Ruby K. Payne is an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

best known for her book ''A Framework for Understanding Poverty'' and her work on the

culture of poverty The culture of poverty is a concept in social theory that asserts that the values of people experiencing poverty play a significant role in perpetuating their impoverished condition, sustaining a cycle of poverty across generations. It attracted ...

and its relation to education. She holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University in Illinois, and is the founder of aha! Process, Inc., a company that informs schools, companies and other organizations about poverty.

''A Framework for Understanding Poverty''

Payne's book, which has sold over one million copies, deals heavily with the concept of "hidden rules," characteristics that a member of one of the three main social classes (

upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

and

lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

) possesses that makes communicating and relating to members of the other classes difficult. Payne supports the standardized testing methods of 2001's

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...

Criticism

Many education professionals, such as Paul Gorski, assistant professor at New Century College at

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was orig ...

, are openly critical of Payne's work, stating that her premises are based on stereotypes and accusing her of

classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense ...

. Gorski also believes the educational field accepted her ideas too readily, without the proper critical analysis, as Payne's work is self-published and has not undergone the rigorous peer-review process usually required of professional academics. An article by Gorski and one by

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

education professors Jennifer C. Ng & John L. Rury (2006) in the ''

Teachers College Record ''Teachers College Record'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal of education that was established in 1900. It is published by EdLab at Teachers College, Columbia University. The journal also "pre-publishes" papers online, and curates spe ...

'', entitled "Poverty and Education: A Critical Analysis of the Ruby Payne Phenomenon", began a heated debate between Payne and her supporters, and her critics in the mainstream academic community. Payne has threatened a copyright lawsuit against Gorski. A more extensive article critical of Payne's work was published by Randy Bomer, Joel E. Dworin, Laura May & Peggy Semingson of the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 2008, also in ''Teachers College Record'', with a response from Payne and a rejoinder from the authors. Ng and Rury also published a critical article in the online ''Journal of Educational Controversy'' in 2009.

Books

*''A Framework for Understanding Poverty.'' Baytown, TX: RFT, 1995 *''A Framework for Understanding Poverty Workbook.'' Baytown, TX: RFT, 1998 *''Learning Structures.'' Baytown, TX: RFT, 1998 *''Think Rather of Zebra: Dealing with Aspects of Poverty Through Story,'' with Jay Stailey. Baytown, TX: RFT, 1998 *''Bridges out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities,'' with Philip DeVol and Terie Dreussi-Smith. Baytown, TX: RFT, 1999 *''Removing the Mask: Giftedness in Poverty,'' with Paul Slocumb. Baytown, TX: RFT, 1999 *''What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty,'' with Bill Ehlig. Baytown, TX: RFT, 1999 *''Boys in Poverty: A Framework for Understanding Dropout,'' with Paul Slocumb. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2010 *''Achievement for All: Keys to Educating Middle Grades Students in Poverty.'' Westerville, OH: Association for Middle Level Educators (2013)

References

External links

Official biography
at aha! Process {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Ruby K. American educators American anti-poverty advocates Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women writers