Comparing Shultz Pedagogy to The Pedagogy of Poverty

In doing a comparison analyzes between the Pedagogy of Poverty and Shultz Pedagogy the first question that comes to mind is; “What is good teaching? The section of the Pedagogy of Poverty which gives a view of what good teaching is, expounds on several aspects of teaching that can be compared to Shultzs’ Pedogogy. As we all know from extensive research is that the Pedagogy of Poverty does not work.

Shultzs’ Pedagogy is exemplary of what good teaching should be. He has taken the time to explore the interest of his students. He is not the authoritarian dictating what the students should be learning. Take a look at the core functions of urban teaching; giving information, asking questions, giving directions, making assignments, monitoring seat work, reviewing assignments, giving tests, reviewing tests, assigning homework, reviewing homework, settling disputes, punishing non-compliance, marking papers, and giving grades. As stated in the Pedagogy of Poverty a teacher not performing these acts for most of the day would be regarded as defiant. With all of the aforementioned activities going on in urban schools not to even speak of the ancillary activities such as record keeping, parents teachers meetings, staff meetings, etc. The students continue to perform poorly and the proficiency levels are unexpectedly low. I use the adjective unexpectedly because I think the policy makers belief is that with all these functions at work, success is expected.

The Pedagogy of Poverty is using methodologies to force students into learning. It is the root cause of more failure. This ideology is simply dated and does not work. The contrast between the Pedagogy of Poverty and Shultzs’ pedagogy is astonishing. He has fifth grade urban students producing work well beyond there grade level. This is being done with very limited resources. The students have responded exceedingly well to the task.

The most important aspect of this comparison is that, Shultzs’ students have stepped out side of traditional conforming pedagogy and have demonstrated the intrinsic value associated with working on real life projects. Shultzs’ Pedagogy is a lesson that illustrates reform.