Introduction
The issue of poverty has affected children's lives and their academic achievement. (Misty, Laura, 2011) being poor shows the degrees to which an individual does without assets. Based on the documentary aired in 2012 by Frontline, young children explain how they cope raised from impoverished backgrounds. The significant challenges they face is the failure to get enough food, bills not being paid, and getting the proper education. They also get bullied in school because of their poverty life. In the case of Jonny and Jasmine, they have to grow in a shelter, and to have their parent surrender their home, it was not easy, and they hoped to have a different life no matter the challenges. Our focus will be on how poverty affects their academic performance and what can be the solution to make their life's better.
Many people are living in poverty are in survival mode. According to Frontline, more than 46M people were living below the poverty line. Poor living has been brought by jobless parents who cannot afford three meals a day or li, leaving their kids starving. In U.S., according to 2015 census, there were at least 20percent of United States children living poor life. Therefore, it means 1 out of 5 children were living in a poverty life with a household income of not more than 24,339 US dollars. Nearly half of the kids with single mothers live in poverty. In the documentary, Kerlie explains how they have to cope up with cold water because the electricity was shut off down due to late payments of bills; they have to be careful about how they use their gas and groceries. These kids have to adopt and do away with the thing they cannot afford.
Poverty has a negative influence on students in their academics performance. (Rowan et al., 2004) the gap in success between poor people and advantaged understudies is generous in United States (U.S.). An example of Brittany in the documentary being bullied and called ugly when she was in high school, and this affected her academics performance. Jonny explains football as his hobby, and he wants to pursue it as a career someday. It becomes difficult for Jonny because it is expensive and his family to afford the money. Its lack of resources hinders the less fortunate to reach out to the best levels of achieving as lucky kids get. Kids who miss out on going to school have high chances of finding themselves in the street trying to make ends meet .being poor lower self-esteem of many kids and feel like they do not own a place in the society.
Apart from poverty giving adverse effects, some grasp something good and build a platform for the learning experience. In the documentary, despite Jasmine and Jonny living in the shelter, they have high hope of achieving their dreams. Jasmine makes a statement that she would not have chosen the life she is now, but learning what can happen, and she uses the experience to become a better person. She hopes to have a better future, owning her own house, and helping the family. (Kelly,2017) there is a school across the county that teaches us every day that these children can achieve the same high levels as anybody else. She adds that to change the status quo, everyone has to organize and abide by that mission.
Conclusion
Finally, poverty still creates a big gap between the poor and the rich. Lack of resources has largely attributed many families struggling with basic needs and as well as affecting the students in their academics. Some of the factors that triggers are limited jobs, low income, and poor health. Many families are unable to pay their bills, buy groceries, and unable to provide for their kids. Although the number of poor people keeps on increasing, the government has come up with measures to aids children in achieving their dreams by providing foods and enhancing equality. It is, therefore, a wakeup call for the United States to eradicate poverty by knowing the root course of the problem and taking the necessary measures by creating jobs and making it easier to access quality education. By doing so, it will reduce poverty, inequality, boost the economy, and the less privileged will have to say in sharing their problems.
