Poverty Simulation at Silver Lake College

Silver Lake College in Manitowoc is putting on a public poverty simulation late next week. The Co-Facilitator of Silver Lake College’s Master of Arts in Education, Barney Slowey sat down with Seehafer News, and explained why Silver Lake College decided to put this simulation on. He stated that “It is part of the Silver Lake Mission to work with diverse groups, and really study diverse groups, and diversity. As part of the Franciscan Mission of helping those who are underserved, certainly the greatest discriminator now in not only the United States, but in the world, is poverty.” Slowey has brought this interactive learning experience all over Wisconsin. He told us that he has put it on around 35 times, 24 of them taking place from August until March last year. Slowey described the simulation to us, saying “What would happen is, they would come in and they would get a role. Some would be resource people that families could go and seek help. The bank, the employer, there’s a pawn shop there’s a cop, there’s a health, so on. But then the rest of the people are put into families of 5 all the way down to single individuals that might be 85 years old. It runs the whole gamut.” After the hour long simulation, Slowey gathers the group together to get their reactions to the simulation. One response he heard at a previous iteration really stuck with him. Slowey explained that “In one case we had a gentleman all dressed up in a suit. He came out and took the microphone from me. He said ‘I lived through this.’ He said ‘If it wasn’t for my seventh grade science teacher, and my middle school art teacher, I would not be here as the Assistant Superintendent in the Green Bay School District.’” The simulation not only is informative, but it can bring out a lot of emotion in people who have lived it, or were not aware of the extent of the struggle.  The free simulation will be taking place in the Franciscan Center of Music and Performance at Silver Lake College from 12:30 to 3:30 PM on Thursday August 17th. While individuals are allowed to attend, his simulation is ideal for educators, students, government officials, members of church groups or health care organizations, and others who may want to learn more about those living in poverty. The deadline to register is Friday August 11^th. Visit Silver Lake College for details.