Back in August, Tim posted a passionate call to serve the poor. The responses were not really a surprise (to me). It's a huge issue, so huge that we, together and as individuals, often have a difficult time getting our arms wrapped around it. This is understandable, because those in the middle class - and I think anyone reading this falls into that category - do not understand the world of poverty, no more than those in poverty understand the world of the middle class, or the middle class understands the world of the wealthy. We are a class society, and each class has its hidden rules and assumptions that make it difficult not only to understand each other but also to move between classes, either up or down.
This idea is not new. I recently attended a lecture by Phillip Devol, co-author of Bridges Out Of Poverty, and I have begun to read a book written by another of the co-authors, Ruby K. Payne, titled A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Often we in the middle class who want to "help" the poor operate under the hidden rules and assumptions of the middle class without realizing it. They are the very mindset, or "mental map," within which we unconsciously follow as we go about our day-to-day lives. The poor and the wealthy have a different set of hidden rules. I've found all of this extrememly enlightening. Many of the hidden rules of poverty are often misinterpreted by the middle class who are often trying to help people get out of poverty, and many of our government programs designed to help those in poverty do not take this into account either.
In general, the poor live in the present. What is most important to them is what is happening right now. In effect, they are in "survival mode" and don't consider the future implications of the choices they make in the present. That is not a criticism; as I said, their mindset is necessary for daily survival. Often we think of poverty as solely a scarcity of financial resources. While financial resources are certainly important, it is acutally the scarcity of a variety of resources that define poverty - resources such as emotional, spiritual, support, mental, and physical, including financial. All three classes can be defined by how they use and manage these resources. For instance, to the poor, money is meant to be spent . Emergencies will always happen, so you might as well spend it now while you have it. To the middle class, money is to be managed, because the middle class mindset is focused on the future - for vacations, retirement, kids college, remodeling the house, etc. In the wealthy class, money is for investing and preserving, because the wealthy mindset is focused on preserving key connections and the status that comes with those connections.
So what does this mean? Well, one thing that struck me was the importance of relationships among the poor. People are a resource for those in poverty. Any wonder why Jesus spent time with the least, last and lost? Because he found them entertaining? (Entertainment - and the ability to entertain others with your stories and personality - is an important resource to the poor.) Or was he developing relationships? This is kingdom stuff here.
So in answer to Tim's challenge - our first step is to understand the poor and the world they live in, and the resources that are available or not available to them that go beyond the financial. Develop mentoring relationships with the poor to help them transition to the middle class. Help them understand the "hidden rules" of the middle class so that they can function. Once a person transitions from poverty to the middle class, they lose the relationships and resources they once had. It's like when a person graduates from high school and goes to college. The high school friends who don't go on to college are left behind, and maybe resentful that you did because they know the relationship won't continue. And when you get to college it's a different world from high school, with different assumptions and rules that you have to learn during that awkward freshman year.
But when you're in college, there are upper classmen who might provide help along the way, even mentor you on the "ins and outs" of college. That's what the poor need as they transition to the middle class, and where we can help. It's also where government programs fail. Once a person "gets out" of poverty, the government cuts the support they got to get out in the first place! A person transitioning out of poverty needs 2 to 3 years of support before they begin to understand how to live in the middle class.
I could write a lot more. Just go find the books I mentioned if you haven't already read them. Your eyes will be opened. God bless!
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5 comments:
Tom,
My sister suggested I read Ruby Paine when she heard I had gotten a job w/ Headstart. You are right -it's great stuff. Volunteering at the community health clinic and working at Headstart I've gotten a closer look at poverty than I've had before. If I were to make any generalizations, I'd say that the people are choosing from the options they see open to themselves-some of the more ambitious,by the way, Tom, are choosing Ivy Tech.
Joy
Yes, Paine and her co-authors (Paine is an educator.) believe that education is critical to getting out of poverty. Ivy Tech is perfectly positioned to help them - affordable tuition, financial aid, tutoring. Ivy Tech also offers workshops to students on topics like dressing for success, having a good job interview (sometimes difficult for a person in poverty who communicates in the casual register) and even business etiquette (even I learned a lot from that workshop!). those are the kinds of things that help the poor transition to the middle class.
The more I consider that America is truly a class society, I've also noticed differences among the middle class. Coaching my daughter's softball teams has exposed me to this. Families in the lower spectrum of the middle class function differently than those in the upper middle class, or even those who are solidly middle class. Lower middle class families often function in the same ways as families in poverty, and families in the upper middle class often function in the same ways as wealthy families. So there is really no solid lines demarcing the different classes, and they tend to blur along those lines.
I think that God is trying to speak to me through some of the things I've learned here. I'm not sure why -- if I should seek opportunities to serve the poor, or if He's giving me some understanding where I'm at. I'm praying and looking for His direction.
Tom,
I pray that you will be used by God to, as Jesus said, bring good news to the poor.
I have been reading "Bridges out of Poverty" for a social work class I am taking at The Ohio State University. I am a senior in psychology and sociology, and I find this book academically lacking and socially irresponsible. This text is classic culture of poverty—the theory that those in poverty are there because of character flaws and bad behavior. Payne never confronts the structural barriers which bar the poor from increasing their economic position. Education, full-time employment (at a living-wage), and inadequate social safety-nets are stronger correlates to poverty than language and perspective as Payne would suggest. Payne suggests, though never directly, that the family is the primary socializing force in the development of an individual. Schools, and the staff and educators who operate them; neighborhoods and their relationship to the city as a whole; and the national and political culture, defused to homes through the media, are all prominent factors in the socialization of every individual.
Thus, when one receives messages of worthlessness and derogation from the whole of society, when your existence is viewed as a cause to herald and correct, when you are bombarded by a consumerist culture in which you cannot participate, the logical end is an attitude of hopelessness and dissociation. Instead of a steadfast defense of “middle-class ideals,” I propose a more critical analysis of this society. A society with more wealth than any other nation in the world, but also with a poorly performing education system (which is blamed on the student and not the lack of funding), a service focused economy which will force us to sell to each other the products of distant lands, and an obsession with consumption which is destroying our planet.
When it is proposed that a critical look be taken toward a particular group, we must first look at ourselves. Before we espouse the lifestyle and ideology of one group onto another, we must first determine if that lifestyle is “correct.” In my opinion, there is no certificate or qualification which a person can obtain that gives them the power to do that. It is hypocritical to ask of the poor what we would not ask of ourselves. Ruby Payne, and “academics” like her, have become unable to see the forest for the trees.
bennettosu I have only recently begun familiarizing myself with Payne's work and I am confused by your criticism- could you explain a bit more? In reading Payne's description of the "additive model" it seems to me she is incorporating what you claim she is lacking in her approach to understanding poverty.
"It must be recognized that causes of poverty are a both/and reality. Poverty is caused by both the behaviors of the individual and political/economic structures- and everything in between." (p. 260, BOP)
From here she goes on to stress the importance of naming problems and finding solutions in four areas including (1.) Behaviors of the individual (2.) Human and Social Capital in the Community (3.) Exploitation (4.) Political/Economic Structures
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