2. Emotional: the ability to choose/control emotional response; it’s an internal resource that manifest through stamina (resistance), perseverance, and choices.
3. Mental: intellectual ability and acquired skills
4. Spiritual: a belief in divine purpose and guidances…..YES THIS WAS THE EXACT TERMS USED!
5. Physical: health
6. Support Systems: friends, family; external resources
7. Role Model: access to adults who are appropriate and nurturing and do not engage in self-destructive behavior
8. Knowledge of Hidden Rules: knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group
Excellent teaching. We can see many who lack in each resource. We must work towards being wealthy in all of them.
All 8 resources are essential! I gotta take notes!