Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do about It

In Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, veteran educator and brain expert Eric Jensen takes an unflinching look at how poverty hurts children, families, and communities across the United States and demonstrates how schools can improve the academic achievement and life readiness of economically disadvantaged students. Jensen argues that although chronic exposure to poverty can result in detrimental changes to the brain, the brain's very ability to adapt from experience means that poor children can also experience emotional, social, and academic success. A brain that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects is equally susceptible to the positive effects of rich, balanced learning environments and caring relationships that build students' resilience, self-esteem, and character. Drawing from research, experience, and real school success stories, Teaching with Poverty in Mind reveals what poverty is and how it affects students in school; what drives change both at the macro level (within schools and districts) and at the micro level (inside a student's brain); effective strategies from those who have succeeded and ways to replicate those best practices at your own school; and how to engage the resources necessary to make change happen.

About the Author :
Eric Jensen is a former teacher and the author of more than twenty-eight books, including Teaching with Poverty in Mind, Tools for Engagement, Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind, Turnaround Tools for the Teenage Brain, Bringing the Common Core to Life in K-8 Classrooms, and Different Brains, Different Learners. Since the early 1990s, he has synthesized brain research and developed practical applications for educators. Dr. Jensen is a member of the invitation-only Society for Neuroscience and the President's Club at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He cofounded SuperCamp, the first and largest brain-compatible academic enrichment program, held in sixteen countries with more than 65,000 graduates. Dr. Jensen received his BA in English from San Diego State University. He received an MA in organizational development and a PhD in human development from Fielding Graduate University. Basil Sands is an award-winning narrator working between the Chugach Mountains and Pacific Ocean in Anchorage, Alaska. He has narrated for many bestselling authors and helped many less-known authors climb that ladder. He's a former U.S. Marine who for several years in the 90s ran the dining hall at the NSA, a.k.a. Chef to the Spies. He's been a logger, carpenter, scoutmaster, wilderness rescue medic, senior IT guy, and novelist, and was a minister for over twenty-five years. He rents space in his basement to four Leprechaun brothers; they make the best lager.