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It is outrageous that large numbers of children starting school in Winnipeg year after year are so poorly prepared that they are, relative to other kids, behind the “start line” from the beginning. In a great many cases they never catch up. Their lives are forever adversely affected. Many believe that solutions lie within the walls of our schools—different math curricula, or better use of technology, for example. What goes on in the classroom, and especially the quality of teaching, is of course of great importance. But equally if not more important is what is happening with kids at home and in their neighbourhoods. Those growing up in poverty experience many more barriers to educational success than children growing up in families and neighbourhoods where they do not experience poverty. Poverty and its associated challenges cause poor educational outcomes, as demonstrated in endless studies over many decades and in many countries. If we want to improve educational outcomes, and if education is to offer the equalizing individual and collective impacts that it has traditionally promised, we have to act on the challenges to education that poverty presents.
Grant: Partnering for Change: Community-Based Solutions for Aboriginal and Inner-City Poverty - 2012-2019
Category: Education, Training, and Capacity Building