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 what would you do? 
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Recently i have been observing a class in an elementary school for my block 1. Lots of housing projects feed into this school and alot of the kids do not have good home lives at all, and for most of them lunch is the only meal they get. I am a little unsure about how i as a teacher would handle this in my classroom. I was just wondering how you would act as a teacher towards this particular subject (kids going hungry, bad home lives, etc).

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Kristen P. Helton


Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:38 pm
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I have to say that when I am hungry all I can think about is being hungry. It is hard for me to concentrate on anything else. Actually at this very minute I can't wait to have lunch, but I am currently trying to be patient as my friend finishes up her paper, so we can eat together.

I would be concerned about my students only having one meal a day. I believe in some schools they have breakfast programs as well as lunch programs. This could help students who are able to get to school in time for a quick meal in the morning. I believe if I was a teacher I would tell my students we will try to have snack time as often as we can in our class, and if you would like to you can bring a snack from home. If there are students without food to bring, I would ask some of the local businesses to support us in our need for food. I could ask private businesses to donate money and/or snacks but I could as go by the grocery store and see if there is any way they would donate food for the hungry students in my classroom.

I hope to be a great advocate for my students, and I believe that I will keep asking until I get what I want for my students.

I’m going to go eat lunch now.

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Lianna Denise Beard


Wed Nov 12, 2008 12:13 pm
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It does concern me about students going hungry or students going home to an abusive home.
I am like Lianna, I would like to reach out to the community to get help for these students who are going hungry. Or even get the school itself to do a food drive. However one would have to be careful not let the other students know that the food is going for students at the school to keep many from being embarrassed. Then one has to be just as careful when giving food to students and their families. I know many families in the area that would turn it down because of pride.
As far as a student having a bad home life because a parent may be abusive makes for another sensitive situation. But as a teacher we have to be willing to protect a child when parents will not. My Mom has worked in the school system for almost 15 years. During that time I know of three different times she has had to turn parents in for abuse. It was not something she took lightly by any means. Before turning the cases over to the proper authority she would meet would other teachers to make sure that they were seeing the same things.
Teaching is more then teaching, it is also being an advocate for our students as Lianna said.


Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:27 pm
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I can honestly say that this is an issue that I do not know how to answer. I wish we would have had time to talk about it in class because I think this is an issue that is very very real and happens in most cities. As for abuse, there are strict rules that we as teacher have to follow. We report it to a specific person and let them take care of it. This is one fear I have about becoming a teacher is looking at every child as a personal case that I want to help/fix, where it is not my place to fix anyone but open students eyes to what they are capable of.

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~Natalie Wolfe


Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:34 pm
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Well, as we all know, hungry children are poor learners. I know that when I am hungry, I simply cannot focus on whatever I am doing. As an elementary school teacher, I would designate a snack time everyday. Students could bring snacks if they wish, but I would have healthy snacks in my room for those who could not. I would have apples, oranges, grapes, raisins, Nutri-Grain bars, and even sometimes cookies available for every child to eat during snack time. I would do this mid-morning before we start our math or reading. I have heard that students do much better on math and reading if they are taught in the morning. Also, since we are supposed to be advocates for our students, I would look into situations if I suspected neglect or poor living conditions. I could report these to my counselor who could get the children help through the Department of Social Services. I want each of my students to be happy, healthy, and living in productive home environments. Sadly, this is not always the case, but if I can provide as much of that as possible, I feel I will be doing my job.

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Heather Holland Crow


Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:32 pm
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I'm ashamed to say that working with kids that come from poverty is someting i'm experienced with. Nearly 55% of the students that I went to school with, (to include my high school sweetheart) were on free or reduced lunch. As a matter of fact, I recently had a conversation with my best friend about his sister, telling him that she really needed to keep her children in public school so that they could continue to get free meals. That was the only way they coul continue to afford rent an groceries. As a teacher, there really isn't much you can do about the homelife of students. Just be understanding when they don't always have everything they need. One policy that i plan to impliment as a teacher is to allow students to eat breakfast in class. My old high school served breakfast between 1st and 2nd period, because the kids who needed who recieved free meals and needed it the most were arriving too late on the busses to get a chance to eat. If I have kids who want to eat, they can. No one learns on an empty stomach.

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Aaron Ross Jones


Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:16 pm
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