{"id":902,"date":"2013-06-01T12:05:55","date_gmt":"2013-06-01T12:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=902"},"modified":"2013-06-01T13:20:59","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T13:20:59","slug":"3-strategies-to-break-the-cycle-of-poverty-for-students-and-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/3-strategies-to-break-the-cycle-of-poverty-for-students-and-families\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Strategies to Break the Cycle of Poverty for Students and Families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http:\/\/blog.bottomlessinc.com] -->\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Finspiredtoeducate.net%2Finspiredtoeducate%2F3-strategies-to-break-the-cycle-of-poverty-for-students-and-families%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height: 30px; align: left; margin: 2px 0px 2px 0px\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- Facebook Like Button END -->\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/MPN-LOGONEW-smaller.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-909\" title=\"Macon promise\" src=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/MPN-LOGONEW-smaller.jpg\" alt=\"Macon promise\" width=\"534\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/MPN-LOGONEW-smaller.jpg 534w, http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/MPN-LOGONEW-smaller-300x122.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In Paul Tough\u2019s book <a title=\"Why should we teach both character and knowledge?\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=345\">\u201cHow Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character\u201d<\/a>, he underscores the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. \u00a0How should our educational system reach parents and students who are trying to break the cycle of poverty? \u00a0 This past year, I had the opportunity to start volunteering with an organization in Macon, GA focusing on helping students succeed in the face of poverty.<\/p>\n<p>Macon Promise is a movement and leadership organization in Macon, GA seeking to help students\/families thrive and overcome poverty in 4 key schools. \u00a0 As we have <a title=\"Why should we teach both character and knowledge?\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=345\">mentioned in this post<\/a>, this is a very challenging problem. \u00a0 The issues related to helping students succeed to high school and beyond are complex.<\/p>\n<p>As I draft this post, I start to reflect upon why this issue moves me so much. \u00a0 If I reach back to my childhood, I recall some of the people who made the most impact in my life. \u00a0 My brother Francis and I are very blessed. \u00a0 We have wonderful parents who gave us 110% to make sure we could succeed in life. \u00a0 We are not the perfect family. \u00a0 No family is. \u00a0 We, however, always knew that our parents loved us. \u00a0 Mom and Dad always worked very hard to make sure we could go to the best schools and had the best opportunities in life.<\/p>\n<p>I also think about Irene and Jimmy Williams. \u00a0 Irene and Jimmy were a very kind elderly couple who opened their home to me and my brother. \u00a0 We always thought of them as our adopted grand parents. \u00a0 When mom and dad had to work, it was always fun getting to spend the day at their home. \u00a0 \u00a0I have very clear memories of learning how to draw, watching Star Trek, building forts, climbing trees, getting frosties, and tons of great childhood memories. \u00a0 Their kindness and love made a huge impact in our lives that words can&#8217;t express. \u00a0 Irene and Jimmy came from very humble backgrounds&#8230; They, however, were generous with their lives.<\/p>\n<p>Why does helping students succeed and breaking the cycle of poverty matter to me? \u00a0My short answer is that I have been given a gift that I can never repay to my parents, Irene, Jimmy, and the countless other teachers who helped me become who I am. \u00a0Because of this blessing, I feel I need to give back. \u00a0 I believe that every child needs an Irene or Jimmy. \u00a0 They need someone who believes in them. \u00a0 \u00a0They need someone who loves them. \u00a0 They need someone who doesn&#8217;t care about their background, but chooses to be a good mentor and guide to help them succeed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s is the need in the Macon Promise Neighborhood?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2011, \u00a0it was documented that 1 in 3 people live in poverty in Macon, GA. \u00a0 At one high school, the graduation rate at one school was 47% .<\/li>\n<li>In 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Macon, GA as the 7th poorest city in the US.<\/li>\n<li>For more details on the critical needs in MPN, \u00a0please <a href=\"o\thttp:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/programs\/promiseneighborhoods\/2011\/u215p110187narrative.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">read their proposal<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Hope of Macon Promise Neighborhood<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thanks to the leadership of Mercer University and the collaboration of many community partners, change started in the Macon Promise Neighborhood. \u00a0I really appreciate the principles driving their work. \u00a0 They are outlined <a href=\"o\thttp:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/programs\/promiseneighborhoods\/2011\/u215p110187narrative.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">in this proposal<\/a>:<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Mindsets determine students\u2019 ability to learn at a high level of expectation.<\/li>\n<li>Risk factors subvert children\u2019s educational success; protective factors increase children\u2019s resilience.<\/li>\n<li>When parents are engaged with schools and have an educational plan for their own futures, their children will succeed in school.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From my position as an app developer, I would like to find a way to make a small contribution to help &#8220;at risk&#8221; students finish high school, find meaningful work, and thrive. \u00a0 Today, I will be volunteering in a nationwide service project called &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/hackforchange.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">HackForChange<\/a>.&#8221; \u00a0This service project event will gather together technology professionals and innovators in the government space with hopes of prototyping and deploying small technology solutions that will help our communities. \u00a0 I hope to contribute a <a href=\"http:\/\/hackforchange.org\/challenge\/app-sharing-challenge\" target=\"_blank\">solution around this challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We only have two days to draft our solution. \u00a0So, \u00a0we will need to be extra focused. \u00a0 I wanted to ask for your help in this challenge. \u00a0Firstly, \u00a0please consider filling out this quick two question survey.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1Kh2D49PAwZZJAzpr5t0-9u9xAH5i1xc_WwDsq_iLUl0\/viewform?embedded=true\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Secondly, pray for all the developers and leaders who are participating in this &#8220;HackForChange&#8221; movement. \u00a0 Please pray for the leaders of Macon Promise too. \u00a0 They are a very hard working team in need of your support. \u00a0 To learn more about their impact and work, please visit <a href=\"http:\/\/maconpromise.org\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/maconpromise.org<\/a> and their blog at <a href=\"http:\/\/maconpromise.blogspot.com\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/maconpromise.blogspot.com<\/a> .<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Other InspiredToEducate.NET Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Why should we teach both character and knowledge?\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=345\">Why should we teach both character and knowledge?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"10 resources inspiring improvements in education through open innovation\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=420\">10 resources inspiring improvements in education through open innovatio<\/a>n<\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Sir Ken Robinson\u2019s Top Three Focus Areas for Teaching\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=886\">Sir Ken Robinson\u2019s Top Three Focus Areas for Teaching<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=669\">Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Jennifer Pahika challenges us to \u201ccode a better government\u201d\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=322\">Jennifer Pahika challenges us to \u201ccode a better government\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http:\/\/blog.bottomlessinc.com] -->\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Finspiredtoeducate.net%2Finspiredtoeducate%2F3-strategies-to-break-the-cycle-of-poverty-for-students-and-families%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height: 30px; align: left; margin: 2px 0px 2px 0px\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- Facebook Like Button END -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Paul Tough\u2019s book \u201cHow Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character\u201d, he underscores the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. \u00a0How should our educational system reach parents and students who are trying to break the cycle of poverty? \u00a0 This past year, I had [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":905,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}