and academic achievement (Bradley &
Corwyn, 2002). Commonly, low-SES
children show cognitive problems,
including short attention spans, high
levels of distractibility, difficulty monitoring the quality of their work, and
difficulty generating new solutions
to problems (Alloway, Gathercole,
Kirkwood, & Elliott, 2009). These
issues can make school harder for
children from impoverished backgrounds.
Many children who struggle cognitively either act out (exhibit problem
behavior) or shut down (show learned
helplessness). But cognitive capacity, as
well as intelligence, is a teachable skill
(Buschkuehl & Jaeggi, 2010).
learn how to do mental computations.
This will take tons of encouragement,
positive feedback, and persistence.
Later, you can use this foundation to
build higher-level skills.
Difference 6: Relationships
When children’s early experiences are
chaotic and one or both of the parents
are absent, the developing brain often
becomes insecure and stressed. Three-quarters of all children from poverty
have a single-parent caregiver.
In homes of those from poverty,
children commonly get twice as many
reprimands as positive comments, compared with a 3: 1 ratio of positives to
negatives in middle-class homes (Risley
The primary factor in student motivation
and achievement isn’t the student’s home
environment; it’s the school and the teacher.
their parenting to the demands of their
higher-needs children (
Paulussen-Hoogeboom, Stams, Hermanns, &
Peetsma, 2007). For example, many
parents don’t know what to do with
children who have attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who are
oppositional, or who are dyslexic.
Disruptive home relationships often
create mistrust in students. Adults
have often failed them at home, and
children may assume that the adults in
school will fail them, too. Classroom
misbehaviors are likely because many
children simply do not have the
at-home stability or repertoire of necessary social-emotional responses for
school. Students are more likely to be
impulsive, use inappropriate language,
and act disrespectful—until you teach
them more appropriate social and emotional responses.
If you’re not teaching core cognitive
skills, rethink your teaching methods.
Students who struggle with reading,
math, and following directions may
have weak vocabulary, poor working
memory, or poor processing skills.
Studies show that high-performing
teachers can overcome the problems
of underperforming kids (Ferguson,
1998). Like effort, cognitive capacity is
teachable.
What You Can Do
Focus on the core academic skills that
students need the most. Begin with the
basics, such as how to organize, study,
take notes, prioritize, and remember
key ideas. Then teach problem-solving,
processing, and working-memory skills.
Start small. Teach students immediate
recall of words, then phrases, then
whole sentences. This will help them
remember the directions you give in
class and will support them as they
& Hart, 2006). If caregivers are stressed
about health care, housing, and food,
they’re more likely to be grumpy and
less likely to offer positive comments to
their kids.
The probability of dropping out and
school failure increases as a function
of the timing and length of time that
children are exposed to relational
adversity (Spilt, Hughes, Wu, & Kwok,
2012). Having only a single caregiver
in the home—if the father is absent, for
example—can create both instability
and uncertainty because the children are
missing a role model. Two caregivers
offer the luxury of a backup—when
one parent is at work, busy, or overly
stressed, the other can provide for the
children so there’s always a stabilizing
force present. Relationships can be
challenging for children who lack role
models and sufficient supports.
Low-income parents are often less
able than middle-class parents to adjust
What You Can Do
Children with unstable home lives are
particularly in need of strong, positive,
caring adults. The more you care, the
better the foundation for interventions.
Learn every student’s name. Ask about
their family, their hobbies, and what’s
important to them. Stop telling students
what to do and start teaching them how
to do it.
For example, if you ask a high
school student to dial down his or her
energy for the next few minutes and the
student responds with a smirk or wisecrack, simply ask him or her to stay a
moment after class. Never embarrass the
student in front of his or her peers. After
class, first reaffirm your relationship
with the student. Then demonstrate the
behavior you wanted (show the student
the appropriate facial expression and
posture); say why it will be important
as the student moves through school
(“This will keep you out of trouble
with other adults”); and indicate when
a given response is appropriate and
what it should look like (“When you
think your teacher has overstepped
his or her bounds, this is what you
