Blog #5; Poverty and Homelessness
In class this week, we educated ourselves on the topic of poverty and homelessness. This topic can definitely be hard for some to read, and it really is heart-breaking to read about. For this week's assignment, we had to watch the documentary, “The Homestretch” as well as read two other articles. There are a couple of things that I learned from this topic. One, for the most part, I think most people are aware of poverty and homelessness being an issue in the United States, but I do not think that people understand the severity of the issue. Poverty and homelessness not only affects adults, but it most definitely affects children as well. We as future teachers need to be educated when it comes to poverty and homelessness, but we also need to be able to accommodate and support our students going through situations like that. While poverty and homelessness can be a topic that you cannot fully understand unless you’ve experienced it, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of others to be more aware and understanding of other people’s situations.
The article from Moberly Monitor, “Westran teachers, staff participate in poverty simulation” by Erik Cliburn, shows a great example of how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. The teachers and staff were given fake money and tasks to complete, while trying to maintain or get a job, take care of children and family, health and paying bills on time. The teachers and staff got to see how difficult it is to survive in poverty, and there were times when they were unable to eat for days, and eventually end up homeless. The purpose of this simulation was to help the teachers gain a better understanding of what life is like for some of their students. “It really helps the teachers understand the kids that are in those low-income households and the struggles their families are going through,” Bridgeman said. I think that this simulation is a great opportunity for people to become more aware of the poverty and homelessness issue we have in America. Some people do not realize truly how difficult it can be.
From reading the interactive article, “114,000 students in N.Y.C. are Homeless. these two let us into their lives,” it was really upsetting to learn that so many kids in New York City alone are homeless and living in poverty. School is the only safe place that these kids know of, and that is horrible to hear. To think, as a child you should be able to hang out with friends, have a roof over your head and food on the table, but then hearing about these children walking miles upon miles just to get to school is so upsetting. These kids are even sleeping in unsafe conditions and environments as well. Children should not have to be going through such a thing, but it is a sad reality. Seeing the day to day lives of the two kids Sandy and Darnell was heartbreaking. Especially seeing the help that both kids need, and they cannot receive because there are not enough social workers in schools.
Lastly, from watching the documentary called “The Homestretch” we got to see the lives of three homeless teenagers in Chicago. The three teenagers were trying to make the best with what they had, and it was inspiring to hear that. The film talked about how there are more than 19,000 students who are homeless or in temporary living conditions/situations in Chicago alone. Not only that, but there are about 3,000 students who are homeless simply roaming the streets at night in Chicago. Each teenager, Anthony, Roque and Kasey had different stories. When looking at Anthony, his homelessness led to him stealing things and breaking into people’s homes because that is what he had to do in order to survive. Kasey was a member of the LGBTQ community and was not accepted by her mother, lived with her abusive grandmother, then was homeless and finally went into living in the Bellford House. And lastly, Roque was ripped from his family due to immigration situations. He was homeless, but he got very lucky and was taken in by his teacher. All of these stories are really unfortunate, but I must say, all three of the teens were looking to build a better life for themselves and grow from their struggles. It was a sad documentary, but also informative and inspiring.
There were two themes or lessons that I learned from reading the articles and watching the documentary. One of those themes would be that even though you may be going through some huge struggles, or maybe you are not in the best situation in life, you should always remember that tomorrow is a new day. It’s hard to be optimistic, and that is just a part of human nature. But the stories of these children and teens really goes to show that you just need to believe that things will get better, and do not let your situations or hardships get the best of you. A second theme that I learned from this assignment is to be grateful for what you have. Maybe that is something that you hear everyday, but do you actually hear it? Maybe you don’t have the exact car that you want or the nicest shoes, but hey, at least you have it. Your house isn’t the biggest or the nicest? Well at least you have one. There are people out there, children, teens and adults who have no home, they have no clothes. They do not have what we have. So I think that we sometimes need to take a step back and be grateful for what we have, because not everybody is as lucky or fortunate as we are. Seeing the situations these kids go through everyday made me realize how lucky I really am.
A book that I thought of after reading the articles and watching the documentary would be “Ada’s Violin” by Susan Hood. The story talks about a little girl named Ada who lived in a small town on top of a landfill. Ada dreamed of playing the violin, but her family did not have any money, and they could just barely afford the bare necessities they needed. Then, a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived in town. He wanted to give the children something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. This forever changed the town, and spread the idea of hope and innovation around the world. This is something that came to my mind because of the poverty situation in Ada’s town, and how Ada’s family was just struggling to survive. I really love the message of innovation and hope portrayed in this story.
A song that came to my mind after going through this assignment was the song called “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran. This song is about a girl named Angel. Ed Sheeran actually had a gig in a homeless shelter when he was eighteen, and he was told some pretty crazy stories. He wrote about a girl who had been into “Class A Drugs” such as crack-cocaine and heroin. The song talks about a homeless girl, struggling tremendously. “Light's gone, days end. Struggling to pay rent. Long nights, strange men…” This is a line from the song, talking about how the girl is struggling to pay her rent and is alone. Overall, it’s a pretty dark song but it has a deeper meaning that a lot of people can relate to. Homelessness and poverty can lead to sometimes getting involved in harmful habits such as drug addiction and alcoholism and this is something that the song was talking about and something we need to be more aware of.
This topic was truly eye opening. Hearing the stories of the different children and teens was very upsetting. Knowing there are hundreds of thousands of children nationwide going through similar situations is devastating. As teachers, we may have students going through similar situations and we should be doing our best to make school their safe place, and if there is any way we can help our students, we should. Also, teachers should go through poverty and homelessness simulations to get a better understanding as to what our students can be going through everyday so that we can better understand their struggles and accommodate them in the ways that they need. As a country, we need to be more aware and understanding of the homelessness and poverty situation. Something must be done.
Articles and Documentary
Cliburn, E. (2019, October 01). Westran teachers, staff participate in poverty simulation. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.moberlymonitor.com/news/20191001/westran-teachers-staff-participate-in-poverty-simulation
De Mare, A., Kelly, K., & Taber, K. (Producers), & De Mare, A., & Kelly, K. (Directors). (2014). The Homestretch [Streaming video]. United States: Bullfrog Films.
Shapiro, E., & Newman, B. (2019, November 19). 114,000 students in N.Y.C. are Homeless. these two let us into their lives. Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/19/nyregion/student-homelessness-nyc.html?fbclid=IwAR2IssyB1E_xfOHcLqVzTbel551ib7pEDlwsWGcs4-xJbmuPFwJMvIuIDCE
Photo: https://pin.it/1y6EauN
Other Sources
Ed Sheeran - the a Team: Beyond the lyrics. (2019, April 16). Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://storyofsong.com/story/the-a-team/
Hood, S. (2016, May 3). Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay - Ebookbiz.info. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from http://book.enjoy-lifestyle.us/?book=1481430955&sid=jamali&track=4392391
Hey Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI believe that I was one of those people who did not understand the severity of the issues of poverty and homelessness in our country, and how much it affects children. I agree with you that as future educators, we definitely need to be educated on this topic, as that was something I addressed in my blog as well. It was really upsetting for me too to learn that so many kids in New York City are homeless and living in poverty, as I wrote about the title being very shocking right away in my blog. I also thought it was inspiring to see the three teenagers in the documentary making the best out of what they have, as it really puts things into perspective. I really like the two themes that you chose, especially the one about remembering that tomorrow is a new day, as that is a great way to look at life. I also really love the Ed Sheeran song you chose, and whenever I listen to it from now on, I will definitely think back to your blog, and the things we learned during this module. Great job!
Hi Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI agree that homelessness and poverty among children are extremely sad and society should do something about these issues. As you indicated, the stress of poverty and homelessness sometimes leads people to abuse alcohol and /or drugs. I would add that poverty and homelessness can often lead people to commit crimes, such as robberies, and to engage in other anti-social behaviors. This is because when people are struggling for money and are in danger of not having food, water, or shelter, then crime becomes an attractive option. In the school environment, this can cause problems for teachers and even other students in the classroom. When children are homeless or living in poverty, they are more likely to do poorly in school. We as a society have a moral obligation to help children who are struggling with poverty and homelessness. These are very serious issues and something does indeed have to be done!