FAYETTEVILLE — Paul “P.L.” Thomas refutes the sentiment of many education theorists that “poverty is not destiny,” and says the opposite is true.
“Could education be the great equalizer?” Thomas said. “Yes, it could. Is education the great equalizer forsome individuals? Yes.”
Most people remain in the social class of their birth, said Thomas, who will give a lecture on education and poverty at 7 p.m. Thursday at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Thomas, an associate professor at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., will give the free, publiclecture Poverty Is Destiny: Ignoring the MLK Imperative in Corporate Education Reform” in the Graduate Education Building.
He is the author of Ignoring Poverty in the U.S.: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education.
A panel discussion will follow his talk.
Thomas, a 30-year educator who spent 18 years teaching in rural South Carolina, describes himself as a “social context reformer” who urges for education changes within a larger plan to reduce social inequity. An example is providing universal access to health care or a guaranteed salary for every adult to beable to function in a market economy with some level of equity.
“There’s no evidence that public schools ever change society,” Thomas said.
He criticizes efforts of what he describes as “no excuses reformers” who believe education acts as a catalyst to change society. The “no excuses reforms” support standardized testing and accountability for schools, Thomas said.
“As soon as a kid enters school, we’re testing them,” Thomas said.
The push for standardized testing in all states works to sort, label and rank children,Thomas said. Research studies have found that the conditions of a child’s life - parental income and education level - have greater correlations with test scores than any other factor, Thomas said.
Poor children don’t lack ability, but they do not have the same literature-rich environment as homes with access to books and parents who have time to read to their children, Thomas said.
Children identified as lacking skills are assigned to test-prep classes, while children with higher scores are placed in advanced classes, Thomas said.
“Everybody should be in the same classes,” Thomas said. “There shouldn’t be advanced classes or remedial classes. They should all be the highest level of education a child has the opportunity to have.”
Poor children need access to books in their homes, and schools need to give them time to read and share what they are reading with friends, Thomas said.
Low-income families need assistance early to ensure children enter school on par with their more affluent peers, said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children in Little Rock. Programs that help include those that provide good prenatal care for mothers, promote a strong bond between parents and children and ensure that families have access to quality child-care programs. Children from low-income familiesalso need quality programs after school and during the summer, he said.
“It’s really going to take a comprehensive approach,” Huddleston said. “We haveto ensure every child has a quality opportunity to learn regardless of their ZIP code. Education can play a major role in helping at-risk kids out of poverty.”
Teach for America is another piece of the “no excuses” policies that Thomas criticizes for placing inexperienced teachers in high poverty schools.The nonprofit, national organization uses a highly competitive recruiting process to place recent college graduates without training in education into classrooms in high-need areas for two years. Teach for America teachers pass tests in their content areas and complete a summer training program before they enter classrooms in the fall. “They’re putting people with no degree in education in the classes with high poverty children, [English language learners] and special needs children,” Thomas said. “The problem is that same population gets inexperienced, unqualified teachers.”
Gary Ritter, director of the Office of Education Policy at UA-Fayetteville, disagrees with Thomas’ assessment of Teach for America. School districts apply to the program because they struggle to recruit enough teachers. Ritter said policymakers should offer large financial incentives to attract teachers to the places with the greatest need.
“We, as education policymakers can’t change the kids,” Ritter said. “We can pay the adult standing in front of them.”
Children from advantaged backgrounds have a better chance of succeeding in school than those from disadvantaged backgrounds,Ritter said.
“Schools alone in many cases will not fully make up for the children that are connected to poverty,” Ritter said. “Schools can help kids deal with those challenges.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 10/17/2012