A Framework for Understanding Poverty

Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.

^^ This!I've never thought enough about poverty --- what it's like for people, how they get there, how they get out ---  so I'm grateful for the lessons in this book and how they've opened my eyes to the challenges of poverty.Loved: The sections on hidden rules, "could you survive in poverty," and the amazing empathy and perspective shared for those who are in poverty.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby Payne

The following are excerpts taken from Dr. Ruby Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Bold, italics, and notes are mine. Everything else is Dr. Payne's.

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Poverty is “the extent to which an individual does without resources.”--Interventions will work only when the needed resources for that intervention are available. In other words, you have to work from strengths.These resources are the following:

1. FINANCIAL: Having the money to purchase goods and services.
2. EMOTIONAL: Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance, and choices.
3. MENTAL/COGNITIVE: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal effectively with daily life.
4. SPIRITUAL: Believing in divine purpose and guidance.
5. PHYSICAL: Having physical health and mobility.
6. SUPPORT SYSTEMS: Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources.
7. RELATIONSHIPS/ROLE MODELS: Having frequent access to individual(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing, and who do not engage in self-destructive behavior.
8. KNOWLEDGE OF HIDDEN RULES: Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of different groups.
9. LANGUAGE/FORMAL REGISTER: Being able to competently, use the vocabulary and sentence structure of work and school.

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Financial resources, while very important, do not explain the differences in the success with which some individuals leave poverty nor the reasons that many stay in poverty.

--Hidden rules are about the salient, unspoken understandings that cue the members of the group that a given individual does or does not fit.--Three of the hidden rules in poverty are the following:

1. The noise level is high (the TV is almost always on, and everyone may talk at once)
2. The most important information is nonverbal
3. One of the main values of an individual to the group is an ability to entertain.

--To better understand poverty, one must understand four aspects of language: registers of language, discourse patterns, story structure, and specificity of vocabulary.--

Registers of language

Every language in the world has five registers. These registers are the following:Joos found that one can go down one register in the same conversation, and that is socially accepted. However, to drop two registers or more in the same conversation is to be socially offensive ...The ability to use formal register is a hidden rule of middle class.--Researchers Hart and Risley put tape recorders in homes by economic class. They found that a 3-year-old in a professional household has more vocabulary than an adult in a welfare household.--

Mental Model for Poverty

Mental Model for Middle Class

Mental Model for Wealth

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Could you survive in poverty?

Put a check by each item you know how to do.___ 1. I know which churches and sections of town have the best rummage sales.___ 2. I know when Walmart, drug stores, and convenience stores throw away over-the-counter medicine with expired dates.___ 3. I know which pawn shops sell DVDs for $1.___ 4. In my town in criminal courts, I know which judges are lenient, which ones are crooked, and which ones are fair.___ 5. I know how to physically fight and defend myself physically.___ 6. I know how to get a gun, even if I have a police record.___ 7. I know how to keep my clothes from being stolen at the Laundromat.___ 8. I know what problems to look for in a used car.___ 9. I/my family use a payday lender.___ 10. I know how to live without electricity and a phone.___ 11. I know how to use a knife as scissors.___ 12. I can entertain a group of friends with my personality and my stories.___ 13. I know which churches will provide assistance with food or shelter.___ 14. I know how to move in half a day.___ 15. I know how to get and use food stamps or an electronic card for benefits.___ 16. I know where the free medical clinics are.___ 17. I am very good at trading and bartering.___ 18. I can get by without a car.___ 19. I know how to hide my car so the repo man cannot find it.___ 20. We pay our cable-TV bill before we pay our rent.___ 21. I know which sections of town “belong” to which gangs.

Could you survive in middle class?

Put a check by each item you know how to do.___ 1. I know how to get my children into Little League, piano lessons, soccer, etc.___ 2. I have an online checking account and monitor my bills online.___ 3. Every bedroom has its own TV and DVD player.___ 4. My children know the best name brands in clothing.___ 5. I know how to order in a nice restaurant.___ 6. I know how to use a credit card, checking account, and savings account—and Iunderstand an annuity. I understand term life insurance, disability insurance, and 20/80 medical insurance policy, as well as house insurance, flood insurance, and replacement insurance.___ 7. I talk to my children about going to college.___ 8. I know how to get one of the best interest rates on my new-car loan.___ 9. I understand the difference among the principal, interest, and escrow statements on my house payment.___ 10. I know how to help my children with their homework and do not hesitate to call the school if I need additional information.___ 11. I know how to decorate the house for the different holidays.___ 12. I/my family belong to an athletic or exercise club.___ 13. I know how to use most of the tools in the garage.___ 14. I repair items in my house almost immediately when they break—or know a repair service and call it.___ 15. We have more than one computer in our home.___ 16. We plan our vacations six months to a year in advance.___ 17. I contribute to a retirement plan separate from Social Security.

Could you survive in wealth?

Put a check by each item you know how to do.___ 1. I can read a menu in at least three languages.___ 2. I have several favorite restaurants in different countries of the world. I use a concierge to book the best restaurants as I travel throughout the world.___ 3. During the holidays, I know how to hire a decorator to identify the appropriate themes and items with which to decorate the house.___ 4. I know who my preferred financial adviser, legal firm, certified public accounting firm, designer, florist, caterer, domestic employment service, and hairdresser are. In addition, I have a preferred tailor, travel agency, and personal trainer.___ 5. I have at least two residences that are staffed and maintained.___ 6. I know how to ensure confidentiality and loyalty from my domestic staff .___ 7. I have at least two or three “screens” that keep people whom I do not wish to see away from me.___ 8. I fly in my own plane, the company plane, or first class.___ 9. I know how to enroll my children in the preferred private schools.___ 10. I know how to host the parties that “key” people attend.___ 11. I am on the boards of at least two charities.___ 12. I contribute to at least four or five political campaigns.___ 13. I support or buy the work of a particular artist.___ 14. I know how to read a corporate financial statement and analyze my own financial statements.___ 15. I belong to at least one private club (country club, yacht club, etc.).___ 16. I own more vehicles than there are drivers.___ 17. I “buy a table” at several charity events throughout the year.___ 18. I have worldwide coverage on my cell phone for both text and voice messages, as well as e-mail.___ 19. I have the provenance for all original art, jewelry, antiques, and one-of-a-kind items.___ 20. I easily translate exchange rates for currency between and among different countries.(via)--In one school district, the faculty had gone together to buy a refrigerator for a family that didn’t have one. About three weeks later, the children in the family were gone for a week. When the students returned, the teachers asked where they had been. The answer was that the family had gone camping because they were so stressed. What had they used for money to go camping? Proceeds from the sale of the refrigerator, of course.The bottom line in generational poverty is entertainment and relationships. In middle class, the criteria against which most decisions are made relate to work and achievement. In wealth, it is the ramifications of the financial, social, and political connections that have the weight.--Hidden rules govern a great deal of our immediate assessment of an individual and his/her capabilities. Not understanding the hidden rules of the next class often is the key factor in keeping an individual from moving upward in a career—or even getting the position in the first place.--Individuals leave poverty for one of four reasons:

1. A situation that is so painful that just about anything would be better
2. A goal or vision of something they want to be or have
3. A specific talent or ability that provides an opportunity for them
4. Someone who “sponsors” them (i.e., an educator or spouse or mentor or role model who shows them a different way or convinces them that they could live differently)

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Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.

--The two hidden rules about money that middle class uses: (1) “I don’t ask you for money, and you don’t ask me” and (2) “If you borrow money, you have to pay it back.” Middle class has yet another hidden rule about personal money, and it’s simply that you don’t talk about it. So asking a middle-class person to participate in a group sharing session about finances usually isn’t going to happen—particularly for the men because male identity in middle class is, first and foremost, about being a provider. And the majority of middle-class men won’t talk very freely about what’s most important to them.--

The adult voice

To teach students to use the “language of negotiation,” which is necessary for them to see alternate choices, one must first teach them phrases they can use. Especially beginning in fourth grade, have them use the “adult” voice in discussions. Direct-teach the notion of an adult voice, and give them phrases to use. Have them tally each time they use a phrase from the “adult” voice. There will be laughter. However, over time, if the teacher also models that voice in interactions with students, one will hear more of those kinds of questions and statements.THE ADULT VOICE is ...Not judgmental, free of negative nonverbals, factual, often in question format, attitude of win-win□ In what ways could this be resolved?□ What factors will be used to determine the effectiveness, quality of ______?□ I would like to recommend ______ .□ What are choices in this situation?□ I am comfortable (uncomfortable) with ______ .□ Options that could be considered are ______ .□ For me to be comfortable, I need the following things to occur ______ .□ These are the consequences of that choice/action ______ .□ We agree to disagree.--You can buy the book here.