Poverty affects education

October 15, 1:13 PMBaltimore Education ExaminerKatelyn Thomas

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Stop Poverty With a Good Education. Credit - Michal Zacharzewski
 

 Today is Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers worldwide talk about a specific topic in an attempt to create a change. This year, bloggers are taking on poverty. In Baltimore, poverty has a big effect on education. Kids who don't get adequate nutrition can develop major learning and behavioral disabilities. Poor neighborhoods often have fewer resources for learning. Even the schools can be affected, as the best teachers transfer to schools in better neighborhoods.

So what can we do about poverty? There is a terrific list of ideas at the Blog Action Day website, but I'd like to suggest a few that center around education.

• Gather up a box filled with books in good condition that your child has outgrown and donate them to Baltimore Reads. This program distributes books to needy families in the area, which means you can help improve education for local children. 
• Volunteer at a Baltimore City school.
• Buy extra school supplies through the year and then take the box of supplies to a school in an area where a large number of families are struggling to make ends meet.
• Ask a local church if there is a needy family that could use some help. You could donate clean school clothes, lunch boxes, backpacks and other things more fortunate families take for granted.