I find the idea that low-income families do not care about education highly unsettling. Just because a family does not appear at open houses, parent-teacher conferences, or sit down and help their children with schoolwork does not make them careless. Likewise, students from poor families do not act passively in the classroom because they do not care. The home situation for poor families is just as diverse as wealthier families: some parents work multiple jobs and are rarely home, some cannot find work, and some speak a language other than English. As a result, there is some discomfort when they are asked to enter a school where everyone is “expected” to be white. In other words, every member of the school community is expected to possess resources and qualities that could place them in the favored, upper-middle class society. If a parent does not speak English they may feel targeted and self- conscious about their abilities to fit into the school community. Their children can also feel this discomfort around their peers. They may feel uncomfortable talking about there home lives with those in their class because they, like their parents, may feel targeted. If they know they are different, why would they speak up? In regards to their schoolwork, poor students may perform below their ability because they may have to take care of younger siblings, work after school, or suffer anxieties about their lives and families.

            I agree with Blad’s belief that “[t]he social and educational inequities in the U.S. must be our targets for repair – not our students”. The placements we give poor families in our society disrupts a student’s abilities to learn and make the most out of their education. Although they have the ability to succeed and do well in school, environmental factors bring them down. They feel that because they cannot get out of the rut we put them in, there is no use in excelling in their education; the opportunities they dream of will never be given to them. As Blad states, teachers unintentionally demoralize their students by initially giving them 100% on an assignment and them taking points away from them because they did something wrong. Continuously seeing the evil red pen on a corrected assignment forces students to believe their differences, i.e. language, resources, etc, are their enemies, even if they cannot be changed. As a graduate of Classical High School, which had students of all class and cultural backgrounds, I know for a fact that very low- income students have the ability to succeed in school and follow their dreams. As a result, it is the teacher’s job to boost a student’s morale and embrace their differences.