According to a recent article in the Baltimore Sun, the U.S. Department of Education recently reported that there are more
than 1 million homeless students in the United States. This number is up 57 percent since 2007. In Maryland there are 14,117 homeless
students, which is drastically higher than 6,721 five years ago.
These shocking numbers made me stop and think about our role
as teachers in a district where many of our students come to our classrooms
with the weights of difficult home lives on their backs. Teaching a child who is hungry or worried
about where he is is going to sleep tonight, no matter how engaging the lesson,
is an uphill battle. This article
quickly reminded me of the importance of creating a classroom culture that
feels like home for our students. For
some of them, school may be the closest thing to home that they have.
Education reform cannot take place in a bubble – welfare
reform and health care reform are just some of the other hugely politicized
issues that must be addressed for students in the United States to have the
opportunities they deserve. Teach for
America tells us that the problems of poverty don’t have to be fixed before we
can give students an excellent education – and I wholeheartedly agree. But, I do think that the answer to school
reform – whatever that looks like – will find a way to improve the communities
that urban children are living in so that we can stop telling them that an
education is their “ticket out” of the poverty-stricken areas where they were
raised. Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone
is one example of what that could look like.
3 comments:
I am shocked that, since I graduated from high school in 2007, the number of homeless children more than doubled in Maryland and across the nation. Many of us were fortunate to be in college throughout the majority of the recession, but the toll the economic downturn has taken on children is unfathomable. This makes me wonder how frequently we underestimate the impact of economic factors on educational inequity. When I had the opportunity earlier this summer to speak with a Baltimore native about the city’s past, he viewed Baltimore’s educational failings primarily as a byproduct of industry and jobs leaving the city.
The article pinpoints a lack of affordable housing as a key reason for this increase in child homelessness. It seems somewhat counterintuitive that a city with so many available homes would lack housing options. It’s hopeful to see some of the important redevelopment work organizations like BUILD are doing to provide children and families affordable housing. I toured some of BUILD’s renovated vacant homes in the Broadway-Dunbar area and was amazed to see that their work is reinvigorating entire neighborhoods.
Of course, children are remarkably resilient, but this gap in the child welfare system is indefensible. Foster care, group homes, and housing redevelopment are crucial components in the movement to reduce educational inequity.
I'm hopeful that with the new healthcare reform, basic needs of our students will be met. Many times I had students missing school because of a day long doctor appointment -- only to find out that they anticipated being out of school that long just to wait at a free clinic to get a prescription.
Although schools cannot do everything for students, I think that providing them with extra-curricular activities, a healthy breakfast and lunch, and psychological/social supports are a must. Even if the city isn't doing enough to fight homelessness, schools can provide more outreach programs (or at least partner with some) in order to serve their students.
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