Identifying the Hidden Rules

I just spent a day in a seminar taught by Megan Shreve, the executive director of South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP.) The content dealt with the issues of generational poverty. Megan did an excellent job informing us of the facts and figures of poverty and drawing our attention to the value structure of poverty that is so very different from the values and thought processes of middle class or wealthy individuals. The facts were shocking, but it was the different set of values that caused me to see why so many people, myself included, become frustrated with the choices made by those in poverty.

I'm still digesting most of what I've learned, but since it's so fresh in my mind I thought I would list for you a few of the "key points" of the presentation that caught my attention:

1. An individual brings with him/her the hidden rules of the class in which he/she was raised.
2. Schools and businesses operate from the middle-class norms and use the hidden rules of middle class.
3. (To effectively help those in poverty) to be successful, we must understand their hidden rules and teach the rules that will make them successful at school, at work, and in the community.