Teaching with Poverty in Mind - Chapter 3 Embracing the Mind-Set of Change

Teaching with Poverty in Mind

Chapter 3: Embracing the Mind-Set of Change

One of the most interesting ideas I get from this chapter is that the brain can and does change.  Eric Jensen presents different studies that have collected evidence to support that brains change, and there are ways that new genes can be expressed based on our actions.  There are activities, such as learning about music and language training, which have positive effects on developing brains.  There are also activities that show negative effects on the brain.  Therefore, in the classroom, we must find ways to incorporate and focus on the gaining activities and limit the losing activities. 

This book emphasizes the importance of early childhood education as a way to improve the brain’s functioning.  Strong pre-k programs and afterschool programs for K-5 have proved to be the most effective programs for changing the brain.  This book presents a study done on middle school students that examined how interventions helped develop practical intelligence (58).  The study found that thinking skills can be taught, and the students involved in the study demonstrated improved performance in the four-targeted areas.  A key here was that teachers were trained to deliver instruction that emphasized the five metacognition areas of knowing why, knowing difference, knowing self, knowing process, and revisiting.  If we want change in schools, teachers must be offered the opportunity for learning and growth; this will lead to the change in mind set that is needed for students to see themselves as competent students.

Another section in the chapter that really caught my attention was that of the brain’s operating system.  Jensen identifies the academic operating system as:

o   The ability and motivation to defer gratification and make a sustained effort to meet long-term goals 

o   Auditory, visual, and tactile processing skills

o   Attention skills that enable the student to engage, focus, and disengage as needed

o   Short-term and working memory capacity

o   Sequencing skills (to know the order of a process)

o   A champion’s mind set and confidence

Most low-income students that come from low-income environments have operating systems that allow them to survive their circumstances but are not geared toward being successful in school.  Teachers should see developing an academic operating system as part of their jobs because these skills are necessary for students to succeed.