The piece we were assigned to read made me really appreciate what I have, and what I had growing up. My family is not rich, never were but we certainly were no where near as poor as some of the people I read about in the piece. It made me think about how things outside of the school or classroom can affect some one's learning just as much as factors inside the room.
The statistics were utterly bone chilling. The mere fact that there are 4,000 heroin injectors, AIDS infections, the parts about the horrible cold and hellish heat painted a heavy picture. If this is what these children are dealing with in their personal lives, then you must know how to approach them so they can actually learn and get out of these black holes.
The aforementioned thought is probably what I gathered most from the reading, and what I expect to learn from this class. When I was in school, I knew free and reduced lunches existed, but I never truly knew what laid beyond that. That it wasn't just free lunch because they didn't feel like paying, it was because the kid was a part of a struggling family in a struggling neighborhood.
I don't think anyone at that age realizes why the children who are getting free and reduced lunch are getting those lunches except for maybe the children themselves. I think when it comes to teaching them, its more important to show them everything they can achieve then showing everyone else how bad it can get. I think that once they begin to achieve all they can, those children will be able to change what they came from.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I appreciate the little privilages that I have that I never noticed before, a whole lot more. Not that I never did, but after reading the statistics and to hear stories, it breaks your heart and I'm thankful that I never had to live the life that some people have.
ReplyDelete"The luxury of one class is counter balanced by the indigence of another." Thoreau
ReplyDeleteI think we need to move beyond the empirical understanding of this reading as comparing our lives to the lives of these children and ask, how are our lives causing these hardships? "So examine again whether or not it still holds true for you, that its not living which should be priority, or living well." Plato
I agree with you Dan and Kevin as well. I can truly appreciate everything I have while thinking about how my life affects other people as well.
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