As a teacher, one of the biggest stressors I see to my students is poverty. Last year I was in typical classroom where I had a student who only wanted socks for his birthday. It was the most heartbreaking conversation I had ever had. The child came in everyday smelling like cigarettes, but his parents never realized their child needed socks.
This year I work with children with autism. All of the children I work with are nonverbal. I have one child who comes in everyday dirty and hungry. He displays his hunger through crying and throwing toys across the room. Once he is fed, we can resume teaching him. So when he comes in our classroom, the first thing he gets every morning is a bowl of cereal and milk. We as teachers often have to help compensate for the stressor in our students lives.
I researched the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti. Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake over a year ago. While many see no hope in Haiti, one aid program is helping people get back on their feet by giving them training and jobs. Through this program the people who benefit are the children. The adults who are trained and provided jobs must feed their children at least two hot meals a day and their children must be enrolled in school. This program is not merely a hand out; it teaches pride, a trade, and parenting skills.
Source –
Kristof, N. (2011) Ladders for the Poor. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/opinion/06kristof.html on May 26, 2011
I think it is the worst thing to have to see a child come to school everyday hungry. Having breakfast everyday is something many take for granted. I know i chose not to have breakfast some days just because I'm not in the mood. It breaks my heart to know that there are children who have to wait to get to school to have the option of breakfast. Poverty affects so many. Ever since i started teaching, it seems to hit closer to home when a child is involved.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same issues in our class if we have a child that comes in hungry we always find something for them to eat. I had an incident where a child came in to class extremely late. Class begins at 12:00 and she came in at 1:30. The child had just woke up and was in her pajamas and it was evident that she was hungry. We cleaned the child up and put clothes on her, and we fed her. We found out later that day the reason why the little girl came in late was because her mother had been involved in a domestic disturbance with the boyfriend and they the mother and the little girl had to stay in a shelter overnight. This is why we as educators must know our children come from.
ReplyDeleteJennifer & Amanda,
ReplyDeletePoverty is a issue everywhere. I have students as well who have challenging home lives. They come improperly dressed for the weather, unclean, and/or hungry. I try to do my best to help in any way I can but some of my parents are not open to the assistance. I have to be mindful of their situations and not offend them by helping the child. It's an unforunate situation. But I do agree with you Amanda, that we as educators should be aware of our students' backgrounds.
It is such a shame that the United States being the most powerful country still have children going hungry, and worst of all, that parents allow their children to suffer from this. Socks can be bought at the dollar store for $1, but they can afford cigarretes it does not make sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post!