No Place Like Home

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This week’s topic was homelessness and how it can affect many students in both their personal lives and their academic career. I watched the documentary “The Homestretch” by Bullfrog Films, and read two other articles related to the topic. Two main themes from this topic are that many of these students, children, or young adults have been heavily affected by their parents decisions and situations. The second being that teachers can play a huge role in these students lives.

Examples of children being heavily affected by the actions or decisions of their parents would be Kasey, who was kicked out of the house by her mother after she came out as a lesbian. She had lived with her grandmother, but the overwhelming amount of pressure and negativity coming from her family drove her to leave her grandmother’s house too. Or Roque who’s father had issues with immigration which led him to be homeless. He lives with his teacher instead. This also complicates his own citizenship and being accepted into a college in the future, as his parents are very uninvolved in his life.

The two articles I read I found to be helpful and informative. One article was describing the breakdown and number of students that are homeless in each state and what level/situation of homelessness they were experiencing. As of 2016-17, in New York alone, 5.4 percent of students are homeless and “among the 120 largest school districts in the U.S., New York city enrolled approximately 129,000 homeless students during the 2016-17 school year” (Cai, J., 2021). This was only during 2016 and 2017. Imagine how much worse this situation may have become as a result of the recent pandemic. This really shows that homelessness amongst students is a larger issue than many may assume.

The second article was tips for teachers to assist students who may be experiencing homelessness. I think this is incredibly important. In the documentary, as well as just being a student myself, it is clear that many students will not share what life is like outside the classroom with their teachers/educators. This leaves teachers to make assumptions based on students’ behaviors, academic performance, and overall appearance. It can be difficult to address these issues, one would not want to incorrectly assume another person’s personal situations. That is why I think this article is very helpful. It provides a list of signs to look for in a student and what should be concerning from the teacher’s perspective. It also provides tips on how to properly address the topic with the student. Finally, it provides other resources that a teacher could use to further educate themselves on how to handle and help a possibly homeless student. I have likely said this before, but teachers have a huge opportunity to help their students since they often spend more time with them in the classroom and at school than their parents do at home after work. How a teacher responds or reacts to a certain situation could make or break a student’s day, mood, performance/behavior in class, or overall relationship with that teacher.

One book that I think somewhat relates to this topic is “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls. While the main character is never truly left alone to be homeless, her parents moved very often and were technically homeless. This meant she did not get a regular education because of her parents consistently moving. Her parents’ lifestyle continues to affect her life, even after she leaves home, to a certain extent. Another book that came to mind, and I’m surprised I remember it from the seventh grade, is “Waiting for Normal” by Leslie Connor. The main character’s parents have gotten a divorce and she is living with her mother who lives in a mobile home/trailer. Her mother is not very supportive and does not play a very strong role being a parent. Often times the main character is told about her mother’s issues that she, being her daughter, should not know about. This affects her life at school and outside of home as well. She is not happy but is mostly unable to do anything about the position she is in until later in the story. While the main focus of the book is about children who live with parents who deal with mental health issues, her home life heavily affects her life outside and in school as well.

Overall, homelessness amongst students is a much larger issue than most would assume. These children are not able to do anything about their current situation since they are or were heavily reliant on their parent(s). Teachers have a major opportunity to help by being able to identify when a student may be struggling and being able to intervene and provide them with services to help them improve.

 

 

Resources

Bullfrog Films. (2014). The Homestretch. Login required. https://docuseek2-com.molloy.idm.oclc.org/cart/product/913

Cai, J. (2021, July 27). Homeless students in public schools across America: Down but not out. Home. https://www.nsba.org/Perspectives/2021/homeless-students