Workshop Description

Morning Session: Educating Students of Poverty 
Overview
What does it mean to be from poverty and go to school in America? Through sharing her journey out of “generational poverty”, findings from her doctoral research on generational poverty combined with successful completion of a Bachelor’s degree, plus 16 years experience working in schools and organizations struggling with educating students from poverty, Donna Beegle will frame the discussion of how to successfully engage students and families from generational poverty in the education process.

The following learning objectives will guide this portion of the program:

• Discuss the impact and meaning of education for students from generational poverty
• Understand how poverty in the U.S. is internalized as a personal deficiency
• Understand how to develop a welcoming climate an meaningful curriculum for students from poverty backgrounds
• Explain the difference between immigrant poverty and poverty in the U.S.
• Discuss the confounding of race and class issues in developing strategies for educating students from poverty
• Explain the barriers perceived by people in poverty when dealing with educators
• Understand how to implement changes in communication, teaching and learning styles to enhance educational success for students from poverty
• Discuss ways to motivate and provide meaningful incentives to students from poverty backgrounds
• Understand how to connect in meaningful ways to redefine the meaning and value of education
• Explain how to frame education goals from the perspective of students and families from poverty

Afternoon Session: Tools for Working With Students and Families Living in Poverty
Overview

Most of our educational systems are set up to support students and families coming from a print culture orientation and they often are alienating to students and families who have an oral cultural world-view. How we get our information shapes how we relate to one another and how we experience the world. Many people from generational poverty backgrounds get their information verbally...creating an “oral” culture thought process. Most students and families from middle-upper class backgrounds gain their information from reading...creating a “print” culture thought process.

Oral culture (orality) is a natural state in which we are highly attuned to our senses (touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste) and devote a great deal of attention to sensory information. Orality emphasizes our interconnection with the environment and the people in it. Some characteristics of orality are spontaneity, connectedness, present orientation, comfort with emotions, able to see “the big picture,”and holistic. 

Print Culture (literacy) is a learned way of relating to the world where people learn to process and analyze (breaking things down according to parts) information collected through sight, sound, hearing, touch, and smell according to categories, classifications, and styles of reasoning developed by reading. Some characteristics of print culture are: self-discipline (ability to not pay attention to everything that is going on around you, but rather to focus on a single idea), separation and disconnection, ability to delay gratification, ability to strategize and plan ahead, ability to set goals, ability to develop technology, ability to break things down into parts, and ability to organize efforts according to predetermined goals.

Strategies & Tools:
Understanding these different thought processes could improve teaching and learning and create a more inclusive school climate. Opportunities for education success are enormous when these concepts are understood and incorporated into every aspect of the education process.

Workshop Trainer: Dr. Donna Beegle

Free Clock Hours / CEUs

Free Clock Hours are available after the workshop.

Participants can register for Highline Community College Continuing Education Units (CEUs) before starting a course. The cost is $10 per course. Call Center for Extended Learning at 206-870-3785 to apply.

Cancellation Policy:

The cancellation fee is $25. If you must cancel your registration, you may request a refund minus the $25 fee up to 3 working days prior to the event. After this date, no refunds will be issued and the full workshop fee will be charged; you can make substitutions. "No-shows" will be charged the full workshop fee. Please inform Jan Palmer ator jpalmer@highline.edu.