Monday, November 15, 2010

A Look Inside Poverty: Investing in Education

People who are in poverty are there because of something they did; their situation is their own fault. Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, or Strongly Agree?

Poverty. At first glance it's fairly easy to define. We can find statistics pretty quickly. In 2008 9.4% of Washington County residents lived below the poverty level. To measure 'poverty level' we use a specific dollar amount, which varies depending on the size of the family. In 2008, the poverty level for a family of four was $21,200 a year, and $17,600 for a family of three. Startling. I have a family of three. I can't imagine being in a position where I had to try and survive on so little. Even more, I can't imagine having a budget that small and really ever being able to find my way out.

Finding a million so called "answers" on how to "solve" poverty is almost as easy as finding the data to define it as a problem in the first place. Interestingly, when we talk about how a person gets "into" poverty we tend to talk in terms of what he or she did to get there - as though everyone in poverty is the same - or accepted their position with open arms. However, when we actually sit down to discuss long-term "solutions," we're almost always focused on the challenges we face as a community...things like education, health, and income. Funny how it starts as an individual choice and becomes a problem with the system that affects us all.

I don't want to get too statistics heavy here, but I wanted to share a few things that opened my eyes. First, a global look. No matter the website, if we're talking about the global poverty challenge the bullet points almost always start with a lesson on economics and the roll of the gross national product, but don't stop there, read further, and you'll see something else, something like this...over a billion people entered the 21 century without the ability to read. I'll wait if you'd like to take a break and thank our teachers. That's right. At the end of the day it comes down to an investment in and value for education as a pathway to a better, happier and more successful life.

I started with a look at where we sit globally, but we owe it ourselves to understand where we are locally. In Washington County this year only 73% of our children started school with the skills necessary to do kindergarten-level work. Now, with only 33% of children under 5 having access to a pre-school or pre-school-like programs, the truth is, we as parents have to do a better job accepting our role as our child's first teacher. It's not easy, but it is necessary. Why? Short-term this puts those children at a disadvantage, long-term it can lead them to become one of the 22.2% of Washington County adults who don't have their high school diploma or the equivalent. From lowered earning potential to decreased self worth and struggles with overall mental and physical health, we know that education is the foundation upon which a healthy life is built and that without that foundation the quality of one's life is almost always challenged.

Let's discuss this as a community and address it by finding ways for each and every one of us to be a part of the solution. We have brilliant teachers working here in Washington County - let's support their efforts, offer up our time. There are some incredible programs supporting this very challenge. Help us to continue to invest in these programs; help us to stay focused on individual development, mentoring, character and esteem building, job skills training and placement. But let's not stop there...let's state the change we want to see as a community and then hold ourselves and one another accountable to those goals. Let's appreciate that we not only deserve this quality of life, but can be the ones who make it happen.

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