My challenge will be: Children exposed to risk,
stress, or trauma.
My sub topic is: Poverty
I selected this topic because it is one that I work with every day in my role as a kindergarten teacher at a small rural school in Western, Maryland. We have over 73% of our students in our school who receive aid and qualify for extra services because of their families poverty level. We are beginning to see more and more homeless families entering our school community that need extra help. This school year I have a little girl in my class that is part of a one of the homeless families. She has four sisters and the family lives in a community house with other homeless families. The student in my class needs simple things such as socks, gloves, and shoes. As we know if basic needs are not meant then students can't learn. I always feel attached to students in need and want to help in any way that I can. In education there are always big changes happening especially with state testing and standards, but on a smaller level there are bigger challenges to be met. I feel strongly that working with families who live in poverty is very important. The long term effects that living in poverty can have on children are immense. Cognitive delays and developmental delays are common in children who grow up in extreme poverty. Many families do not even know what resources are avialable within the community to help them. It is the school and teacher's job to inform the families of resources and reach out to help them help their children. We as educators can be the first line of defense!
Questions that I have about working with families who live in poverty:
How do I approach a family that I know needs help and doesn't seem to want any?
How can I identify families in need?
Can I help the children in my class without helping their siblings in other classrooms?
Should I collaborate with other teachers in my building to work together to help families?
What types of resources should I offer families?
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYour Blog looks great! I agree with you, poverty affects many children and families worldwide. Although there have been many researches on ways to decrease poverty, many families who experience poverty continue to struggle with health care, housing, employment, and education. I hope you find meaningful information through your investigation on your project. Additionally, you asked “Can I help the children in my class without helping their siblings in other classrooms? “ It may depend on which aspect of helping siblings you are referring to. I think if you are helping a child in your class, the assistance you have provided will have a positive impact on their sibling and the family in a whole. Good luck!
Best,
Shamanie
Shamanie,
DeleteThank you for the compliment about my blog! I feel you are correct about helping one sibling will help the others in some way. We have many families with multiple children at my school and I feel it is important to help the family as a whole not just the child in my class.
Sarah,
ReplyDeletePoverty is definitely a topic that deserves more recognition, as the social injustice poverty creates affects children and their families in negative ways. You asked how to identify families in need. I am not sure if your school is the same, but our school counselor is able to provide information on which children may need extra TLC due to poverty levels. Additionally, your first question hit home for me, as I have a family this year that cannot afford much of anything, but they refuse any kind of charity that is offered to them. It just goes to show that some families' beliefs and culture reflect indifference when it comes to accepting other people's help.
To be quite honest, several years ago, my husband and I found ourselves in a similar situation. We had been living fairly nicely and then my husband got laid off. He could not find employment, so I worked three jobs to try to make ends meet. We did not want other people to pity us or provide us with items, as we felt we should be able to provide for our own family (our children were little at the time). However, during the holiday season, three very generous individuals left presents and gift cards on our front porch, without leaving an indication as to who they were from. Even though we never asked for it and never expected anyone to provide for us, we did truly appreciate the kindness that was shown by these individuals. We still do not know who left the gifts (and actually would rather not know), but this act of kindness made an impression on us as a family. We now try to help others anonymously, paying back the kindness that was shown to us. This might be one way you could provide for families that do not want help but that you know need support from others.
Dixie,
DeleteYour personal story is very touching and makes me reflect that there are good people in the world who care about others. At this time of year I think of many families who may not be having the holiday celebrations they were hoping for due to money constraints. I have worked closely with my school counselor also to talk about which families need a little TLC. This year my school has "adopted" three families in need within the school community. For Christmas the school will be providing a full Christmas dinner, turkey included, along with gifts for everyone in each family.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with the Judy Hoyer Centers in Maryland? The Judy Centers are in the neediest schools in Maryland. Their goal is to prepare children for first grade through meeting physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs. The Judy Centers has a family service provider whose job is to connect parents to community resources.
Here is the link to the state site: http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/divisions/child_care/early_learning/Judy.htm
Here is a link to an article on Senator Milkulski's visit to my school: http://www2.ccboe.com/pr/index.cfm/2011/4/5/Senator-Mikulski-visits-Barnhart-Judy-Center-to-discuss-education
Melissa,
DeleteI have heard of Judy Centers and my county does have one, however I have never been to one to see how they work. I know they are a great resource for many families. Thank you for the links they are very helpful!
Sarah,
DeleteIf you need any more information about them, I am friends with the director of the Judy Centers for the state- Cheryl DeAtley. I can give you her contact information. She is approachable and knowledgeable.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYou definitely picked a topic that is growing in prevalence. I work for a Head Start program in Georgia so we see a great number of families living in poverty conditions for a variety of reasons. One of the goals of the program is to not only help the child but also the family. I saw that one of your questions was about how could you help the immediate child without helping the sibling. This is a very hard thing to do. This is why it is important to give resources to the family. One of the things that are required for the students in my ECE technical college class is to collect resources from a variety of agencies and programs to share with parents. This may be helpful for you as well. They collect information from the local health department, United Way, the DFACS office and other sources. You could also create a committee within the teacher staff with the approval of your administrator that collects resources and host parent nights where the various agencies would be available to families. I hope this is helpful. Good luck with this great topic.
Vanessa
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI have thought about creating a brochure for parents with local resources for them to use. I have contacted our Health Department for help with what resources to put in the brochure. I have also considered a "family night" at my school where we could offer a warm meal and then give a short presentation about the information in the brochure. Thank you for your ideas they helped cement mine!!