I found chapters 2 and 9 of Payne's Framework for Understanding Poverty interesting. Because I worked with people and children who were in poverty all summer, I think what is really important to people in this situation that Payne pointed out is relationship building. However, the relationships aren't just important to build with our students, but also with the parents. I found these chapters very similar to something that we talk about during Resident Assistant training. During RA training we talk about the emotional bank account. It is defined as, "a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that's been built up in a relationship. It's the feeling of safeness you have with another human being. If deposits into an Emotional Bank Account are made through courtesy, praise, kindness, honesty, and keeping commitments, reserves accrue." The definition goes on to talk about how this emotional bank account helps to build a relationship, and if something ever goes wrong in the relationship, the account will never drain completely if the relationship is built correctly. It's all about trust, and I believe that is something that students who are living in poverty take a long time to build up. Trust is something that isn't just given out right away from students in poverty, you have to earn it. I think this is important for us to realize as teachers.
Payne talks about parent-teacher conferences and how parents who are in poverty feel as though a teacher is being rude when a teacher jumps right to business. Instead, a teacher needs to build a relationship. In this instance, small talk and conversation is good for parents who are in poverty because it helps to build the trust that the parent is looking for. It is super important that the parents trust the teachers who are taking care of their children on a day to day basis. Finally, the quote that I found the most important in Chapter 2 of Payne's book was as follows: "To honor students as human beings worthy of respect and care is to establish a relationship that will provide for enhanced learning." I found this to be a good summary of what should be happening throughout the school year. Students need to be treated as human beings. Just because they are in poverty, does not mean they shouldn't be treated like other students: with respect.
These two chapters really reminded me of a student in my class who I've been struggling with knowing what to do in certain situations. On Friday, my co-op was absent, so we had a substitute. Naturally, the students felt more comfortable around me because they had never met the substitute teacher. One of my students came up to me before class saying that he needed to keep working on his essay that day even though his group was supposed to be working on learning the rules of dialogue. I asked him why this was, and he told me that he only had finished his introduction the day before. I told him that he should have been working on it at home and he had his chance on the computers already the day before. He then informed me that he didn't have a computer at home. I told him that it would be okay for him to use a computer that day, but then I came to another dilemma: Many of the other students then were asking why he was allowed to use the computer and they weren't. It also was hard for me to accept this because he did not complete any work the day before because he was distracting his classmates. I had another conversation with him later on in the period and he informed me that he was having a rough time in his other classes because his group partners in other group projects weren't helping him, and he had other things to worry about like what/if he was going to eat that night and if he would get enough sleep. As a student teacher this was difficult for me to handle. It was especially difficult because this was not my classroom, and my co-op wasn't there to help with the situation.
So I want to know, what would you guys have done in that situation? What would you have told the classmates that were asking questions?
Depending upon what age you are dealing with, it's very possible that most of this student's classmates already know the situation they are in.
ReplyDeleteIf the student told you outright they were worrying about eating and getting enough sleep, this might be when I would have taken the student to the guidance counselor for help. It seems like (1) the student has behavioral issues in the classroom and (2) there are external factors distracting them from their education.
Honestly, I probably would not have let the student work on the computer if other students were not allowed to. I think I probably would have suggested the student stay after school to work on his paper. This would have prevented the questions from the student's classmates. This is also something my co-op does to prevent the singling out of students.
I agree though, this is a difficult situation because your co-op wasn't there. It sounds as though you handled it very well, though!
Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteThat is a tough situation...I think I would have done the same thing you did. Coming from a social work background, I try to approach each decision I make in the classroom with an empathy perspective. I think you made a good choice with the information you had about the student. I don't think you always have to worry about the idea of "fairness," because honestly, lets face it, what that kid is dealing with in life is not fair either. I think as teachers we have to make these tough calls sometimes and we just hope that we make good choices based on doing what is best for the kids. I know you made your decision coming from a place of wanting to help him reach the academic requirements...I think you can feel good about the choice you made. On a side note, it is so hard to know what to say/what to do when students disclose personal information that is somewhat upsetting or makes us worry about them.