There are times when it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what we are doing as educators. What is our great contribution? Answers abound to this question but responses by those of us in the field vary. When boiled down to the granular level, it is apparent that what we do every day is combat poverty. Compassion International proclaims that charitable giving people are a child’s greatest hope in the battle against poverty. This is not entirely true.
To me teachers are the greatest hope in assuring a child’s success.
According to the United Nations, 1.5 Billion people around the world live in or near the international poverty level.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 50 Million Americans live below the poverty level. In a NewsMax release (January 8, 2014), Melissa Clyne indicates that the federal government defines the poverty level as a family of four, the old Nuclear Family, who’s combined yearly income is less than $23,550. Imagine trying to do anything on that amount of money especially when you divide it four ways.
Clark-Pleasant is highly involved in the High Reliability School (HRS) movement. This is a spin-off of High Reliability Organizations (HRO) in high stakes industries where failure can lead to catastrophic results. There are industries where failure simply cannot happen. These include, “electric power grids, air traffic control systems, prisoner confinement and transportation, commercial aircraft maintenance, nuclear power plants, and toxic chemical manufacturing”(Marzano, 2013). Imagine again if you will, even the smallest detail being overlooked and how that can lead to chaos and death. All children deserve the right to a fruitful life. Mattos (2012) defines “all students” as any child who is expected to be financially independent when they leave school. When looking at it in this respect, this encompasses the vast majority of school age children. Teachers are on the front line in the poverty battle.
Here are a few shocking statistics for comparison.
-12 newborns would be given to the wrong parents every day (YIKES! HRO?)
-114,500 pairs of mismatched shoes would be shipped per year
-18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled per HOUR
-2 Million documents will be lost by the IRS this year
-2.5 Million books would be shipped with the wrong covers
-315 entries in Webster’s dictionary would be misspelled
-20,000 wrong drug prescriptions would be written (YIKES! HRO?)
-5.5 million cases of soft drinks would be produced with no fizz
-3,056 copies of tomorrows wall street journal would be missing a section
-880,000 credit cards in circulation would have the wrong info coded on the magnetic strip.
The next time someone asks you what you do for a living you can tell them you fight poverty every single day. How much more important of a job is there in the world than that? Take pride in this because your contribution is spectacular.
Posted by John Schilawski 7.28.14
To me teachers are the greatest hope in assuring a child’s success.
According to the United Nations, 1.5 Billion people around the world live in or near the international poverty level.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 50 Million Americans live below the poverty level. In a NewsMax release (January 8, 2014), Melissa Clyne indicates that the federal government defines the poverty level as a family of four, the old Nuclear Family, who’s combined yearly income is less than $23,550. Imagine trying to do anything on that amount of money especially when you divide it four ways.
Clark-Pleasant is highly involved in the High Reliability School (HRS) movement. This is a spin-off of High Reliability Organizations (HRO) in high stakes industries where failure can lead to catastrophic results. There are industries where failure simply cannot happen. These include, “electric power grids, air traffic control systems, prisoner confinement and transportation, commercial aircraft maintenance, nuclear power plants, and toxic chemical manufacturing”(Marzano, 2013). Imagine again if you will, even the smallest detail being overlooked and how that can lead to chaos and death. All children deserve the right to a fruitful life. Mattos (2012) defines “all students” as any child who is expected to be financially independent when they leave school. When looking at it in this respect, this encompasses the vast majority of school age children. Teachers are on the front line in the poverty battle.
Here are a few shocking statistics for comparison.
- Only 57% of students with disabilities will graduate from high school.
- In terms of English Language Learners, only half of the states in the US have above a 60% graduation rate for ELLs. Arizona is only at 25% in this segment of the population.
- Dropout rates for ELLs are 25% compared to non-ELL at 15%.
- Level 4 ELLs who are still classified and non-proficient upon entering high school,
33% will drop out.
- Less than High School-$973,000
- HS Diploma-$1,304.000
- Some College/No Degree-$1,547.000
- Associate's Degree-$1,727,000
- Bachelor's Degree-$2,268.000
- Master's Degree-$2,571.000
- Doctoral Degree-$3,252.000
- Professional Degree-$3,648.000
-12 newborns would be given to the wrong parents every day (YIKES! HRO?)
-114,500 pairs of mismatched shoes would be shipped per year
-18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled per HOUR
-2 Million documents will be lost by the IRS this year
-2.5 Million books would be shipped with the wrong covers
-315 entries in Webster’s dictionary would be misspelled
-20,000 wrong drug prescriptions would be written (YIKES! HRO?)
-5.5 million cases of soft drinks would be produced with no fizz
-3,056 copies of tomorrows wall street journal would be missing a section
-880,000 credit cards in circulation would have the wrong info coded on the magnetic strip.
The next time someone asks you what you do for a living you can tell them you fight poverty every single day. How much more important of a job is there in the world than that? Take pride in this because your contribution is spectacular.
Posted by John Schilawski 7.28.14