Compassion in the Midst of Poverty

When I walk into Paola's first-grade classroom, I'm aware of her poverty. Nine out of 10 of the students at our school meet the federal poverty level guidelines. She is one of them.

She lives in a small apartment with her grandma, mom, sister and uncle; they make less than $26,170 a year.

As the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman reminds us, she is all too likely to suffer from poor nutrition, inadequate health care, an inferior education and a bad future.

I'm struggling against her life-crushing poverty with all of the compassion, creativity and commitment within me.

Yes, I'm aware of her poverty. Today, however, I don't see it.