Students that come from an underfunded school or a community with high levels of poverty have always been misunderstood. There are so many stereotypes that stem from this environment that tie their financial status to their personality. Even worse, they compare how "smart" students from well funded schools are versus students who are not so lucky to have that type of funding. Paul Gorski stated, "Believing that poor people are different from those with higher incomes is dangerous and wrong." To believe that someone who's school is not funded enough money to be different is unacceptable. Though they may not get the same opportunities, supplies, or materials as others, it does not put them on a lower pedestal.
There are plenty of myths of the culture of poverty. It is assumed that poor people are lazy and have no work ethic. Parents of these poor children are uninvolved in their education. Lastly, they tend to abuse alcohol and drugs. Addressing these myths in order, people of low poverty are not lazy or lack work ethic. Eighty-three percent of children from low-income families have at least one employed parent; close to sixty percent have at least one parent who works full-time and year-round. Low-income parents are less likely to attend school functions or volunteer in their children's classrooms, not because they care less about education, but because they have less access to school involvement than their wealthier peers. They are more likely to work multiple jobs, to work evenings, to have jobs without paid leave, and to be unable to afford child care and public transportation. Finally, research has shown that someone from the upper class is more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs.
It is unfair that money defines who you are, what you "look" like, or your intelligence. Not everyone is given the same opportunities but that doesn't mean they don't have the same capacities as others.
https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-myth-of-the-culture-of-poverty
