Recently, I was thinking about how I failed my students. Not because they couldn’t answer 15 out of 20 questions on a test, but because I might have let them down when they needed my understanding and compassion the most.
During lunchtime yesterday, I thought about the great number of students who showed up to my class hungry. In fact, I remember devoting one entire class period to talking to my seventh graders about the importance of a good breakfast, a healthy lunch, and a decent dinner surrounded by family. I was saddened to learn that many of my students went to bed late at night with stomachs stuffed full of sugary cereal. I taught in an inner-city school in a hard-scrabble former mill town in Massachusetts’ Merrimack River Valley, and this particular lesson awakened me to the realities that many kids face. Low family incomes, single parents hustling to make ends meet, young kids left alone too much of the day.
I have been reading quite a bit lately about homeless students. There was the homeless parent arrested for sending her child to a better school in a neighboring town instead of the underperforming school near the shelter where she stayed. Also the three children in Florida who excelled at school—the only constant in their lives—while living with their mom in a single 15 x 10 room in a shelter. And lots more stories such as these, in which a teacher or principal provides the only anchor in a life adrift
As a teacher, I never gave much thought to whether any of my students were homeless. When they sat before me, they appeared to be on a level playing field. But I was naïve, and in that regard I may have been failing them. If eating a bowl of Sugar O’s alone at 9 p.m. constituted dinner for even a single pupil, then that student was in greater danger than I was capable of realizing at the time.
Do you encounter homeless students in your classroom? If so, how does it impact you as a teacher?
I am blessed to be at a school where my students are not necessarily homeless but I have had families come close to losing their home. The Mustard Seed School in LA does an amazing job supporting homeless students. I am wondering if there are opportunities for teachers who have a passion for homeless students to do more for this growing population.
I teach Preschool at a Community Christian School. We have a high population of low income students. This year was particularly inspiring as several families stepped up to the plate and provided clothing, food, transportation and school supplies for these children. I agree wholeheartedly with the expressions in this article. Let’s continue to invest ourselves in the lives of our students – beyond the classroom.
By the way, the Hallmark channel just came out with a great movie about this very subject. It showed on April 24th and is called, “Beyond the Blackboard”. I highly recommend it.
I think this is totally outrageous!!! I admit to my kids having cereal for dinner. Not because their homeless cause they are not. But because they like it and it’s a great quick dinner especially when it is hot outside. I think that is the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard, kids being in danger cause they are eating cereal for dinner. What about breakfast? Is that acceptable since it is the most important meal of the day? My kids are happy, healthy, and safe. In danger though, they are not.
My district deals with many homeless and/or very poor families. We now serve breakfast free to every student every day. On half-days we send most of our students home with a bag lunch. When there are extra lunches (because students are absent) I know which of my students to give the extra to because they may not have dinner, or they may have younger siblings at home that could use a meal. I do understand what many of my children are going through and so I also understand until these children are sure they will have something to eat, a place to sleep, and some stability in their lives they cannot always learn. So, I try to make school a safe place where they can let down their defenses for awhile.