Teaches the hidden rules of economic class and spreads the message that, despite the obstacles poverty can create in all types of interaction, there are specific strategies for overcoming them.

I've read almost all of this one...very insightful for educators who may not have experienced the various levels of poverty/wealth as their students. The "checklists" were most interesting to me. ( )

Ms Payne has recently published a revised edition of her popular book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, that addresses how poverty affects student performance and explores ways to help all students succeed in today's schools and world. The original book has received many reviews and much press so this discussion will cover the changes in this latest edition.

The major change in this edition is a sleeker, more scholarly appearing format. Cartoon graphics, the use of bold type and underlining have disappeared to be replaced by paragraphs, shaded blocks and more uniform lists. Unfortunately it has lost much of its user friendly feel that drew the reader inside the original book. Although there are very few concrete changes the over all feel of the book is greatly different. The other changes are in vocabulary, "cognitive deficiencies" has been replaced by "cognitive issues," and some race references are deleted or vocabulary altered (white to Caucasian and vice versa) in scenarios and elsewhere. All statistics have been updated to 2003 and there is a web address to obtain the latest ones.

The other noteworthy difference is the addition, in an appendix, of the article "Additive Model: aha! Process's Approach to Building High Achieving Schools. The author is Philip E. DeVol, coauthor with Ms Payne of the book Bridges Out of Poverty. In this article he discusses the difference between the deficit model, with its emphasis on fixing the individual, and the naming or identifying the underlying issues, which he calls the additive model. DeVol describes aha! Process's term 'additive model' as combing "the value of accurate problem identification with a positive, strength-based, communitywide approach to change." He reviews the information contained in A Framework such as the hidden rules, language, family structure and branches out to community sustainability. He explains this all in terms of the goals and focus of aha! Process. It is a direct answer to much of the current criticisms concerning lack of quantifiable research and classism being leveled at Ms Payne's A Framework for Understanding Poverty.

Product Description
Fourth Revised Edition. People in poverty face challenges virtually unknown to those in middle class or wealth--challenges from both obvious and hidden sources. The reality of being poor brings out a survival mentality, and turns attention away from opportunities taken for granted by everyone else. If you work with people from poverty, some understanding of how different their world is from yours will be invaluable. Whether you're an educator--or a social, health, or legal services professional--this breakthrough book gives you practical, real-world support and guidance to improve your effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Since 1995 A Framework for Understanding Poverty has guided hundreds of thousands of educators and other professionals through the pitfalls and barriers faced by all classes, especially the poor. Carefully researched and packed with charts, tables, and questionaires, Framework not only documents the facts of poverty, it provides practical yet compassionate strategies for addressing its impact on people's lives. ( )

As a teacher of poor students, I agree that this book does give some insight into some of their classroom behaviors. However, I believe it paints with much too broad a brush, and the generalizations offered are too broad to be useful in most cases. I wouldn't say it was useless, but apply the lessons sparingly. ( )