Poverty is the lack of having enough money to be able to buy the necessities for a human. To figure out the contributing factors we have to look at the root of poverty. One of the many causes of poverty starts with a child and a neglectful environment, the neglectful environment often being the cause of a child's economic state as an adult. The lack of a parental figure and the school the child goes to are the contributing factors that contribute to poverty. Many times children have parents who are not there to help them make the right decisions in life, often letting the child do the wrong things. Schools are not pushing students to where they have to be to succeed. Many schools lack the resources needed to help students or they focus on students that have higher grades. This causes the child not to get a good job and end up in poverty to not only themselves but further generations, causing a never-ending cycle of poverty.
“Fatherlessness and its effects on American society” by Jack Brewer analyzes the effect of having a fatherless home. Brewer reports, “Overall, single mothers head up 80% of single-parent households (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). Sadly, fatherless families are four times more likely to raise children in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020), and research suggests that 84% of homeless families are headed by women (ACOG, 2021). Children without fathers are often more likely to be in poverty than a child with two parents because it affects their mental health, self-esteem, and feelings of abandonment. These issues often make the child turn to drugs to cope with their feelings. Mothers without the help of another parent usually work longer hours leaving the child alone and unattended letting them make wrong decisions. We can see in the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore that the other Wes Moore is fatherless as he hasn't seen his dad since his birth. He goes through a fall of substance use and sells drugs. He gets a girl pregnant and drops out of school, he ends up going to jail several times throughout the book. Wes mentions in the book, “Tony was the closest thing Wes had to a role model”(pg 72) Since his dad wasn't in the picture he turns to his older brother Tony who sells drugs and is not a good role model for Wes. Leading him down a bad path and negatively affecting his future.
Although not having a two-parent household can affect a child, parents can also avoid leading their kids into poverty. We see in the book The Other Wes Moore that Wes’ dad died when he was three years old. Although this also affected him in many ways, his mom was present to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. Always showing her support, being there for him, and being his reason to succeed. Even when things were getting bad and Wes was skipping school and getting bad grades she asked relatives for money to send her son to military school. Not all single-parent households will lead a child in poverty but if a child does not get the attention they need and the support then they will end up in poverty. For example, my mother is a single mother of two, she decided to work very hard when my dad left. Every day she has been supporting me and my sister not only financially but emotionally. She is always on top of our grades and wants us to go to college to be someone in life. My mom worked hard to get me and my sister to private school because she knew that the school we went to and the middle school I was going to would lead us to poverty, and she wanted more for us. Poverty isn't just based on the lack of parenting but the lack of a proper education as well.
In addition, children living in poverty don't get the resources they need for a proper education. Poverty and its Impact on Students Education by, the National Association of Secondary School Principals writes, “Students living in poverty often have fewer resources at home to complete homework, study, or engage in activities that help equip them for success during the school day.” Children without the resources often drop out of school and never finish their education. This will lead them down a path of poverty. Schools in poverty also lead children to poverty since they lack the proper resources to help children reach their full potential. Some schools in low-income neighborhoods have underqualified teachers who do care about your education but lack the resources needed to help the students succeed. An example is that I attended a school where teachers only put their focus on the kids who wanted to learn and be there. I was lucky enough to care about my grades on my own but many didn't and the majority of the kids didn't pass the STAAR test. It was normal to see kids who were older than me by one or two years because they failed a grade or two. I took notice that we were separated into three groups based on grades, the kids with the highest grades were pushed the hardest and the kids with the lowest grades got to watch movies most of the time or draw. This is the reality that many children go through, and if children don't get a proper education they will end up in poverty. This also goes back to the lack of parental involvement in a child's education.
Children without the proper education often lead a life of poverty. A report from, 11 Facts about Education and Poverty in America states, “A higher percentage of young adults (31%) without a high school diploma live in poverty, compared to the 24% of young people who finished high school.” This shows the effect of dropping out and not having a proper support system. When living in poverty or going to a school in poverty, you face the challenges of peer pressure from other students. Many students drop out because they need to make money for their families or they don't care to show up. Others as mentioned before get peer pressured into skipping school. Although at the moment to them it seems like nothing, their future slowly diminishes and their chances to go to college pass by.
On the whole, poverty has existed since the start of man and there isn't a solution to fix all poverty. We don't know all the factors of poverty but we do know that the lack of education and parent involvement are two major factors that contribute to poverty. The lack of parental involvement leads to mental health, leading to drugs, and loss of jobs giving those children with broken homes issues that they will pass down to their children. Not having proper education due to not having the resources can lead to dropouts that lead to poverty. We can only stop the endless cycle of poverty by supporting one another in times of need and being there for those who need a mentor or a parent figure. Those are the people that have a chance to break the cycle with extra support.
Citations
https://americafirstpolicy.com/latest/issue-brief-fatherlessness-and-its-effects-on-american-society
https://www.nassp.org/poverty-and-its-impact-on-students-education/
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america
I was inspired to write this essay on poverty because of my experiences with poverty. Even though I now go to a private school and have a great life at home, things weren't always that way. I once attended a school where the surrounding area was filled with government houses, parents weren't home, and teachers weren't there for students. I had to see many of my classmates suffer and have emotional effects that overall made their educational experience hard. A lot of students had failed multiple grades, as I had a classmate who was fourteen when I was in 5th grade. Poverty is all around us. It is among us, and it's important to inform others and make them aware.