I understand the true consequences of generational poverty. I understand that it takes years and sometimes isolation and a lot of rejection, disappointment and self-doubt to move one small inch into change. I also understand that immediate gratification is easier than having faith in yourself or having faith in something bigger because in generational poverty, trust is a huge issue.
I also know and understand what it takes to get intrinsic motivation from those who come from low socioeconomic families. I have heard all the excuses and not because I am a teacher but because I was a child in that environment and heard all the excuses for my mom, my sisters, my cousins, and my neighbors. I lived the struggle as I watched so many people struggle.
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| The Raitzyns quilt project.........stunning |
Struggle, not for change and improvement but struggle from one quick fix to the next; that's the cognitive restructuring that has to happen. It has to be a change in the "quickfix" mentality; it's hard; it's a difficult place to be and to see that same struggle with my own daughters who although they didn't grow up in poverty , they grew up as secondhand witnesses to generational poverty.
I first encountered the idea of secondhand witnesses at an exhibit at the Holocaust Museum in Houston. Lisa Rosowsky explores the "second generation" experience as the daughter of a hidden child and refugee from the Holocaust. I honestly had never considered the idea of second hand witnesses, but the term applies to generational poverty, too.
Domestic violence, addiction, mental illness............the effect of secondhand witness applies to so many "abnormal" family dynamics, to trauma. Surviving an ordeal does not always mean that we completely escape the long term psychological effects. What I wished I knew 20 years ago was that recovering from generational poverty would require a long term plan similar to addiction recovery. I have to admit I have often relapsed into a "quick fix" mentality, wanting the immediate fix.
I will write more later............... I started this post verbally a few weeks ago and wanted to edit it today. Like so many of my posts lately, it just cannot express fully what I had hoped to say.
As for the picture of the quilt, the story is as haunting as the quilt itself. Visit the wepage for Lisa Rosowsky and read about the Raitzyn family.
**Side note - Check out Lisa Rosowsky's webpage for stunning examples from the exhibit that were at the Holocaust Museum.
I first encountered the idea of secondhand witnesses at an exhibit at the Holocaust Museum in Houston. Lisa Rosowsky explores the "second generation" experience as the daughter of a hidden child and refugee from the Holocaust. I honestly had never considered the idea of second hand witnesses, but the term applies to generational poverty, too.
Domestic violence, addiction, mental illness............the effect of secondhand witness applies to so many "abnormal" family dynamics, to trauma. Surviving an ordeal does not always mean that we completely escape the long term psychological effects. What I wished I knew 20 years ago was that recovering from generational poverty would require a long term plan similar to addiction recovery. I have to admit I have often relapsed into a "quick fix" mentality, wanting the immediate fix.
I will write more later............... I started this post verbally a few weeks ago and wanted to edit it today. Like so many of my posts lately, it just cannot express fully what I had hoped to say.
As for the picture of the quilt, the story is as haunting as the quilt itself. Visit the wepage for Lisa Rosowsky and read about the Raitzyn family.
**Side note - Check out Lisa Rosowsky's webpage for stunning examples from the exhibit that were at the Holocaust Museum.
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