Can You See Me?: Using Understanding to Help Students of Poverty Feel Seen, Heard & Valued in the Classroom

Students of poverty struggle in classrooms every day across America. Likewise, educators struggle with methods to engage these students and give education value to them. Too often, it's a losing battle; with students of poverty left feeling like failures (again) and educators feeling incompetent and often burnt out. It's a sad situation for both sides. Using the studies, methods and strategies from educators of students of poverty allowed me to show some of my students of poverty success for the first times in their young lives. These strategies and stories aren't meant as a fix-all for all students of poverty or educators facing these challenges. However, within the stories of my students, their successes, and yes, my failings, perhaps other educators will discover and implement successful methods as well. Students of poverty need to be "seen" in classrooms across America. Their unique situations must be recognized if educators expect to see any engagement at all. "One of the biggest issues facing educators today is how to close the achievement gap between students of poverty and middle-class students. Nothing seems to be working on a large scale, but you can be successful in your own classroom. Can You See Me? will give you the knowledge and understanding of students of poverty that are the keys to success. Belinda Adams has spent many years doing just that in schools with 90% poverty rates. With success rates at the top of the charts, Belinda wrote this book in hopes of spreading essential knowledge and guiding teachers into helping students of poverty become successful in her classroom."