Educating and Nurturing Homeless Students

Homelessness is another step down on the ladder of poverty and it is a very real problem faced by 1.5 million children in the United States. Many homeless families live in shelters in rural or urban areas. With one income, high rent and living expenses, many families are just one emergency away from disaster. As a result, even children who still have a home to go to could lose it in a heartbeat.

For instance, a single mother trying to make ends meet cannot go to work because her child gets sick. She must be with her child, as she has no one to help. On top of this, she has medical bills piling up. Even if she has a job to return to, she may not be able to afford her rent.

Homeless children still need to receive an education. Yet, when they get to school each morning, they are often hungry and tired. Like many children living in poverty, homeless children move frequently, and are exposed to drugs, violence, crime and more. Also, transportation might be an issue for some homeless children and they miss a great deal of school.

When they are able to attend school, they may be teased for the clothes they wear and the fact they fall asleep in class. They may have difficulty making friends or a fear of participating in an activity in front of the class. Although many homeless children are with their families, older homeless children may be runaways or may have been kicked out of their homes. Many have been abused sexually and/or physically.

To help homeless families living in homeless shelters or doubling up with another family in an apartment (also considered to be homeless), Congress passed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in 1987. This act was put into place to ensure homeless families will receive food, shelter, adult education, job training and more. Barriers once keeping children out of school, such as not having a birth certificate, proof of immunization or residency, have been removed by this act. Unfortunately, budget cuts in recent years have caused this program to backslide.

Teachers who have homeless children in their classroom need to know how to help and support children without a permanent home. Homeless children may be needy emotionally and due to lack of access to bathtubs or showers and little food, they may be unclean and unfed. Teachers can be an anchor for homeless children by showing them compassion and understanding.

It may also be a challenge to communicate with parents who don't have regular access to a phone. Of course, the most important thing for homeless children is that their families find a home. Teachers might be able to help by working with local agencies, children, and their families to find a solution to their problem. Homeless children deserve a quality education just like all students. Teachers are the first line of defense but we all have to pitch in and do what we can to ensure that all of our country's children have the chance to lead happy, healthy lives.

 

 

 

Follow Matthew Lynch, Ed.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@lynch39083

Comments

[bbbbmer]

08:25 AM on 11/14/2011

Until poverty is confronted by policy makers, such efforts, as compassionate as they may seem, are useless, akin to placing a doily on human waste...

Poverty kills the dreams of children and adults alike, and one must always eat, and I would assert, be sheltered, before one can learn....

Expecting more under such corrosive conditions is a mere affectation...

Confront poverty by providing economic sustenance and security for families and individuals alike, and accompanying social ills too subside....

[Matthew Lynch, Ed.D.]

10:23 PM on 11/16/2011

I agree wholeheartedly and I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Matthew Lynch, Ed.D.]

09:22 PM on 11/12/2011

Thanks for the impassioned comments. It sounds like you are are true champion for our kids and you deserve a round of applause.

[MsLovePeace]

06:50 PM on 11/11/2011

An interesting post from someone who favors a test-score based accountability movement. Those of us who work with homeless students are facing future poverty ourselves. It is hard to raise their test scores (and raise means they make more than one year of progress with you. If a child tested at Basic the previous year and then again the year they are in your class, that's not considered going up even though they've progressed a full year). We can be kind, accepting, helpful, try to provide a home away from their non-home, but a student in that situation can still struggle to make normal or exceptional progress given the circumstances. It's difficult to substantially raise test scores when you're dealing with a significant homeless population. If we don't raise those scores, our schools will go charter; we will lose our jobs. I wonder if those charter schools will accept the kids whose parents can't commit to helping the school. The one good thing about our current system is that it makes me as a teacher identify with homeless kids a lot more. My family may be only a few years from poverty. At my current pay rate, we are not middle class. If we can't raise test scores I won't have much to fall back on. My survival depends on the test score success of my students. As the song says, We're in this love together...I hope the next batch of teachers feels the same love.