C4T #4

For this C4T, I am assigned Joe Bower. Joe is a teacher in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

Ignoring Poverty This post is about understanding that poverty takes place. Joe says that a child's needs must be addressed before they can be taught. He does not understand how so many "educators" write-off poverty. He sees poverty as an explanation for some students difficulties, not an excuse. He often hears the argument that "people choose to live in poverty." Yet he says even if this is true, no child ever chooses to live in poverty. Joe says that addressing poverty will not be easy, but it will be worth it.
my response I introduced myself as am EDM310 student from the University of South Alabama. I told Joe that I have only spent time in school for observation hours, yet I have already seen this. I cannot imagine how tough addressing poverty will be when I am actually a teacher. I told him that he made good points though. It is better to be addressed than ignored. I believe it can only help the child succeed, once they see someone does care about them. I left a link to our class blog. Here is Joe's blog link: Ignoring Poverty

Canada's Income Inequality In this post, Joe wrote about "The Wealth Paradox", which is the in cope gap in inequality effecting Canada. Joe said that "Income inequality is not just a made in America problem". Income inequality and its effects are broken down into wage gap, health care, education and recreation. Joe listed some problems under each category. He said that the problem with wage gap is that Canada's main earners keep getting richer, while average earners remain the same. In 2002, the average CEO-to-worker pay ration was 84:1. Now its 122:1. As for health care, Joe said that it is the most pronounced. Inequality is linked to the poorer health outcomes. Joe said that an estimated 1.2 million young Canadians are affected by mental illness. Only 1 in 4 gets appropriate treatment. Joe spoke about education next. He said that great teachers make great schools, but they require the support of an equitable society. Low income parents can't give their students the opportunities high income parents can give theirs. As for recreation, Joe said median incomes haven't budged in 30 years, but leisure activities, the pleasure in life, some of which have become too expensive for the majority of Canadians.
my response I told Joe I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I told him that being from the US, I can relate to all of these problems. I said that I was a future educator, and I could not agree more with the issues he addressed. I said that something needs to be done, and that he has already made a stand by simply posting this. I said that I believe as more simple minded, average income people become aware of what is happening, income inequality can be stopped. I added a link to our class blog. Here is Joe's blog post: Canada's Income Inequality