Children Empowerment and Children as Agents of Change

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Agents of Change

The United States is known as the “land of opportunity” and the “land of plenty”, although this is not true for all Americans. Director, producer, and editor Jezza Neumann captured the sentiments of America’s youth, trapped in poverty, in his Frontline documentary, Poor Kids. Roger, a fourteen-year-old boy profiled in Poor Kids, makes a startling revelation when expressing how much he misses playing games on the internet. When he is a “level 85 Paladin, Tank and Healer”, he feels great about himself. His reality? “In real life, I’m just a 14-year-old boy with nothing going for him.” These feelings, combined with isolation and feeling unconnected to school or other social entities, make it less likely for children like Roger to make a smooth transition to productive lives as adults. Sera, profiled in producer Sarah Moughty’s piece, Sera’s Story: Growing Up Poor in San Francisco, laments that “no kids should have to go through this” when referring to her families’ current state of poverty. Sera, gazing intently at her interviewer through tiny wire-framed glasses, comprehends that her poverty-induced living arrangements - between homeless shelters and one-room apartments, is not living the “American dream”. Should children like Roger and Sera be worried about living in poverty as adults? The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) website states, “Research is clear – poverty is the single greatest threat to children’s well-being.” It is believed that poverty learned as a child, continues to manifest itself as those same children become adults, therefore, programs to eradicate poverty are more important than ever. Poverty, a huge problem for our nation’s youth, can be “outgrown” if we empower our chil...

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...nd community involvement!

Watching Poor Kids, I felt that the future might be hopeless for some of these children, that they may be destined to live in poverty as adults. I know now, that by empowering our children to become active in their schools, communities and families, that children like Sera and Roger, can break through those barriers of poverty, and get the education and jobs that they desire.

Works Cited

Engle, Patrice L., and Maureen M. Black. "The Effect of Poverty on Child Development and Educational Outcomes.” Calpoly.edu. N.p., n.d. Web.

Maume, David J., and Barbara A. Arrighi. Child Poverty In America Today. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

"Child Poverty." NCCP. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Link.

Poor Kids. Dir. Jezza Neumann. Perf. Jezza Neumann. PBS :, 2013. Film.

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