Eric Jensen, Co-Founder of Teaching with Poverty in Mind, Shares Insights on His Blog

Pamela Quintern: This is in my opinion a great book! It is an easy read, but full of great insight and a good book for a book study and teacher's Professional Development. It speaks volumes and opened my eyes to ideas and knowledge about stereotypical mindsets and diversity in and amongst populations of both extremes. Just a really great book. Touches on the mindset of the super students often overlooked because of the poverty around and for which they enter the academic environment. The author has the data to back his claims which makes it really substantial.

United States on Oct 29, 2020

Stardust: I have not finished reading this book, but I will say that chapter two is excellent and a must read for anyone who is interested or is studying anything related to mental health because it is very eye-opening as to why we should dig in more into someone's childhood to be able to understand better the root of MANY issues, such as cognitive development, behaviors and emotions. It explains what poverty overall does to "parents" and how parents stress transforms into frustration and even low self-esteem affecting the way they raise their children with many physical punishments and lack of involvement in their children's life transforming this into "negative attachment."

United States on Jan 25, 2020

Jose Luis Redondo: Una visión muy cercana sobre el trabajo de un docente en zonas deprimidas. Aporta visiones prácticas y ejemplos de colegios que lo cumplen.

Spain on Sep 25, 2016

LadyGrey: This book was disappointing. Instead of learning steps to combat poverty in my school community, I was left wondering why I read a disorganized commentary from an upper class white guy. Jensen suggests, to best close the gaps of poverty in your school, you must know who is in poverty and then actively work at making them equal. Figuring that approximately 1/3 of all children in the United States are raised in poverty, I was hoping for a better game plan. [...]
Jensen does suggest good ideas like bringing free medical workers, dental hygienists, and opticians to schools for the children to receive medical care, however that is not something I can do in the classroom.
The research about brain mapping is from 1995. I am sure more recent research has been done on brains in poverty. Jensen spends a lot of time focusing on the negative developments and less time talking about how versatile and adaptive the brain is. Perhaps more studies on how positive stimuli impacts the brain in poverty would be more beneficial to people trying to help these kids. The research made it feel there was nothing that could be done for those in poverty.
All children should be treated special, not...

United States on Nov 18, 2015

M.P.: Having taught in Title I facilities my entire career, I have experienced a wide-variety of success and failures in working with students of poverty. Reading Eric Jensen’s Teaching with Poverty in Mind (2009) provided me with a deeper understanding of the impact of living in poverty on the minds of our students along with the responsibilities of schools who serve these students. This research-packed text includes practical applications schools and teachers can utilize to improve academic performance for all students.
In order to effectively teach students who are economically disadvantaged, teachers and administrators must understand how poverty impacts these children both academically and behaviorally. Common misconceptions are addressed by Jensen within this text: the brain is static and does not change, authoritative programs are required to manage student behavior, and students from poverty are unable to achieve the same success academically as students from higher socioeconomic levels. In contrast, Jensen emphasizes that because of neuroplasticity, students of poverty are able to overcome their backgrounds when proper supports are implemented and positive values are...

United States on Jun 15, 2015