I work with many students who experience violence, hunger, and neglect in their everyday life. It affects every aspect of their life. They are not able to concentrate in school because they are hungry or worried about what is happening at home. I have had a few students who have had cavities bleeding in their mouths because they have never been to a dentist. These children have difficulty getting along with their peers and other adults in their life because social skills have not been modeled at home. They have no interaction with books or anything educational at home and, in turn, they are behind in school. Their parents do not attend any school functions from open house to conferences to performances or carnivals. This leads children to believe that school is not important.
It breaks my heart on a daily basis to see my students struggling this way. I wish I could afford to take them all home and give them a proper upbringing. Since I cannot, I make sure that the time they are in my classroom they know they are safe and well taken care of. I try to make our daily schedule consistent and predictable, this may be the only consistency some of them have in their lives. If there is a change, I make sure to inform the students of the change and let them know why. I feed my students a snack in class everyday to make sure they are ready to learn. I fill my treasure box with toothbrushes and toothpaste and make sure the students who need them get them. At the end of everyday I tell the students I am going to miss them and I can't wait for them to come back tomorrow and see me. I hope that I am making a difference in their lives and they know how important they are.
Since many of my students come from Mexico, I decided to focus on life for children in Mexico. Children from low income families in Mexico face many health problems. They are faced with malnutrition, avitaminosis, anemia, dysentery, and infectious diseases. This is evident in the high mortality rates among children in Mexico. For every thousand live births in the country, there are 28 infant deaths and 34 for children under 5 years of age. This translates into 79,000 deaths of children under 5 annually. Also, 14% of children are underweight, with 7% having low birth weights.
The federal government has started a system for general health care for all Mexican citizens. One government program attempts to provide 100% financing of vaccinations for children. Because of this aid, more than 90% of children under 1 year old are now vaccinated for diseases such as measles and polio.
While I focused on children in Mexico, I am also very concerned with the welfare of children from low income families here in the U.S. There needs to be a better system in place to help these young children and give them a solid foundation for a successful life.
Source:
http://www.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids00/mexico4.html
I liked reading your comment on how as an educator, you wish that you could take each child home, care for them, feed them, and give them a "proper upbringing". I feel the say way. Sometimes I feel that I can save the world, one child at a time, other times, simply providing them a structured and secure, predictable routine while at school is all we can do. Thank you for your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Leigh! Just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your heart and passion for the children and families that you work with. Everything that we choose to do and everything that we choose not to do makes a difference in the lives of the children and the foundation that they will build their lives on. Thank you for all you do for the children and their families!
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