Rachel Mussell

Poverty Simulation

  1. These are the three things I felt strongly about throughout this simulation:
  2. I think the one thing that surprised me most during this simulation was the things that people would go to in order to make sure their family was fed. I was acting as a seventeen year old boy who got a girl pregnant, dropped out of school, and got involved with drug dealing. During this simulation, I was able to make quite a bit of money for our family through the act of dealing drugs, and the fact that I was willing to do this shocked me. I would hope that if I came upon this situation in real life I would not ever be willing to partake in this illegal activity, but in the simulation it was so easy for me to see past that fact that it was illegal, and see how it was helping my family because the money was feeding us. This idea saddens me that people would have to completely go against their morals in order to feed their family.
  3. After all of the different booths explained what they thought throughout the simulation, I realized that there were a lot of organizations out there willing to help all of us, but not many of us took the initiative to ask for it. That makes me wonder how many people in this situation know about or seek out the help of organizations set up to help them. It is also helpful that we as educators are aware of these programs and can refer families to them when we have students dealing with this in their lives.
  4. One final thing that I found as a frustration is how decisions are made as to who can receive help from organizations and who makes too much money to receive this help. Although I was not part of one of these families, one of my friends was. They made too much money a week in order to qualify for some of the help the organizations were willing to give, but they were still stuck on the street because their bills were too large compared to their income. If someone cannot afford to feed their family, but they supposedly make too much money to receive help, I think there might be a flaw in the system here.
  5. How can we make sure people who need it know about the opportunities they have regarding government and organization help? When making decisions on what they can pay for and what they are going to live without, what are some of the things that they are willing to give up, and what are the things that are most important to them?
  6. I think one of the main ways that children and youth are affected by poverty while in the classroom is through hunger. Although school districts across the nation have set up plans through free and reduced breakfast and lunch, the children are probably still pretty hungry throughout the day. I have never experienced poverty and have always been blessed with every meal, but I know how hard it is to concentrate during school if my stomach is growling. If this growling is more of a pain, I can’t imagine what they must feel like, and how hard it must be to focus on school when all you want to do is eat something. I also think children in these situations are forced to grow up so incredibly fast. They have to begin worrying about things like money, taking care of siblings, and finding foot to eat at outrageous ages like 8,9, and 10 years old. At that age, the only thing I had to worry about was whether my clothes matched in the morning, and sometimes I didn’t even worry about that. These children have to worry about so many other things; their education is probably on the back burner, let alone trying to finish a 6 question math worksheet at home. It saddens me and opens my eyes to the reality that some of the things I worry about now are completely senseless in comparison to what some kids have to deal with day in and day out.
  7. I think that the local church probably could have done a little bit more to help the situation. Obviously they wouldn’t be able to care for and provide for every single family in the town, but they could do their best in trying to ease the situation. This could be done through helping with the food shelf, sponsoring a few families, or maybe just paying a bill for one family or another. Every little thing counts and makes things easier for families in poverty, so even if the church is only able to help out a little bit, that little bit could go a long way. I do think that we as Christians should respond to this need in our own lives by sharing in the blessings each of us have been given because of Christ. If there is any way at all that we can help out, I think we should. If I were to come across a family in need, I would probably go out and by their groceries for the week, or pay off a bill they have for the month. The amount of money I would have to pay, or the amount of time I would put into helping them would not even cross my mind because they would be better off because of it. The question “What Would Jesus Do?” is truly fitting of these situations. I am a firm believer that God always provides. Granted that is in his time and his place, but he always does. Helping someone out in any way that you can will never lead you down a bad path. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I wear it around my neck every day, and it fits. What can I do to impact the direction I would like the world to follow?