A first principle of Poverty Informed Practice is to embrace a mindset which allows us to stand in awe of our students who face the impacts of poverty daily and choose college anyway. This one comes directly from one of our guiding lights, Dr. Donna Beegle. (Dr. Beegle's website) She's great on social media and today she shared the following on Facebook, "I had a dream the people in the community would come together to stand in awe of their neighbors who live in the crisis of poverty. I dreamed they would treat them with dignity and respect..." She just described what we want to do perfectly. So many of us are so well intended, but I would argue we still fall down trying to "fix" people, or make them behave the way we do. If we get to a place where we genuinely stand in awe of what our students had to do just to be in front of us on a daily basis, everything starts to change. I know this. I'm experiencing this. One of the core principles of our college's strategic plan (see it all fits), is an idea called First Choice Service. Poverty Informed Practice is a form of first choice service that acknowledges the audacious courage it takes to pursue education when even your basic needs are tenuous.
Another core principle of what we are trying to do in Poverty Informed Practice is a commitment to reducing barriers for students, so they may use their education to change their economic reality. This principle informs our guiding mantra, Every Barrier That Can Be Removed, Should Be Removed. It also puts the onus where it should be for a student ready college. A focus on removing barriers assigns responsibility to us and not the students to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" or some other worn out cliche. Preparing the college for the students (vs the opposite) has always seemed like a no-brainer to me, but I may be naive on that front. There is a lot of judgment around individuals in poverty, and they often internalize it. Our vision of being poverty informed means we accept Dr. Beegle's directive to fight poverty, not the people living in it. There is probably an entire article or two to be written about how much people struggle with foregoing judgement, but for today, let's leave it at a core principle of removing barriers is key.
Another principle in our little movement is borrowed from my heroes at
Team Western in DC |
I firmly believe people are drawn to clear purpose and passion. Knowing the principles you rest on will give clarity and will attract interest. I've spent much of my career being "reasonable" and went about as far as reasonable could. Last week, I had two younger colleagues ask me to meet them after work, and they asked me a question I've heard several times in the last twelve months, "Chad, what changed?" At first, the question would bother me a little, because I believe what I've always believed, but I understand now. I think what changed is my commitment to principles. The clarity in what I'm trying to do, has eclipsed any need to be "reasonable" and settle for half-measures. I was always afraid if I went to that place, I would lose people, and I probably have. But I say without a doubt, that a steadfast commitment to principles has attracted more energy and enthusiasm than ever before. I can also say without doubt that we have made more progress in twelve months than we had in twelve years prior. We will not go backwards, we cannot allow it, and I hope others will join us.
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