Effects of Poverty in African American Students Academic Success (Essay Sample)

Effects of Poverty in Childhood Within the African American Community on Students’ Academic Success
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Effects of Poverty in Childhood Within the African American Community on Students’ Academic Success
Poor and affluent children in the United States (US) are vastly different in their academic performance. U.S. Department of Education research shows that "clearly documented" student and school poverty negatively impacts student success, according to various studies (Banerjee, 2016). Students' academic performance can be harmed by poverty if they do not receive adequate nourishment, which can harm their physical growth and impair their ability to concentrate in school. Inadequate housing can also put them at risk of exposure to health concerns such as pollutants. In addition, kids who live in poverty often have high levels of stress, which makes it difficult for them to concentrate on their studies. The level of one's economic status can be used to predict one's academic success. Children who grow up in poverty have altered brain structures in memory and emotion centers, making them more vulnerable to emotional and social difficulties, long-term stress, and short-term memory loss. All these challenges will likely affect the learning of children within African American community. Relationships between students and educators are the best way to increase student effort and motivation.
Ferguson, Bovaird, & Mueller (2007) says children living in dangerous neighborhoods with high crime rates and having parents who make minimum wage often have parents who are divorced or separated from each other, as well as siblings who are split up or living in different houses. Each one of these pressures leaves a hole in the lives of poor children, causing them to struggle academically and socially in school. These children are more likely to skip classes, have difficulties focusing and concentrating, and have a hard time remembering and comprehending what they've learned(Olszewski-Kubilius & Corwith, 2017). Also, children who grow up in homes with minimal interaction with their parents, fewer books to read, and fewer opportunities for acuity are more likely to fail in school in the future. Stressors that persist for a long period of time might have a negative impact on a student's academic performance. According to Gartland et al. (2019), prolonged stress has a major impact on academic performance for all of these reasons. The brain structure of regions associated with memory and emotion has changed significantly in children raised in poverty, making them more likely to have mental retardation. When parents are unable to afford educational resources such as books, their children may have a limited vocabulary and a narrower focus on what they say.
African American children raised in poverty are more likely to have developmental delays than those reared in more affluent environments. Children from low-income families are more likely to struggle academically, have behavioral challenges in school, suffer from mental health concerns, or have emotional issues. Children who grow up in poverty have alterations in the structure of their brains that affect their ability to remember and feel emotions(Olszewski-Kubilius & Corwith, 2017). Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to have behavioral issues in the classroom. Cortisol is a hormone that our bodies produce when we are under stress. The prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus receive weaker neuronal signals when cortisol levels rise in the body. These two parts of the brain are essential for learning, comprehension, and cognitive function. Neurons in a child's frontal lobes may diminish as a result of repeated stress. This part of the brain is in charge of a child's decision-making, planning, and impulse-control abilities (Gartland et al., 2019).
Gartland, et al., (2021) also affirms that damage to the hippocampus, which is linked to memory loss, can also be caused by it. When the body is under stress, so is the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating our feelings. As a result of all these changes to the brain's neurons, there is an imbalance in the brain's healthy state. Communication and linguistic habits might be affected by this mismatch (Olszewski-Kubilius & Corwith, 2017). Poverty-affected children encounter a slew of difficulties in the classroom and in their personal lives. Students in poverty have emotional and social obstacles, chronic stress, and substantial changes in brain structure in regions connected to memory and emotion that result in lower academic success, lack of school readiness and more disciplinary issues in the classroom because of these structural changes.
Banerjee (2016) defines school readiness refers to a student's ability to succeed academically and socially in a classroom context. Mental health and a positive attitude toward new experiences, age-appropriate social knowledge and competence, age-appropriate linguistic capabilities, and maturity level knowledge and cognitive capabilities are all necessary. Through aspects such as health, family life, teaching, and community, poverty has been demonstrated to diminish a child's readiness for school. Features of poverty have been reported as having an impact on the development of children and their readiness for school. What is important to know is how poverty impacts a child's social network and how it affects a child's ability to get a good education, as well as how a child's social network is affected by poverty. Young people are more prepared for school when they are raised in an atmosphere that encourages learning. It is common for students from poor families to be under-stimulated and to lack the social skills essential to succeed in school. Typical problems include a lack of consistency in daily routines and parenting methods, multiple caregivers shift in the main caregiver, a lack of supervision, and poor role modeling. These children's parents also require assistance since they also face major socio-mental challenges (Olszewski-Kubilius & Corwith, 2017).
Allen et al. (2016) says that there is also a correlation between low-income homes and poor school preparedness. Students from poor families perform significantly worse on assessments of language and communication skills, arithmetic understanding, copying and symbol use, the ability to concentrate, and cooperative play with other children than children from higher-income families. The schools with the highest number of pupils who are not ready for school are in high socioeconomic risk areas, including poverty. Allen et al. (2016) also affirms that learners' vocabulary for children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) homes performed worse than those from higher SES families. It's clear that children from low-income homes have an academic and social advantage. Basically, schools are powerless to close the gap. Children from poor socio-economic homes were less likely to pass a grade 3 standards assessment than children from better socio-economic classes.
Students with emotional and social difficulties in Africa American communities can benefit from policies that promote respect, teach social skills, and encourage inclusive classrooms. Recognizing symptoms of poverty, modifying the classroom atmosphere, and empowering students can all help kids who are suffering from long-term pressures improve their academic performance. Students with cognitive delays and structural changes in their brains will benefit academically from instruction that focuses on strengthening basic abilities, administering tests that pinpoint the source of the problem, and hiring personnel who are kind and empathic. In order to reduce the possibility of inferior academic accomplishment, educators must be knowledgeable about the consequences of poverty (Ferguson, Bovaird, & Mueller, 2007).
Therefore, encouraging educators to be kind and empathic in their interactions with students could close the success gap for those pupils who have cognitive delays owing to changes in brain structure. It is crucial for educators to choose the right assessment to ascertain the root cause of a student's academic and social challenges. Another option for closing the academic performance gap for poor children is to provide opportunities for students to develop the necessary skills for success in school. Short-and long-term memory, focus, attention, problem solving, processing, hopefulness, sequencing, self-esteem, tenacity, and social skills are just a few of the qualities that students will need to succeed in school. The early stages of obtaining missing fundamental abilities involve determining which skills are