Without

More and more, our students come to us without breakfast, without clean clothes, without enough sleep, and without enough love at home.  Of course, this is not the rule or the majority, but it defines enough of our students to be bothersome and require attention!

Students as I have mentioned above are not coming to school with a priority of learning.  They are coming for safety, for food, and very often, for love.  They are not getting their most basic needs met at home for various reasons.  The reasons are many...including single parent household, the need to babysit for parent(s), at home- drug use, abuse of any and all kinds, and limited showing of affection or attention.

I have rarely ever heard a teacher or staff member say, "It's not our problem."

It IS our problem.  It might not be our fault, but it certainly IS our problem.

We are not only charged with the responsibilities of educating our students, but we are also their caretakers.  If not us...then who?

It is pretty simple to understand and fully realize that students that are missing these basic elements in their lives will have difficulty learning.  They have nothing to sustain them enough to have the mind or mindset to learn.

Students also learn to mask these issues.  We have to be alert and aware to the sings that our students are not getting what they need.  We have to look for minor or major changes in them.

Are their clothes dirty?

Do they look sick, pale, tired,

Are they losing weight?

Are the constantly absent or tardy?

Are they lacking energy?

Do they seem depressed and uninterested?

There are so many possible needs that our students bring with them.  We are often the warmest, quietest, safest places that offer clean water, food, and a sense of safety.  We should never take this for granted or let this slip by our attention.  We must be intentional in our attention to our students to note even any minor changes...and then seek out their needs in the most caring and careful ways possible.

I will be there for my students...not only until I retire, but until I am no more.

Be Mindful.

Peace.

Mark Levine

#Mindfulliteracy
@LevineWrites