Victoria Beck: Door opens to a wider world

When a child, like those mentioned by Auckland city missioner Diane Robertson, I had no idea when my birthday was. I had no idea that breakfast, lunch and dinner were eaten in that sequence, that a beach lay within walking distance from where I lived.

So bless those hardworking, empathetic, caring and inspirational teachers who somehow get through to those like I used to be, that there is a wider world "beyond the dairy".

They know themselves to be the vital link between whether an "underclass" child is better equipped with the necessary tools for a life of richer experiences and participation, or one of abysmal ignorance forever doomed to live without any control of personal circumstances.

Encouragement, spoken English, time for family discussion, toys, books, newspapers, radio, television, organisation and routine were not part of my world. No one's fault, just the way life is for some.

What I was fortunate to have, though, was a mother who was hardworking, resilient and resourceful.

She was the sole breadwinner and, without knowing English or how the New Zealand system functioned, she brought up six of us in an alien land, never once feeling sorry for herself.

Having no concept of the welfare state, she worked long hours.

It is difficult for those from mainstream middle-class homes to comprehend how much of what they know and take for granted is absorbed by osmosis and how some home environments can be so totally lacking in everyday knowledge, information, order, opportunity and joy.

Research indicates that the child who reads can transcend lack of knowledge and financial capital. I know from my own experience that it can be the key to parity in educational achievement at earlier levels.

Primary and intermediate school were for me a Utopia, full of stimulating learning and activity, even though I did not understand a lot of what was going on much of the time. There was no one I could ask. But it all came to make sense decades later.

I still recall the helplessness I felt because I had so little to say at the opening of a concert for staff and pupils that I had organised to fundraise for Corso.

I now know that verbal facility and confidence arise out of frequent opportunities for children to voice their thoughts.

Such occasions are seldom afforded to those from certain backgrounds. I am grateful to those teachers who overlooked the poor communication skills to foster the "can do" attitude, so giving me a sense of competence.

In other words, they understood that the quiet, seemingly backward child with poor English had strengths which could be developed.

The privileged sometimes see common sense and enjoyment of everyday delights as an aspect of intelligence but I think them to be part of the learning package in a good home environment.

A friend mentioned how much he enjoyed sunsets when his brother reminded him how often their mother had taken them to the beach to enjoy them at day's end.

Why am I writing this? Because I firmly believe that our taxes would be well spent funding more good teachers in impoverished areas, so that those working at the coalface do not "burn out" and leave the profession. They are the ones doing society's rescue work.

It's of no benefit channelling vast sums into never-ending research, consultants' reports or commissions to investigate the outcomes of poverty.

Such exercises benefit only the educated elite with almost no trickle-down to those desperately in need of help now.

* Victoria Beck is a volunteer worker, formerly a student of sociology and education, and a business owner.