Haidee Garcia

EDUG 863
April 3, 2015
Ruby Payne Presentation Reflection

After attending the Lecture by Ruby Payne is revered for highlighting the importance of
understanding the concept of poverty as it pertains to children and students. Paynes principal message
is that poverty is not simply a monetary condition. She describes it to her audience as culture with a
particular rule, values, knowledge all of which are transmitted and passed from one generation to the
next. These hidden rules or social cues inform people how to live, survive, build and maintain
relationships, fulfill their basic needs like entertainments and ultimately succeed in life. The vital and
definitive message in her presentation is that she wants to create pathways for communication amongst
teachers parent and students. With the clear intent that teachers realize that they are an influential
component in teaching students of poverty the hidden rules of the middle class so that they can succeed
and move up in class.
One of the concepts that really resonated with me with the presentation is all the experiences
and anecdotes she shared as well as Eric's introduction in which he shared his experiences in meeting
with a particular student who did not conform to his expectations of what a respectful student should
look like, his speech really highlighted the importance of understanding the concept of poverty as it
pertains to children and students in order to avoid making assumptions. One of the ideas that Ruby
Payne emphasizes in her presentation is how important it is for teachers to understand the hidden rules
of poverty because it impacts schools, work, organizations and personal relationships. Not knowing the
hidden rules of each class can lead to assumptions of an individuals character and can heavily
influence our judgment of an individuals intelligence and capabilities. When a student communicates
with unwanted and unusual registers and expressions individuals tend to automatically assume the

student is rude and misbehaving. In reality this is just what the student has be taught from parents or
have social learned from their environment.
Reflecting on my student teaching I have observed how time after time teachers get frustrated
and angry when dealing with students and parents from different classes in particulars those coming
from poverty. They assume that students who always are late are rude and disrespectful. What the
teacher fails to realize is that it is not their fault. I have several students who are always chronically
late, it is not their fault that they are late. They depend on their parents to take them to school, and their
parents probably work several jobs and may not always wake up on time. Or perhaps they rely on
taking multiple modes of public transportation to come to school. It could also be that they have
smaller siblings or family members who required attention early in the morning. The point is that we
may never know exactly why a student is late, but it is important to never judge that student.
Sometimes students who missed homework are considered lazy and unmotivated. Teachers should not
infringe their beliefs and work ethics on students or use it to base their character as a student.
In her presentation she states that there is a disparity of tool and resources among the different
classes. In which students from poverty may lack those resources to succeed and do well in school. It is
important to provide students those tools and to now assume or judge their character as a student based
on the lack of it. Many times students in my placements tell me their stories of how they lack
notebooks, pencils, and even personal space in their home which can affect their learning.
Ruby Payne's Framework for Understanding Poverty Presentation urge their readers on the
detriments of making assumptions. For this reason, it is important for all teachers to be open-minded
and flexible to find the best solution to help students succeed in school and in life. As an educator, I can
not take this message lightly we should never infringe our beliefs and work ethics on students or use it
to base their character as a student. We need to find it in our heart to accept student for who they are,
where they come from and help guide them towards success without judging them.