A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D.

 A few weeks ago, I went to a seminar taught by a woman who has, for the last thirteen years, been in charge of an organization which coordinates the efforts of over four thousand volunteers who help people who are suffering from poverty, usually of the temporary situational type, but sometimes generational. A couple of books were mentioned in the talk. The first one was When Helping Hurts, which I reviewed earlier, and the other one was Dr. Payne's book. I immediately put them on hold at the local library, and both of them have proven thought-provoking, at the very least.

The book is definitely designed for the benefit of educators, and the latter two thirds focus on effective strategies for teaching the children of generational poverty. Payne defines poverty as "the extent to which an individual does without resources." Contrary to the narrow view most of us have of poverty, she attributes continuing poverty not merely to lack of financial resources, but perhaps more importantly to a lack of emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships, and the hidden rules which govern behavior and interactions within a class of citizens.

In fact, that was the chart that intrigued me enough to put this book on my list in the first place, the "hidden rules" of the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. Without the types of resources mentioned above, and an understanding of the hidden rules, Payne asserts, it is extraordinarily difficult to move upward in financial class.

For example, for the poor, their possessions are people, for the middle class; things, for the wealthy; one-of a kind objects or legacies. For the poor, money is to used and spent, for the middle class; managed, and for the wealthy conserved and invested. When it comes to food, for the poor, the key question is "Did you get enough?", for the middle class, is "Did you like it?" and for the wealthy, "Was it presented well?" With respect to time, for the poor the present is the most important and decisions are made for the moment based on feelings or survival. For the middle class, the future is most important and decisions are made based on future consequences. For the wealthy, traditions and history are most important, and decisions are often made on the basis of tradition and decorum.

Payne also talks quite a bit about the role of language and story for the classes. A 1967 study (Joos) found that every language has five registers: frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate. Failure to use the appropriate register in conversation can have consequences. In school, and in employment situations, the register most commonly used is formal register. People who come from generational poverty do not have a background in formal register; the majority of their interactions with others of their class takes place in casual register, so they are at a disadvantage compared to the middle or wealthy class, who use formal register in their everyday interactions frequently. One's everyday interactions are called "primary discourse", while interactions with society at large are called, "secondary discourse". Students have been shown to do much better in school when their primary and secondary discourse methods are the same. (I've vastly simplified a complicated chapter).
Another factor that's missing in generational poverty is robust support systems.

"When a child has homework, who in the support system knows enough math to help the child? Who knows the research process? Who knows the ropes for going to college or getting a new car loan? Who knows how to talk to the insurance agent so the situation can be clarified? Who knows how to negotiate difficult situations with a teacher and come to a resolution? Who understands the court system, the school system? Information and know-how are crucial to success."

Payne evidently is fond of Steven Covey's Seven Habits work, as she quotes him a few times in the book, in the midst of some heavy-duty academic papers.

She also mentions something a couple of times that I found interesting. The role of discipline in households afflicted by generational poverty is completely at odds with that of the middle class. In generational poverty, "punishment is not about change, it is about penance and forgiveness. Individuals in poverty usually have a strong belief in fate and destiny. Therefore, to expect changed behavior after a parent-teacher conference is, in most cases, a false hope." From my perspective, middle class discipline is all about changing behavior, teaching action and reaction, cause and consequence. If you do A, B happens. If you don't like B, don't do A. (Or, don't get caught)

In her conclusion, Payne says,

"Yet another notion among the middle class and educated is that if the poor had a choice, they would live differently. The financial resources would certainly help make a difference. Even with the financial resources, however, no every individual who received those finances would choose to live differently. There is a freedom of verbal expression, an appreciation of individual personality, a heightened and intense emotional experience, and a sensual, kinesthetic approach to life usually not found in the middle class or among the educated. These patterns are so intertwined in the daily life of the poor that to have those cut off would be to lose a limb. Many choose not to live a different life. And for some, alcoholism, laziness, lack of motivation, drug addiction, etc., in effect make the choices for the individual."

Strong stuff.

When Helping Hurts by Steven Corbett

This is one of those books that suffers, as some christian apologetics do, from the author coming up with a theory based on a limited amount of scripture, and then trying to make all ministry done by the church, a parachurch, or christians fall under the principles derived from his theory. Corbett decides that we all suffer from some combination of spiritual poverty (Poverty of spiritual intimacy), relational poverty (Poverty  of community), stewardship poverty (Poverty of Stewardship), or self-image poverty (Poverty of being), and our failure to properly acknowledge and deal with our poverty hinders us in our dealings with others with their own "sickness", which can result in material poverty, i.e., being poor, but all of these conditions can apply to even christians with plenty of material wealth. Rick Warren did a better job of gathering all church activities into groups in The Purpose Driven Church, but though Corbett does have some interesting insights into how we all do charitable work, his analysis is fundamentally flawed, in my opinion.

He does have some interesting insights, gained over his years of serving in poverty-focused ministries. The book is structured like a training guide, perhaps originally published as a workbook for a class taught by the Chalmers Center, where he works.

An interesting thought on the nature of the universe, and original sin:

"...the all-encompassing effects of the fall, it is important to remember that neither humans nor the systems they create are as bad as they could possibly be. Christ continues to 'hold all things together' and to 'sustain all things by his powerful word.' Hence, while the good creation - including both individuals and the systems they create - is deeply distorted, it retains some of its inherent goodness."

That's an interesting perspective that seems to riff on the idea that "all good gifts come from the Father". I'm not certain, from a Calvinist perspective, which holds to the idea that anything we do which is not led by the Spirit through rebirth in Christ is "as filthy rags," how valid that might be, but it's certainly something to consider - that all the good things in the world are the result of Christ's efforts. Hmmm.

One interesting concept Corbett expounds upon is that when working with the poor, one has to determine whether "the situation calls for relief, rehabilitation, or development." When the need is immediate, such as after a fire or flood, situational poverty can be effectively aided, urgently and temporarily, through rapid relief. Once the situation stabilizes, rehabilitation by helping victims to work towards recovery, by donating labor or materials, or acting in an advisory capacity. What appears to be best, in Corbett's view is the act of development, moving "all the people involved, both the 'helpers' and the 'helped' closer to being in a right relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.

I'm not sure exactly, how one comes to be in a right relation with the entire creation, but it sounds a bit like environmental gobbledegook to me. Sorry.

Actually, Corbett defines this a bit, and it's not quite that bad - evidently many cultures in what he calls "The Majority World" believe that unpredictable spirits control creation, and humans really have no way to affect their own destinies, rather fatalistic. If people are taught that God gave humans the right and responsibility to dominate creation, they are positively influenced to change their circumstances.

Corbett really hammers on short term missions, which have gained an astounding amount of participation today, especially in evangelical circles. He believes that they often do more harm than good, leaving indigenous pastors and staff reeling when the missions teams have departed, trying to live up to the standards set in the whirlwind of activity. Also, when the missions are project-based, like building a new home or church or feeding station, the first-worlders are far too focused on getting the job done as rapidly as possible, given a) their limited time and b)western culture's preoccupation with schedules and efficiency, rather than allowing the locals to set goals, manage the project, and take responsibility for their own development. Possibly valid points all, but I really hate to think that we would in any way discourage folks, especially young people, from going on a short term mission to introduce them to missions work in the first place, and to shake up their comfortable world view a bit, so they understand what life is like outside of the U.S.

Corbett does provide a number of concrete techniques and examples of how to properly assess and address needs in different situations, such as Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), and Appreciative Inquiry (AI). He also spends quite a bit of space talking about various microfinancing endeavors in the Majority World, which is quite interesting.

One final concept I found interesting is what he had to say about different perspectives of time. In Western Culture, we have a "monochronic" view, which sees time as a "limited and valuable resource." We're very focused on schedules, see wasting time as a sin, and procrastination a vice. In other cultures, there is a "polychronic" view, which sees time as an unlimited resource. The "manana" culture of Latin America comes immediately to mind. Also, hunting season in Idaho. Time "takes a backseat to forming and deepening relationships." He claims that people in polychronic cultures have deeper and more meaningful relationships than most Westerners. Not sure that's automatically true, but it's certainly a pitfall to avoid for many of us, who struggle with prioritizing work time, vacation time, and family time.

This is a good book to read for anyone who's looking for some new perspectives on helping the poor, wherever they may happen to be in the world.