Friday, August 15, 2014

Children Matter: First Days of School

By Children’s Program Coordinator Josh Chittum

The first week of school is crucial for creating a positive classroom culture. This is when friendships form, behavior expectations are introduced, and students learn important classroom procedures. When this first week goes smoothly, the rest of the school year is likely to have a solid footing.

When I taught for three years in high poverty schools, it was inevitable that not all of my students would arrive on the first day. Some would arrive later in the week. Some wouldn’t arrive until after the second week.  I rarely knew why some of my students were late; I simply adjusted to their presence and made them feel as welcome as possible. But I often felt disappointed, not at the child, of course, but at the fact that they had already missed so much!

I wanted each and every student to be in class when I shared about my life and why I became a teacher. I wanted them to be in class when we laughed at the silly name games we played, or when we had so much fun learning how to cooperate and communicate with each other during our get to know you activities.

I am now in a position to more clearly see the barriers that prohibit children from arriving the first day of school. The result of those barriers still disappoints me, but seeing behind this side of the curtain grows my empathy.

Ultimately, however, my empathy doesn’t change the fact that too many students miss the beginning of school and in some parts of the country, economically disadvantaged students are more likely to be chronically absent through the year than their peers. (See Chart 4 in The Important of Being in School published by John Hopkins University.)

So beyond empathy, what do we do? It’s easy to point fingers, but I don’t think children expect adults to point fingers at each other. I believe children expect their basic needs to be met and expect an opportunity to develop the skills that will allow them to create the largest life they can create, rather than be constrained by external factors. Again, just like empathy, rhetoric doesn’t solve the problem, but it’s a problem I will continue to seek a solution for.

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