West Virginia State University

College of Professional Studies

Department of Education
Professional Development (PD) Reflection Outline

Name:
Jonathan Scott Stalnaker
Major Content Area:
Mathematics
Underline one:
FR SOPH JR SR

PD Topic/Title:
Ruby Payne Professional Development/Language
Barriers in the Classroom
PD Date:
2/22/2014

PD Units:
4 units



Please respond to the following prompts:
1. Summarize the key points you learned from this Professional Development experience.
To better understand people from poverty, we must understand the definition. Poverty is the
extent to which an individual does without resources. There are five registers of language: 1.
Frozen-always the same (ex. The Lords Prayer); 2. Formal-proper grammar; 3. Consultative-
used in proper grammar; 4. Casual-used amongst friends; and 5. Intimate-between spouses. To
survive in poverty, one must rely upon nonverbal, sensory, and reactive skills. To survive in
school or at work, one must use verbal, abstract, and proactive skills. In order to solve conflicts
at school, students are expected to use words not actions. There are six types of poverty: 1.)
Situational Poverty-caused by a sudden crisis; 2.) Generational Poverty-ingrained throughout
two or more generations; 3.) Absolute Poverty-having no necessities needed to sustain life; 4.)
Relative Poverty-insufficient funds to meet society standards; 5.) Urban Poverty-self-
explanatory; 6.) Rural Poverty-also self-explanatory. Two things that help one move out of
poverty are education and relationships. Businesses and schools operate from middle class
norms and use the hidden rules of middle class. We can neither excuse or scold students for
not knowing. Four reasons one leaves poverty are: too painful to stay, a vision or goal, a key
relationship, or a special talent or skill.



2. Discuss how these key points connect to your content area.
Since I will be teaching in West Virginia where the poverty rate is high, I will most definitely
encounter many students that are textbook definitions of poverty. This will connect to all
content areas. I will encounter 3 of the 5 registers of language in my classroom. The 3 registers
of language are formal, consultative, and casual. Also, these key points were collected using
Statistics. Statistics are a branch of mathematics.



3. Share how you might use this new information in your future classroom.
I will use the key point that there are two things (education and relationship) that help one
move out of poverty. My feelings towards mathematics are that it is the most important
subject in our society. Through helping students learn mathematics, I will help poverty-stricken
students develop necessary education skills to improve their lives. Also, I will help them build
strong relationship/social skills that will ensure their progression in life. Mathematics is a
subject that will open many doors for poverty students that are used to having them close
more than open.




Note: Make sure you upload this document to your professional portfolio along with your
scanned PD letter and/or PD certificate.