Dr. Ruby Payne

Yesterday, November 18, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop sponsored by Greenbush, the educational service station for Kansas, which is located in southeast Kansas. The workshop was held at the Topeka Performing Arts Center in Topeka, and the speaker was Dr. Ruby Payne, an author, researcher, former educator and administrator from Texas. Dr. Payne has written a book called A Framework for Understanding Poverty. It was published originally several years ago, and has been updated several times. I had actually had the opportunity to read the book a year or two back when I took a class on classroom disicpline/bullying through Ottawa University. The instructor in that class actually used this book as the "textbook". Over the past year, I have re-read the book or sections of the book over and over, and have referred it to friends and acquaintances in different settings in which folks work with others.

I found this book incredibly insightful. It was so refreshing to read a book which "said it the way it was" without trying to sugar coat issues too much. The book addresses folks who are in poverty, primarily generational poverty, and the different ways of thinking from poverty to middle class to affluent. It is a great read not only for people in the educational setting but also for employers dealing with employees who fall under this category. Although it does not give any "fix its," it does provide some food for thought as to why something is the way it is.

I strongly urge all employers to read this book. It's a quick read...go through it in an evening. Anyone who has any dealings with children and families and individuals, in general, period, should read this book.

It was interesting to hear Dr. Payne speak on her book. She addressed the fact that she has many critics of her book and the issues she has raised in it, and has been challenged as to her data. She freely admits that this is an anecdotal study. She studied people and families for like 30 to 35 years, and wrote about the data and information she gathered. It should be taken as thus.

If this book is not in the library yet, I urge you to Inter-library loan it and read it. It's a must!