As a former parole officer in inner-city Atlanta, a prosecutor of child abuse and neglect cases, and now a juvenile court judge, I have witnessed the multitude of symptoms emanating from living at or below the poverty level — the most profound being trauma.
Less affluent kids are up to three years behind their more affluent peers entering kindergarten. It’s not because they are stupid, intellectually deficient or suffer some organic brain dysfunction deserving of a mental illness diagnosis. It’s called delayed development.
It’s difficult to learn when you live every day at the bottom rung of Maslow's hierarchy of needs wondering if, or hoping that, you will get three squares that day. And for many, what they do put in their mouths, the rest of us would complain that it’s not enough or unsatisfactory to our palates.
They say education is the great equalizer.
[For more of this story, written by Steven Teske, go to http://jjie.org/op-ed-emotiona...oor-children/108194/]
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