Teacher/child relationships
What grade is Patrick in?
What is the eighth grade
What is the name of the school at which Mrs. Kuo teaches?
What is Stars
Will parental involvement and encouragement of education increase or decrease risk of student drop out?
What is decrease
Is Helena an area with low or high crime rates?
What are high crime rates
Is the median income for Helena, Arkansas lower or higher than the national average?
What is lower
What are the names of the main characters whose relationship is explored throughout the book?
Who are Michelle Kuo and Patrick Browning
What is the main contributing factor to the lack of resources in the school?
Who were often the main caretakers of students at Stars?
What are grandparents
Why do Patrick and other individuals in Helena not call the police?
What is the police system is corrupt and involved with drugs.
Why is high school graduation a sad day for the community of Helena, Arkansas?
What is students who find opportunities do not come back
What are the two main components of a quality student teacher relationship (that we discussed in class)?
What are low conflict and high closeness
What are the 4 domains of School Climate?
What are Academic, Community, Safety, and Institutional Environment
What is the relationship between parental education and their children’s educational outcomes?
What is students with parents with a higher level of education are less likely to drop out of school
Are kids who experience their father’s negative behaviors, like crime and drug use, more or less likely to become aggressive and break rules?
What is more likely
Do the majority of the children in Helena live above or below the poverty line?
What is below
What are some strategies that parents can do at home to help a child succeed in school?
What is reading, making sure they attend class… answers may vary
How does moving schools impact children, what instance in the book does this mobility apply to?
What is moving schools impacts teacher closeness. In the book, the children move to stars, and the school closes, and then they need to change schools again
According to Kuo, what is one of the most basic predictors of success for her students at Stars? What can parents do to help their child succeed?
What are consistent/regular attendance and encourage/enforce attendance
What are students who stop going to school are more likely to also be involved in crime
What is one possible environmental stress of living in poverty?
What is (possible answers): Housing, Neighborhood, Crime, Air Pollution
What are some factors that influence a student-teacher relationship? Good or bad?
What are trust, closeness, attendance, engagement in class, etc.
What was the accident that happened that made Patrick get behind in school?
What is the accidental fire in his backyard
What are Patrick’s parent’s attitudes towards education?
What is Kuo assumes that the structure of education may seem alien to them, they likely are unaware of the benefits of an education
Reflection question: What are some aspects of the students at Stars' home lives that could be changed (in theory) to help prevent them from getting involved in crime?
(Multiple Answers)
Demographics - not living in a high crime and poverty area
Family influence - not having parents involved in crime themselves
Education - more highly trained and educated teachers that are involved and caring, like Ms. Kuo
What is one impact of poverty on education and opportunities?
What are low reading and math skills, less years of schooling, worse academic performance