Lack of Resources

Today I was thinking about our students who aren't in the "have" category.  Shockingly - this fact is still debated: there are those that "have" and those that "have not".  Some people actually believe this is a myth. 

How can they think that? It is so glaringly clear in so many ways that should be obvious to anyone.

But it's not.

Because our "have nots" are resilient as hell. 

They consciously try to appear as not a "have not".

They figure out how to use their 1st generation phones to write papers using hotspots they find while driving around in the borrowed family vehicle.  They get stuff turned in on time or early - because it's easier on their lives if they do their homework right away so they can then help with household duties or their jobs.  They understand the power of their education so they try their hardest to get what they can from it.  Sometimes, it doesn't seem like it, but the fact they are at school at all is a victory.

But then we have to go online.  Straight online.  No in-person checks for understanding, no stopping in at lunch to talk over the homework for clarification.  All alone.  But not really.  Because they are all alone in their house full of others.

And we try as a district.  We check out Chromebooks and hand out breakfasts and lunches.  We do some pretty amazing things to help support our kids.  Our admins and counselors and SPED teachers are calling and emailing all day long.  They are breaking the "rules" to go to their houses to get them connected.  They are contacting Spectrum and Charter and whoever else might be able to help. 

But the lack of resources go beyond a computer and Wi-Fi.  As I contemplated the fate of my high schoolers over the next few weeks, my heart was pulled towards the littles.  And my eyes fell upon my shelves of books.

How many kids are sitting at home all day without a book in sight? They don't have the picture books or chapter books or informational texts that weigh our shelves down.  Their only sources of literature are now closed - school and public libraries. 

And we know reading can be a silver bullet.  The research on reading to children before they enter kindergarten is staggering.  "Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to, a new study found" (Science News).  That is staggering.  Most fourth graders are not at a proficient grade level.  If they don't make it by 4th grade, it becomes exponentially harder to "catch them up" so we have 12th graders sitting in classes at a 3rd or 4th grade level.  

How many of our children are now in a home without five books? 

"But there are so many free e-book resources out there! So easy to access."  Yes, they are.  If you have the resources.  Like a web browser.  And internet.  Or a stable hotspot.  And enough devices to go around to all the kids that need access to the e-books. 

How can we deny that some of our students don't have the same access?  How do we fight that inequality?  

We can try.  We can continue to provide kick-ass free public education.  We can provide free resources like Chromebooks and First Book opportunities.  Our librarians can continue to turn a blind eye when that one student keeps that book all year.  Teachers with classroom libraries can quietly delete the missing book from their catalogs so that their kid can keep it. 

But please don't come to me saying those efforts are unnecessary because there is not a divide amongst our students.