A Framework for Understanding Poverty

This was published in 2007, which means a lot of the material was from the 1990's and earlier (much from 1971). Thus, it is definitely outdated for 2019. However, I give the author kudos for attempting to delineate the differences that poverty and access give to a student. She brought it half way there, but it was written by a white woman with a PhD. That is to say she did not get it right; she missed the point. Author Payne saw the reasons for and the outcomes of poverty in very broad brushed reasons. Her perspective would not hold up under modern education standards (bravo to Teach For America). Still, she was onto something insightful and her work started us on a path to understanding.

I got Ms. Payne's book based on some interesting excerpts that someone posted online. The excerpts had to do with the different types of speech and how they influence learning and even ways of thinking. The poster quoted some sections from the book which assert that the differences in speech between the general classes of poverty, middle class and wealth have much more impact on the brain than most people realize. This intrigued me. The book is targeted at school administrators and employers, but I think a lot of people could benefit from reading it.

Framework, starts out by re-defining poverty as more than just an economic issue. Payne, outlines the various resources that aren't typically taken into account when talking about poverty: emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships and role models, knowledge of hidden class rules. The lack of financial resources is quite obvious in any discussion of poverty. The emotional is less so: "Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior". Mental resources are also typically left out: "Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life". Support systems are never thought of: "Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources". Relationships and role models: "Having frequent access to adult(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing to a child, and do not engage in self-destructive behavior". Knowledge of the hidden class rules: "Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group". In fact, I would say that a lot of people in any class make assumptions (many times they are incorrect) which prevent them from understanding people in the other classes and lead to false judgments levied against those in the other classes. But more on that later.

She also spend a little time making a distinction between situational poverty, where one falls on hard times and drops from wealth to middle class or middle class to poverty and generational poverty. Generational poverty being the situation where a family is in poverty for two or more generations. If you come out of poverty into middle class, you are still, for the purposes of the book, someone who came from poverty. Your children will still have some of the echoes of the effects of poverty. It is not until their children that the traits disappear. This fact is largely unknown even to those who carry the traits of generational poverty with them.

After Payne defines poverty by way of resources, she moves onto language and story structure and how those things influence thought and actions. The first topic in chapter two is the "Registers of Language". There are five registers in every language: Frozen, Formal, Consultative, Casual and Intimate. Each is defined as follows:

Frozen - Language that is always the same. Examples are, the Lord's Prayer, wedding vows, etc...

Formal - The standard sentence syntax and word choice of work and school. has complete sentences and specific word choice.

Consultative - Formal register when used in conversation. Discourse pattern not quite as direct as formal register.

Casual - Language between friends and is characterized by a 400 to 800 word vocabulary. Word choice is general and not specific. Conversation is dependent upon non-verbal assists (moving hands, facial expressions, gestures). Sentence syntax is often incomplete. "Know what I mean"?

Intimate - Language between lovers. Also the language used in sexual harassment. (ie. "Blow me")

These registers were the result of work done in 1967 by linguist Martin Joos. One thing that he discovered while conceptualizing these registers of language was that you can drop one register in a conversation and still be socially acceptable. But to drop two or more is socially offensive. (In the middle of a prayer, someone in the room says, "How 'bout them Bulls". That would be a social gaffe.) This, clearly illustrates one of the barriers that most people are unaware of when dealing with people from different classes.

Much of this linguistic work found that people coming from generational poverty exclusively use casual register in their language. The middle class and the wealthy tend to use formal register for the most part. At the most basic and obvious level, this creates a barrier to entry into the professional world. But, it has deeper effects than most realize. Growing up around casual register has impacts on the developing skills of a child. Long-term effects that are quite damaging. In formal register, the pattern of discourse is a narrative with a beginning and end. You start at point A and work your way to point B. The general goal of formal register's pattern of discourse is to get straight to the point. Payne says, "In casual register, the pattern is to go around and around and finally get to the point. For students who have no access to formal register, educators become frustrated with the tendency of these students to meander almost endlessly through a topic".

These differences in language registers between the classes are affected by language acquisition in early development as pointed out by linguist and educator James Paul Gee: "Primary discourse is the language an individual first acquired. Secondary discourse is the language of the larger society". For example, an American who grows up in a home where Spanish is the primary language will need to learn English as a secondary discourse. What Gee discovered is that acquisition of language is the more natural and best method of learning a language, and acquisition is only possible when there is a significant relationship between the role model and the developing child. Getting back to formal and casual register, this means that someone growing up in generational poverty will very likely only learn casual register for primary discourse. This is quite detrimental to any further learning developments.

As mentioned before there is a distinct difference in the pattern of discourse between formal and casual register. Payne provides some diagrams and explanations to try and illustrate the differences. In general, formal register story structure in formal discourse starts at the beginning, works through a plot and then reaches an end. The most important part of this order is the plot. In casual register story structure, "the story is told in vignettes with audience participation in between". The most emotional or climactic part of the story is usually the very first part of the discourse, and characters involved in the story are judged. Two examples:

Formal register:

"James insulted Bill, so Bill punched James in the nose. A fight broke out on the factory floor until security came to break things up".

Casual register:

"Man, Bill popped Jim on the nose and there was blood everywhere! But he wasn't going to take what Jim called him. Jim's such a goddamn troublemaker! (someone interjects, "Bill's a loudmouth! Jim was right to give him some get back") Yeah, whatever. So before I knew what was going on, everyone started taking a swing at Bill or Jim. This wouldn't have happened if Jim would've kept to his self instead of sticking his nose in where it don't belong. It's sad that the guards came in and stopped the fight. I wanted to see Jim get flattened. That no good sonuvabitch deserves a good beating".

These differences in register, discourse and story order are largely responsible for establishing some rather important skills in a developing child's mind. Regarding casual register as the primary acquired model of language, the following can be said based on the work of psychologist Reuven Feurstein: "If an individual depends upon a random, episodic story structure for memory patterns, lives in an unpredictable environment (as is typical of generational poverty)... then...

If an individual cannot plan, he/she cannot predict.
If an individual cannot predict, he/she cannot identify cause and effect.
if an individual cannot identify cause and effect, he/she cannot identify consequence.
If an individual cannot identify consequence, he/she cannot control impulsivity.
If an individual cannot control impulsivity, he/she has an inclination toward criminal behavior".

This is just a little sample of what Payne discusses in the book and there are a many more interesting examples and ideas that bear out in my personal experience. In fact, reading the book clarified for me a lot of the reasons why I have such difficulty dealing with people from a solidly middle class background and perceive many of them to be arrogant and insensitive. The book provides good arguments to counter the assumptions that anyone can do or be anything they want if they try hard enough. There are definitely things you can't do when you don't have the full set of tools in your toolbox. A lot of middle class people make the assumption that there is a full tool kit for everyone. Make no mistake, I'm not insulting the poverty class and there are always exceptions to the rule. Some people can bring themselves out of generational poverty into middle class. It's rare, but it's possible.

My only criticism is that the book might be about ten to fifteen years too late. I'm noticing a lot of bleed over of the hidden class rules from poverty into middle class. For example, the poverty class male needs to be a "lover and a fighter". The middle class male must be a provider and self-sufficient. But these days, the "fighter" part of the poverty class male is becoming more of a societal requirement in middle class. (If only there was more review space)

I ready this book years ago and attended the conference but wanted to re-read so I could better serve my students. This book is always so enlightening and is, is my opinion, an important read for any educator!

Read for a PD book study for our school year! Not a bad read! Just makes you more aware of how you communicate with parents as well as how to really teach your kids!

I recognize that some education and sociology critics vilify this book as an example of 'deficit thinking'. However, I found it extremely useful and applicable to my own experience reflecting how
my family moved from lower middle class through upper middle class, and personally living and working in foreign countries and doing project work for Engineers Without Borders abroad.

The value is reflected in the title of the book "a framework for understanding". It helped enlighten me when, as a manager, I had good low socioeconomic level employees who desperately need the job and were "making good", and then made seemingly illogical choices that sabotaged their employment. It also made me less judgmental and more aware of my own limited understanding of how other social classes function, e.g., I have no idea how to operate and succeed in "ultra high society" affairs, or politics, etc.

Highly recommend it as a way to consider behaviors of people who are impoverished to better understand what might be potential causes that otherwise don't make sense to me (an upper middle class, privileged, white male).

My intro course to human development was centered around this book and whether it is a good book or not for educators to use. Yes she brings attention to the issue of poverty, she completely blames the victim and does not provide adequate sources. Here are the points from my final paper on Payne:

Payne is a self titled expert on poverty, but where did her information come from? She fails to cite sources when documenting examples, leaving the reader wondering where the information came from. If you call yourself the leading expert in the U.S. on poverty, then shouldn't you be able to cite sources a little better? Yes, she tries hard to engage the reader, however her examples are way too generalized. She generalizes it into one group but then mentions that every situation is different. Hello, a huge contradiction. She also supports classism very much especially in mentioning the "hidden rules" of the classes. These are very dangerous for educators to assume, as not everyone in poverty exhibits these behaviors/values. Her examples quite often contradict her hidden rules, again questioning her validity. The MAJOR problem with her book is the fact that Payne is focusing so much on changing each individual person. Is poverty really a problem of individuals, or is our system failing us? She uses a very blatant blame the victim approach. The only way to actually change this income gap is to stop trying to fix individuals and instead focus on the bigger picture. Which is more effective?

A few weeks ago, I went to a seminar taught by a woman who has, for the last thirteen years, been in charge of an organization which coordinates the efforts of over four thousand volunteers who help people who are suffering from poverty, usually of the temporary situational type, but sometimes generational. A couple of books were mentioned in the talk. The first one was When Helping Hurts, and the other one was Dr. Payne's book. I immediately put them on hold at the local library, and both of them have proven thought-provoking, at the very least.

The book is definitely designed for the benefit of educators, and the latter two thirds focus on effective strategies for teaching the children of generational poverty. Payne defines poverty as "the extent to which an individual does without resources." Contrary to the narrow view most of us have of poverty, she attributes continuing poverty not merely to lack of financial resources, but perhaps more importantly to a lack of emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships, and the hidden rules which govern behavior and interactions within a class of citizens.

In fact, that was the chart that intrigued me enough to put this book on my list in the first place, the "hidden rules" of the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. Without the types of resources mentioned above, and an understanding of the hidden rules, Payne asserts, it is extraordinarily difficult to move upward in financial class.

For example, for the poor, their possessions are people, for the middle class; things, for the wealthy; one-of a kind objects or legacies. For the poor, money is to used and spent, for the middle class; managed, and for the wealthy conserved and invested. When it comes to food, for the poor, the key question is "Did you get enough?", for the middle class, is "Did you like it?" and for the wealthy, "Was it presented well?" With respect to time, for the poor the present is the most important and decisions are made for the moment based on feelings or survival. For the middle class, the future is most important and decisions are made based on future consequences. For the wealthy, traditions and history are most important, and decisions are often made on the basis of tradition and decorum.

Payne also talks quite a bit about the role of language and story for the classes. A 1967 study (Joos) found that every language has five registers: frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate. Failure to use the appropriate register in conversation can have consequences. In school, and in employment situations, the register most commonly used is formal register. People who come from generational poverty do not have a background in formal register; the majority of their interactions with others of their class takes place in casual register, so they are at a disadvantage compared to the middle or wealthy class, who use formal register in their everyday interactions frequently. One's everyday interactions are called "primary discourse", while interactions with society at large are called, "secondary discourse". Students have been shown to do much better in school when their primary and secondary discourse methods are the same. (I've vastly simplified a complicated chapter).
Another factor that's missing in generational poverty is robust support systems.

"When a child has homework, who in the support system knows enough math to help the child? Who knows the research process? Who knows the ropes for going to college or getting a new car loan? Who knows how to talk to the insurance agent so the situation can be clarified? Who knows how to negotiate difficult situations with a teacher and come to a resolution? Who understands the court system, the school system? Information and know-how are crucial to success."

Payne evidently is fond of Steven Covey's Seven Habits work, as she quotes him a few times in the book, in the midst of some heavy-duty academic papers.

She also mentions something a couple of times that I found interesting. The role of discipline in households afflicted by generational poverty is completely at odds with that of the middle class. In generational poverty, "punishment is not about change, it is about penance and forgiveness. Individuals in poverty usually have a strong belief in fate and destiny. Therefore, to expect changed behavior after a parent-teacher conference is, in most cases, a false hope." From my perspective, middle class discipline is all about changing behavior, teaching action and reaction, cause and consequence. If you do A, B happens. If you don't like B, don't do A. (Or, don't get caught)

In her conclusion, Payne says,

"Yet another notion among the middle class and educated is that if the poor had a choice, they would live differently. The financial resources would certainly help make a difference. Even with the financial resources, however, no every individual who received those finances would choose to live differently. There is a freedom of verbal expression, an appreciation of individual personality, a heightened and intense emotional experience, and a sensual, kinesthetic approach to life usually not found in the middle class or among the educated. These patterns are so intertwined in the daily life of the poor that to have those cut off would be to lose a limb. Many choose not to live a different life. And for some, alcoholism, laziness, lack of motivation, drug addiction, etc., in effect make the choices for the individual."

Strong stuff.

An interesting perspective on the culture of poverty, and what characteristics are different from the middle class. While I was able to relate to some of the generalizations, it does not ring true for every situation. However it provides some base concepts I found useful to understand poverty (like the difference between situational and generational poverty) in addition to just an income level.