What I Didn’t Learn about Poverty but Should Have
Growing up, I remember asking my mom why some people did not have homes. Why didn’t they just go to a homeless shelter? Did they want to be homeless? Do they have friends and family to help them out? Where will they sleep tonight?
It was not until my high school economics class when we discussed the issue of homelessness and poverty, that I began to understand that the phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is not an attainable goal. Although economics was extremely challenging for me, it turned out to be one of my favorite classes. It was the first time I learned about the housing crisis, and that it is virtually impossible to afford housing while living off of minimum wage in the United States. It gave me the opportunity to use what I was learning in social studies to make sense of the world around me.
In reality, homelessness is not the main issue. It goes much deeper than that. Often it is an issue of mental illness, substance abuse, unemployment, lack of affordable housing or unequal educational opportunities. These are the things that we are not taught in our elementary school social studies classes. We learn that there are people who are less fortunate than we are, but we are never taught why they might be less fortunate. We do not learn about the unfair educational system that we have in the United States, or how that contributes to a vicious cycle of poverty.
The link below is to an online poverty simulation called “SPENT.” It takes the player through various steps where they must pick the best decision for their family with limited resources. For example, a player must choose between a career that pays less that is not psychically demanding, or a career that pays more but puts you at a higher risk for injury, leading to doctors visits and hospital bills. Another example asks players to pick between seeing their child’s school play, or helping their neighbor move for $50. Most players choose to miss the play and get the extra $50. While this seems like a small task, this simulation puts into perspective how a small amount of money can go a long way when you are living pay check to pay check, and demonstrates the need to make sacrifices in order to make ends meet. This is an effective learning tool for students to see how living in poverty can create obstacles that are often overlooked by others.
In elementary school, we did not discuss these important topics, although they can be incorporated into lessons in so many ways. Mary Cowhey, the author or Black Ants and Buddhists, does this in her classroom by having her students participate in service activities directly within her school. Students can donate food or clothes to a giving tree in the school lobby. She then brings the students to a relief center where they drop off unclaimed donations. This gives students the opportunity to actively engage in helping the community while learning about the world around them. I wish I was given more opportunities in my elementary school to learn about and engage in these types of issues so many people are blind to. I believe that teaching our youth about social issues is the first step in solving them.
Sources
“Compassion Action and Change.” Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking Critically and Teaching Differently in the Primary Grades, by Mary Cowhey, Stenhouse, 2006.
“SPENT.” SPENT, playspent.org/.
