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.

Children Matter: And So Does School

By Children’s Program Director Ryan Blake

A few months ago I met two brothers who were struggling academically.  Their homelessness and transportation issues had caused them to miss numerous school days.  Their falling grades didn’t reflect how intelligent they both were.  I explained to them how our after school program could help them with their homework.  Along with the falling grades came behavioral problems at school.  The boy’s parents made it very clear to them that grades and behavior at school were important and needed to improve.

Since our original meeting they have never missed a day of after school programming or our life skills classes.  Both of them consistently bring their homework and their questions.  We continue to work on fractions and reading comprehension as well as perseverance and self-esteem.   It has been a pleasure seeing how supportive their parents continue to be and how much their children have grown academically.

Children Matter: A Young Man Reaching His Goals

By Children’s Program Director Ryan Blake

 

A few months ago, I began working with a teen who was a senior in high school. The young man explained to me that his family had moved several times during the year and his school attendance was very poor. He also admitted that sometimes his poor choices caused him to miss school. Although he was a very intelligent student, his grades continued to suffer. It began to look like he wasn’t going to have enough credits to graduate this year.

 

He came to me with what he thought was a great idea “I’m going to drop out and get my GED”.  We spent some time talking about the pros and cons of a high school diploma compared to a GED.  We talked about his future and what he wanted to do with his life. He left the conversation unsure if he should drop out or not.

 

Not long after our conversation, he moved with his family into permanent housing. I hadn’t heard from him in several weeks until one day he came back to Community LINC to tell me that he found out his grades were going to be good enough to graduate in May. It was one of the happiest moments I have had at Community LINC.

 

However, this is not where the story ends. Yesterday, I received a message saying that he had been accepted into a state university where he will be attending college in the Fall. I can’t wait to hear what else the future has in store for this young man.

 

Children Matter: College should be an option

By Children’s Program Director Ryan Blake

Recently I sat in on one of our teen classes while they were discussing where they saw themselves in 5 years.

One of our young men said with a very sad tone that he was going to have to join the military. I met with him the next day to discuss his answer. He explained to me that his mother had a rule that once he and his brothers graduate high school they had to either go to college, join the military, or move out and work full time.

I asked why he had already picked the military. He said college was “out of picture” for him because of his grades and how much it costs. He continued by explaining that he wouldn’t be able to afford the things he wanted in life with a job that only required a high school degree. He continued by saying that he didn’t really want to join the military but he thought that was his only realistic option.

 The next day I met with him to discuss admissions standards to local colleges and scheduled a tour of UMKC. After the tour I asked him if he thought college was a realistic option for him and he told me that if he tried harder in school he might have a shot at getting into a college.

I have been amazed at how many of our students don’t know anything about college or believe that they have the ability to go to college. The fact is many of our students know more adults who have been incarcerated than have graduated from college.

One of the goals we have for our teens is that education after high school is an option for them. For this reason we are now making it possible for each of our teens to visit universities while they live at Community LINC.

For the young man who was planning on joining the military, seeing UMKC made the idea of college more real for him. He also was able to make the connection between working hard in school now and reaching his goals in the future!   

No easy answer to budget deficits

One of the observations from the eighth brief in the Institute for Children Poverty and Homelessness’ series highlighting the characteristics of families who become homeless with young children: “Children who attend early education programs are also more likely to succeed in school and earn higher salaries and less likely to commit crime or utilize public assistance.”

Here’s a disturbing thought for the future. Across the board budget cuts in January 2013 would eliminate funding for 364 Head Start jobs and serve 1,745 fewer children in Missouri alone according to a July 25, 2012, report called Under Threat: Sequestration’s Impact on Nondefense Jobs and Services from Senator Tom Harkin. Senator Harkin Chairs the Senate Appropriattions Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies.

More on Fragile Families and homelessness

The Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness released their second brief from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study not long ago. Again they are looking at the characteristics that make homeless families different from families that are poor, but do not become homeless. This time they looked at the mother’s education as a factor.

“Compared to mothers who experienced homelessness or were at risk of homelessness, stably housed mothers are both more likely to have attained a high school diploma and less likely to have pursued further schooling.” Who would have guessed it. We always assume that more education will improve your job prospects.

So, what is really happening?

The key is the type of advanced education being pursued. Both the costs and benefits of programs can vary significantly by program type. High cost, vocational or career programs rather than college may create more instability than opportunity. “For profit” colleges have been criticized for their recruiting practices, low graduation rates and poor career placement. So the mother who thinks she’s making life better for her children by enrolling in some programs often ends up a dropout, saddled with significant debt, and no better employment prospects than before.

How sad is that.