Although I have already written a blog on out of school factors, after the class discussion we had, I have done a lot of thinking/reflection on the topic. I know that OSF’s exist, and that they have a large impact on student performance, but I never really stopped to think about just how detrimental they are to students. This past week, one of my students came to me after school to discuss some issues that she was facing that really opened my eyes to the Out of school sub topics that we discussed in class, family/living environment.
For the sake of privacy I will not refer to the student by name.
Early last week, one of my previous students came in during my lunch period to tell me about how excited she was that her family was moving this weekend. She explained that her mother, brother, sister, and herself were all living in there uncles single-room basement where she had to share a bed with her teenage sibling. When I asked her how many rooms her new apartment had she replied, “Two, but My mom will sleep in the couch my brother will have a room and I will share a room with my sister. I am just glad to have a room separate from my entire family, especially since we are teenagers now. I have been sharing a single room with all them for as long as I can remember”. After this conversation, I imagined how difficult her living situation must be. In her crowded condition, it must be extremely difficult to get adequate sleep, not to mentions quiet time to complete homework assignments.
This particular student is an extremely gifted young lady, with her standardized test scores at the top of her class. (As mentioned in the Blog #3, the high school that I work at is a ‘college prep’ school that does multiple standardized tests throughout the year to measure student achievement in relation to ACT scores, so there are always current test scores on hand). When I first saw her scores, and experienced her academic ability in my classroom I was very taken back by her low grades. She would get 100% on all of her tests, but have C’s and D’s as her final report grades. As a first year teacher last year, with no experience in urban education, I had no clue as to why there was this discrepancy. It is very clear to me now that the majority her struggle to keep her grades up are contributed to her ‘Outside family and environmental factors’.
How can we expect our children to excel academically under these circumstances?
How can we expect children like her to get all of their homework done and turned in on time when they can’t find a quiet place at home to work?
The student example mentioned above, is just one of many of examples of how ‘Out of school factors’ effect our youth …..As educators, what can we do to fix the problem? What are some solutions?
In addition to the class readings, and discussions, I found study, “The effects of Crowded housing on childhood wellbeing” and “Poverty’s Effect on Childhood Academic Achievement” to be especially insightful.
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/8/4/7/5/pages184752/p184752-1.php
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/365487/povertys_effect_on_childhood_academic.html
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I had many students in the same situation last year at my old school. It was so sad to think that they were sharing a bed with one or two other siblings or even their parents.
ReplyDeleteYour student is a smart girl but just may not have the support from home or a quite place to complete work. The mom I am sure is trying her best to support her daughter's education, but she might be working and doesnt have to time to sit down and physically help her.