Bigotry against the poor is alive and well in the field of education. Or at least the powers that be are trying to make it that way by requiring teachers across the country to go through "Ruby Payne Training."

What is Ruby Payne Training?
Ruby Payne training is meant to teach teachers about how to "fix the poor" and is based on her book "A Framework for Understanding Poverty." Millions of teachers are required to take the training across the US in almost every state. Here is a taste of Payne's view of the poor, with direct quotes from her book:

Payne writes, that for poor women “sex will bring in money and favors.” (p. 24-25) As for poor men, Payne tells us that that they frequently leave their wives and are “not stable or central to the family.” (p. 55) Also Payne asserts that “fighting and physical violence are a part of poverty.” (p. 23) Payne sees the poor as hedonistic and impulsive and tells us that, for the poor, “decisions are made for the moment based on feeling.” (p. 42) Payne says the poor know more about obtaining green cards than other classes. (p. 87) This is despite the fact that 78% of children of immigrants live above the poverty line. Finally, in one truly absurd string of illogical inferences, Payne begins with an untrue statement about how poor people talk, and ends up with criminality.

Payne makes the following connections about poor people:
They talk in stories rather than directly -> “have random, episodic story structures for memory patterns” -> “has not developed the ability to plan” -> "cannot predict" -> “cannot identify cause and effect” -> “cannot identify consequence” -> “cannot control impulsivity”-> “has an inclination toward criminal behavior.” (p. 90)

In other words, teachers are being forced to listen to right wing talking points about the deviant poor. Payne does not even bother to try to support her claims and seems to rely solely on negative stereotypes.


Who is Ruby Payne?
Ruby Payne is a right-wing Republican. A supporter of George W. Bush who donated thousands of dollars to his 2004 campaign. She also identifies Thomas Sowell, right-wing columnist, as her "hero" in regards to poverty and education work.


Why am I sharing this?
Good question. Payne's ideology fits well with the right wing ideal rich = better person, poor = worthless person. It justifies the right in their hatred and dehumanization of poor people. Payne claims that poverty is not defined by lack of money, but rather by not "choosing to follow middle class rules." It is all about blaming the victims, and making the right feel that much better about the millions of children that go to bed hungry every night in this country. After all, they are the ones choosing to keep "acting poor."

I'm 30 years old. I have a college education and a law degree from a "well known" institution. I have a great passion for progress in this country, and watching it regress has been hard on me. People tell me I'm intelligent. I understand policy and how government works (From both a "book learning" perspective via education and from a "reality" perspective via my time working in DC and my political activism over the past 11 years.)


I really want to run for elected office and try to make a difference that way.


Of course just typing it out makes me feel a little silly. I was raised very poor (See, for example, my post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu... ), and the mentality has always been that of course poor people can't really help run the government. I have no "connections." I'm not the most effusive and outgoing person.


But, yeah.. it may not be in the next couple years, but I need to run for something.

Thanks for listening.


-Anser (whose name was originally meant to be ironic)

Actually, I knew a lot of welfare queens growing up. And not only did they "play the system" but they had a diabolical liberal agenda!

They would flaunt the wealth they had mugged from the american taxpayer.

Whether it was pooling together cash to afford gas money for a joint trip to the supermarket (Sharing resources! Carpooling! Clearly they were commie environmentalists!)

Or, babysitting for each other while others were out job searching, or writing a term paper (In those especially insane days before Clinton era Welfare reform, when poor people were actually allowed to go to college, can you imagine?)

We, of course, had a big screen television. (My mom had this friend with a pickup truck, and on large item garbage day they'd go out there and commit more looney left environmentalism. Reuse recycle...pfft!)

She even swindled the government out of money for a computer while she went to school. (The computer I grew up tinkering with, which had the effect of helping me develop the technical skills I've used to claw my own way out of poverty. Which led to, you guessed it, more liberal propaganda being spewed, at rallies and on blogs, by me!)


/Tongue in cheek off
/Sarcasm off

It's been 5 years since she passed. RIP mom, life dealt you the rawest and roughest of hands, yet you still somehow took care of everyone around you.