While I was student teaching in a third grade class several years ago, one of my students lived in severe poverty. I was made aware of the situation upon my arrival in the classroom as she was a part of many programs that the school offered in order to help her survive. She was one of many children and lived with her single mom. Dad was no longer in the picture and they lived without his support. Mom was not able to provide even basic necessities for the children. They lived in low-income housing just around the corner from the school. The children were all given free breakfast and lunch at the school. They were also part of a program called "Backpacks for kids". This program provides a backpack full of nutritious, quick foods that children are sent home with on Friday's in order to be sure that they have food for the weekends when they are not in school. The girl in my classroom often wore the same clothes every couple of days and they were not very clean. She did, however, have many friends in the class and did not seem to be the focus of teasing or bullying from the other students. The school also provided new clothes for her twice a year. At Easter time I can remember one of the guidance staff coming to the room and taking her for a shopping trip at the local K-Mart. She came back with a few bags of new clothes and wore those clothes with pride for weeks after! I'm not exactly sure where this money came from, but I thought it was an awesome opportunity for the school to help out this family! Because her mom worked two jobs with one at night, this young lady was responsible to look after he younger siblings. As mom was not home to help with homework at night, she was allowed to come to school about a half hour early where I, or my co-op teacher, would sit with her and help her with her homework. She always seemed to appreciate the effort we made to help her and was humble and sweet regarding any help she received. I'm sure there were days where she went hungry, or was cold at home, or wished she had new clothes or shoes, but she never showed it. She was a well-adjusted 3rd grader whom I enjoyed spending time with and helping as much as I could. Without the help of the school, this little girl would have been in a much worse situation than she was.
I am particularly interested in the stressors that face children living in countries such as Iraq, after the terrors of war. There are obvious stressors such as war, poverty, and homelessness, but there are also many others. Many children lack the accessibility to medicine or proper medical care. Because their mothers are staving, children are born with malnourishment, or lack of proper nutrition. In 1996, UNICEF reported that 4500 children under the age of 5 die every month due to starvation. Due to the use of depleted uranium (a form of nuclear warfare), childhood cancers have risen. 1.5 million children are orphaned in Iraq. I would think that the stressors in the lives of children in Iraq are far beyond what any American could conceive, unless it has been seen first-hand.
Reference:
http://www.ibiblio.org/prism/Mar97/iraq.html
Hi Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI also looked at poverty as one of the childhood stress for children. The 3rd grader in your school is one of the lucky few who had enough support to take them through school. Many are still struggling in poverty and possibly have died. It is a good thing that the school took that challenge up and other people helped her to minimize the impact of poverty on her growth and development.I wish government will do more so that her entire family can lift their heads above the water of lack and want.