Recently the GaTAPP Candidates from First District RESA and Okefenokee RESA participated in a Poverty Simulation. The simulation was conducted by the Safe, Healthy, and Supportive Schools Program consultants Irene Denmark and Dee Ann Roesel. There are multiple certification paths for individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution, who did not complete teacher education degree programs, and who want to transition to the teaching profession. The goal of the GaTAPP program is to equip transition teachers with the necessary skills for initial success in their classrooms.
A Poverty Simulation is an experiential learning tool that helps to educate participants about the barriers faced by families living at or below the poverty level. The poverty simulation begins with participants being divided into “families.” Participants assumed the role of the family member assigned to them. Some of them were newly unemployed, some were recently deserted by the “breadwinner,” and others are recipients of TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – either with or without additional earned income. A few of them were senior citizens receiving Social Security or grandparents raising their grandchildren. The task of the families was to provide for basic necessities and shelter during the course of this month of living in poverty. Participants had to keep or find shelter and utilities, feed their families, make loan payments, meet living expenses such as transportation, handle unexpected emergencies, keep their children in school, and attend work or seek employment. The month was role played in four – 15 minute weeks. The simulation enables participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and helps then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their school communities. It can be difficult for us to understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day – the decisions they have to make, the fears and frustrations they feel. The simulation is not a game but a unique learning experience to begin to understand what life is like with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress. This workshop uses the Missouri Association for Community Action Simulation Kit.