Recently, my friend who is the Development Director at the Lexington Rescue Mission (Lexington, KY) posted a link from the USA Today showing the shift in poverty for children and the elderly over the last 30 years.

Though we work in different social service sectors, we obviously are both seriously concerned about the poverty rate...what works, what's new, what the research and statistics tell. I've posted several times about this trend in education, that non-cognitive skills might be just as important as intelligence. Though character seems to play a huge role in the solution of how to help students, especially low-income students, become successful, it isn't the whole story. Emily Hanford, of American Public Media, writes:

Many advocates for low-income students are especially interested in the research on grit. Years of school reform focused on cognitive skills and standardized tests have not succeeded in closing the achievement gap. Perhaps teaching so-called “noncognitive” skills, such as grit, is a solution. But it’s important to recognize that people who are successful in school and in life have more than just grit on their side.

My thought is that "more than just grit" might actually be The Gospel. Hanford continues, "The idea that low-income kids need more grit fits neatly into a familiar narrative that poor people don’t work hard enough." John said it this way, "If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear" (1 Jn 3.17, MSG).

So, this past Saturday, we didn't just pass out shoes, socks, coats, or hot dogs. We LOVED.

- Much love, Julie