Response to “Poor Kids,” Blog and “The Moth Radio, Episodoe 1305, Segment 3”

                  The main cause of poverty that can be concluded from the documentary and discussion is the lack of a well-paying job. It was heart breaking to hear the children in the documentary talk about poverty. Some of the children, such as Brittany and her brother Roger as well as Jasmine, Johnny and their two other brothers, had stable and well-to-do lifestyles before. However, when their fathers lost their jobs, they didn’t have enough money to pay the bills. They sometimes didn’t even have enough money for food and/or shelter. Worrying about how to pay the bills, buy clothing and food and survive becomes a priority. The children living in these poor households will always think about food, having limited possessions due to constant moving and how they can help their parents get more money.

This cycle of constant worrying, stress, and moving from one house to another affects children’s education. Without having a stable home and/or income, children will either be unable to attend the same school or have insufficient necessities to do well in school. In the documentary Kaleigh talks about how she is not enrolled in a school because her family is constantly moving around from motel to motel, and perhaps to a house if affordable. It was amazing to see how mature the children are. They understand what is going on, can sympathize with what their parents must feel, and acknowledge that education is the key to leading a successful life.

In order for children to stay in schools and off the streets, such as those kids in the “The Moth Radio, Episodoe 1305, Segment 3” recording, they need an environment that is safe, educational, and motivating. While neighborhoods and locations of school may be dangerous, teachers need to make their classrooms a safe and motivating environment where their students will be motivated and interested in learning. Because leading a successful life requires a high education in order to obtain a well-to-do job, education is very important to the future generation of career workers. Teachers need to also come up with lesson plans that are not only interesting, but educational not only in content but in life skill development that children will need to know how to use in their future careers; life skills, such as social, critical thinking, problem solving, presentation, etc. Keeping children off the streets and in the classroom will encourage today’s children to become learners and problem solvers, who will be able to decrease the poverty rate in the future. Having a high education and life skills will help children become successful and lead lives where their own children won’t have to go through what their parents went through.

Schools and teachers are not the only places and people who need to be aware of the lives of children, especially those who are poor. Communities need to have stricter policy in making sure that the environment is safe for its residents. Enforcing policies that make communities safer and motivating children to learn and go to school will help the communities in the future when the children grow up and start to run and take care of the communities themselves. Both schools and communities also need to offer courses that educate the residents in daily and world knowledge, such as healthcare, money management, etc. Having an educated community will provide higher-paying jobs and companies as well as give children the opportunity to learn more about the world they live in.

However, some questions I have are: How does a poor community offer these courses when families are thinking about working and just getting by in their lives? When do these families have the time to even go to these courses? It seems as if there is no immediate solution to curing poverty. However, I'm glad I watched the documentary. As I've said in our class blog, I don't remember talking about poverty all that much while in school. This is an effective method to opening children's mind to people around them. There is so much out there. Without being open-minded to diversity, children will grow up being biased and not being able to deal with people who are different.