ABSTRACT
Over 50 years after Lyndon Johnson launched his “War on Poverty,” poverty remains a significant problem in the U.S. The most recent data indicate that 40 million Americans live below the official poverty line. The situation is worst for children under five, especially young children of color. Children in poverty are especially likely to bear the brunt of the various social ills associated with poverty, including high levels of school failure. Despite the overwhelming evidence on the debilitating effects of poverty there is a strong tendency among policymakers, politicians and even some educators to blame poor children and their families for failing to achieve economic and academic success. This chapter begins with an overview of the deficit thinking which situates school failure in minds and bodies of young children as well as their families, communities, language and culture. The chapter then considers the consequences of deficit thinking, what it means when early childhood educators attempt to fix children and their families. Finally, an alternative to deficit thinking is considered, a philosophy of abundance which presumes that every person is smart, constantly in the process of constructing meanings based on their own life experiences.
