3 simple rules, graduate from high school, get a job and continue work and dont have children, so youre 21. And right now we walked out at the entire country and we classified people according to whether they broke all those rules or they followed one or 2, or all 3 of the rules. The results are astounding. So i started talking to judges and lawyers and doctors and Health Providers and interviewing people and literally asked thousands of people i meet, who had the course istria part of the United States. And we are segregated in there by social class. But he does think about it, who do no class, people hang out with the middle class. People dont know someone in poverty by 1st sitting down to dinner together today, millions of American Families are caught in circumstances beyond their control. Their children will be compelled to live lives of poverty unless the cycle is broken. President johnsons war on poverty has this one goal to provide everyone the chance to grow and make his own way. I think everything in life thats important, really lives in the great work. Theres no black and white, theres this gray. How do we make it more clear of what the problem is . There are so many different Life Experiences of poverty and we dont have a real clear definition of the federal government doesnt have the definition. They say if your family is more needed right about to take care of your family for a year in 2000. Does that mean that if youre making more, youre not in red and that thats not the case. I think the most difficult challenge your way out of your current predicament. Of course people cannot contribute to the nation if they are never taught to read or write. If their bodies are stunted from hunger, if their sickness tended, if their life is spam and hopeless poverty, just drawing a welfare check. So we rafted to opportunity. Were also going to give all our people help the very meat through goes all of our welfare. You get money and you get more if you have less income, go through have 0, income, get the biggest money. And then as you earn money, lose part of the benefit. Sometimes if you are even 1. 00, extra dollar a hole benefit medical help for people and people who are disabled if that number seems low, it should because its based on 1000 fixed. These costs of living in the sixtys economists came up with the formula for calculating the family needs. And they said things like, well, well have a parent in the home, so we dont have to include childcare. People can walk to work so we dont have to include transportation and employers will pay for health care. So we dont need to include that. 3 major family expenses are not included in the 2017, federal poverty guideline where you have more women in the workplace than average in the history. If you look at parents and divide their income into 5 equal parts and less will be just the bottom 20 percent of this would be parents with income below roughly 25000. 00. And now we come, watch their kids grow up and we made sure their kids income 30 to 34 years of age. Are they doing better than the kids from that bottom 5th of income below 25000 are twice as likely as we would expect, based on chance to be in the bottom. Its very difficult to get out of the bottom. Its a fight every day to meet your needs and the needs of your family. Were find some quarter 1000000 of our brothers sisters, parents and home, along with our own apartment and a messed up our military air and more must be done to reduce poverty in dependency. And believe me, nothing is more important than welfare reform. I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. Poverty in a sense how does pilotless papa didnt have a loan . You know, because you can put, make up some clothes on anything about. And sometimes if we struggled with poverty in a certain way, were going to be most critical because we say, well, we didnt, i pulled myself up by the stress. I got it done. I struggled, i had to work 2 jobs. I did it. Well, your situation is not the thing somebody else is because were individuals and our characteristics, our personality, our network of people, our demographics of the area that we live in are different. That we cant take 2 people from different sections and say, well, this person did it, he must be good and this person didnt do it. They trained elephant by pound elephant with a little bell. When the young man, elephant growth of the bull found them all the elephant and put the same little rope around that elephant. But that elephant is a condition only go in far as a rope will let him have anywhere say wait a minute. Cases of people as he has a little rope around their mouth will, will only let him go so far. Now, listen, only let him drain. So far, there with your newly grew up a flame little rope youre talking about it only goes towards the 2 most important thing is where youre born and who youre born to. So this one guy, he said, ill do your study for you. He said i grew up in poverty and i said, thank you so much. I said, tell me, how did your family get by . He said, well, my father was a physician, he died when i was 12. I had to go live with grandparents. I worked in their store, i pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. I had the right mindset and i was determined, and i became a doctor like my dad. And im listening to him through the eyes of somebody whos bought her 5 brothers in the back window. Of the car, and im thinking you knew someone who owned a store and you were related to both. But if you look at it from his context, his experiences, who are the children a professional singer . Typically its going to be other children of professionals and what people do is we compare ourselves to the people around us. And we sometimes put an umbrella and say poverty is just poverty and thats not, thats not true. Thats not the case. Its so difficult to come up with a solution to help someone we dont understand the problem ourselves. How can we Work Together . How can we understand each other . And the answer is, we have to accurately understand poverty. What is poverty about so understanding the perspectives of people who live in generational poverty or working class poverty, poverty, or situational poverty, theres so many different Life Experiences of poverty. And we use one word to describe them. So many people theyve, they have no idea if youre born into a poor family. Youre born into a minority family. If youre born into a family that only has a single parent that really constrains your life, chances people die on average 15 years younger. If youre born into generational poverty, only 17 percent of the people born into generational poverty move out. So you move a lot and you just get through the day and life becomes about getting through the day. Generational poverty is the deepest part radio cycle out of any people. And generational poverty are working 1. 7 jobs and im going to decide between paying more buying food thats the kind of poverty i come from. Where most of my family members cant read and write. Theres high mobility of constantly a victim. Youre going hungry to have nutrition. If you dont really, really sick, you know the bridge through and you just hope they give you sales by the prescriptions working class. Poverty is a little different. Youre living paycheck to paycheck. Dont have a lot left over but know that checks coming so you feel like you have a little more control over your life, but theyre very hard on themselves. They buy into the idea that if they work hard, dont make it. And they had the labor statistics, they without an education or skill or your whole life. And then theres any poverty where you have people who are struggling with housing, transportation, child nutrition out of your basic human needs. And in addition to that, you have the language barriers, the cultural barriers, the discrimination, racism to live, to move really big obstacle to address, to really develop to their potential. And then you have a situation of passing by and making him middle class where since you were in the womb, you know, little pricing structure, youre nothing. You maybe have a divorce and you fall into poverty, or maybe you get downsized in your job and you fall into poverty. Those are the ones that sometimes dont find their way into our numbers that didnt fill out the papers for the free and reduced lunch. So in america, we like to thank that everybody who works hard and has a certain amount of talent can make it and can join the middle class. Thats the American Dream and past generations. The American Dream seem to be working pretty well. Its not working as well. Now, we always think that in america on the theory of the land of the brave, equal opportunity to simply not just say to some guy just so through education. You can also better yourselves. In other words, you learn how to learn, how to think critically and find solutions to unexpected challenges. Education also teaches you the value of discipline. But the greatest rewards come not from instant gratification, but from sustained effort and from hard work. And finally, with the right education, both at home and at school, you can learn how to be a better human being. By the pandemic. No, certainly no borders and just blind to nationalities as americans, we dont come with turkey. We dont look like seeing the whole world beats to be the chief judge. You come in a crisis like this. This gentleman, we can do better, we should be better. Everyone is contributing nature our own way. But we also know that this crisis will not go on forever. The challenges create, the response has been masked. So many good people are helping us. It makes us feel very proud that were in it together. When i was so small seemed wrong. But all roles just dont call me the world yet to shape out these days to come out ahead and in gains from it. Because the trail when so many find themselves worlds apart, we choose to look for common ground. When you look at the landscape of our community, one of the things that keeps me up at night is our education attainment rates, 70 percent of our citizens. Our neighbors that live with us have no postsecondary credential. Todays economy is very demanding. Scales and skills means education. So getting a job these days with just a High School Education is a lot harder than it used to make. The chances are youre going to be in poverty or close to poverty and be especially difficult if youre trying to support a family. Why did 20 different focus groups . I did surveys. I did interviews expecting to find that students were afraid of which they are, that students need more tutoring, which they do. But those werent the barriers that students identified that were keeping him from being successful in the classroom. What students told me overwhelmingly, is the Biggest Barriers to their success in the classroom. Had nothing to do with the classroom, transportation, childcare, health care, housing, food, utility payments, statistics show that college is a very successful way to go. And its still the best decision for students, or anyone who wants to get out of poverty or level up in what they want to do. However, i also think that the worst thing to do is go to college and drop out years ago. The goal is to graduate. Youve got to graduate. Thank you just cant drop out because unlike anything else, you still got to pay the bill. Now what higher ed would do is they would look at those success rates and they would go, oh, are students arent as well prepared . Theyre not smart. They dont know how to study. Theyre not dedicated. And i think what weve learned in emerald colleges, those arent true at all, our students are smart, theyre ambitious, theyre capable, they want for themselves. Theyre burdened not just provide a future for themselves, but to save their families. But they have real barriers that they bring with them. If were going to fulfill our mission in higher education, weve got to understand those barriers and address them. If we want our students to be successful in the classroom. And i teach people that if you dont get educated, you dont get skilled, you going to be poor your whole life. And so will your children is an absolute exception of the person who is living. You know . So when i say, well my old girl makes a 100000 and is not educated, but im quoting labor statistics and census data thats an exception. I didnt know what i wanted to be. And so after i graduated from college, i think that thats somewhat normal, but i went ahead and i, i went to college and i picked the major. And i was glad that i had people in my life, their courage to me just to go ahead and go a lot of people because theyve learned that theyve been sent messages that theyre not smart enough. Theyre not good enough. They dont try and tell you to get your High School Diploma, get your college degree, and then keep pursuing what it is that you have a skill set for. And youre passionate about one of the hardest, most heartbreaking things about not having your ged or your High School Diploma is sometimes you hit a ceiling at work or you miss an opportunity. We dont want you to miss. We want people to have those are the best, you know, im not, i was that into every, the walking around, but i graduated man education and you need a player one of things i think will really not High School Students about is this subject that i like to call success, we teach english, we teach math, but we dont teach except when you, regardless how smart you are in any of those other categories. If you understand the subject of the best way to lose is basic fundamentals of understanding. You know how to network, how to communicate will be bold, but also how to be strategic. Realizing whats important college is not about how smart you are. Its about how hard youre willing to work. Every house we should expose that shows the average income of people who drop out of high school and people who graduate from high school. But do go for the kids who get a 2 year degree in kids who get a 4 year to when they get to be adults with Different Levels of education have exploded over the last 3 or 4 decades. And if we can show the kids and make them understand and say, you know, if i get more education, im going to make more money and that will have an impact on every other part of my life. The most important thing is not the freedom to buy things. Its the freedom to dream and chase what you really want to do, the more money you can make and now and not spending. It allows you to dream at a place and give you the oxygen and during where youre not thinking short term, i dont think that i think is so important to understand is how poverty steals your home. And your confidence. I was talking to 2 students at my t. Place and i loaded one up on my car, brought them over here, walk them through the process, got them signed up, we got a minute rolled, and then that student told me, after we got him a schedule when it came time to go to class for the 1st day. He said in his car is parked in line for 3 hours that he couldnt get out of the thats not because he won smart, capable, or he didnt want to do it. Thats because he was a brave, and thats real, but it cant be an excuse everybody in their life. Everyone has fear. I just challenge you to work through your fear and dont let fear. Keep you from being your best self. Dont give out my yourself. When you are educated and when you know the things that you know and you know how hard you work, you need to create this story for yourself. You need to surround yourself with other people who are going to be possibilities and do not allow negative people or negativity to talk you out of your dream. What are your passion about what you have skills that for, and in the meantime, keep pursuing your education. You have to understand that you have so much purpose between 14 and 24 that the decisions you make. Not only going to pack yourself, are going to pack your kids and your grandkids. You dont even know whos going to benefit from the little decisions you make today. You may not see it, but your grandkids will definitely see its true but it was for a while. I watched her just as she was going to be and im to from the moment she decided she was going to be a singer. Only a little girl at that point and every time i saw her do the work, think about it. You know, this work ethic that she had was this weekend. Amazing. And i mean, you know, as a kid, authorise thing and all the things. And then when we started this church in downtown houston, our family joe and brought the kids to an assistant and she joined a choir and every now and then shed get a solo. And she would put more into that solo than the whole choir would into the whole 12. And now she is on the largest platform in the world. And they would be awfully all because of the work ethic. Im young woman who made a decision what she was going to do and be in life and allowed no one to get away. Will everyone be a no. Thats why you got to have a plan, a, a plan b. And a plan for me. We have a hard workers in this community, whether theyre students in Amarillo College or employees in the community. We have a really hard work ethic. The issue is theyre underemployed. So theyre working really hard and not making a living wage. Doing she already is working a crisis is 1. 00 jobs and still i cant put food and pay rent. I have to make a choice. So we say youve got to work harder in order to, to make it thats not true, not when youre experiencing poverty. Because people in poverty are working i started looking at whos the number one teacher of poverty in the United States of america. And the answer that i found was the media. So whats the average person going to know about poverty and the people who live in it . Its probably going to be things like when they get rich on welfare, if they can in high school, if they can. Its not that big a deal as long as i have. Ill be fine. Ill be getting well for all the good and casual for will be covered by medicaid. I can get housing and so it doesnt happen that way. In 1906, my welfare check before going any dollars. Jennifer was 6 daniels to my 15 year old homeless cuz i was living with me. They said we wont help her because shes not yours. Well give you 400. 00 my rent in a neighborhood. In portland, oregon was 395, but then do the math. A welfare check today. Birth family of 3, national average, or 78, thats 986 to 2017. The average rent, according to had a modest apartment, 750. The average disability check is 786. 00. Its almost impossible to get out of poverty based just on public our labor statistics. If you take a minimum wage job and you work 10 years and you dont have education beyond high school, you dont have a skill like an electrician or plumber. The average increase after working hard for 10 years in a persons income is 2. 00 an hour. Didnt matter how hard you work about it, who works harder, the person cleaning the hotel room, or the perso