As of today, I am yet to establish a connection with anyone. I have emailed a number of professionals and organizations, but I am yet to hear from anyone. I chose the alternative of listening to a podcast. I am really glad I did because it made me remember an incident that I had with a child a few years ago.
I chose the podcast featuring Delfena Mitchell a director of Liberty Children’s Home in Belize City. This facility houses children that have been abandoned, abused or orphaned. She spoke of a child named John who did not speak. What really made me reflect on my issue was that she took the child out to spend some quality time with him and he started to speak. The way that this relates to me is that I had a child that had a behavior problem, or at least that is what I thought it was. He was being very aggressive with the children and also towards me and my co-teacher. For the first couple of months I felt some sort of way (dislike, hate, etc.) towards this child. I loved the days he didn’t come to school and flinched on the days that he did. I had never had these feelings towards a child before. He was just that bad.
One day his mom came in bloody and beaten. The child was crying and ran into my arms. I didn’t know which one to comfort or go to first. I picked the child up and went towards mom. She held her head down and put the hood on from the sweatshirt. I asked her what had happened, but before she could answer the child started to tell me. After that day I began to understand why he was behaving in such an aggressive manor. After that, I greeted him every day with a hug and good morning as well as his mother. I had to make this child feel loved and I know in the beginning he knew how I felt about him. Children know when you are being genuine in how you treat them and they know when they can push your buttons and how to push them. In the end, he became very special to me. He was very intelligent. When I didn’t think he was listening; he was. CPS was getting ready to remove him and the other children from the home, but they chose to do random visits to the school and the home. I recently saw him and he is doing well in school. He always says, “I love you Ms. Lowery. Are you my friend?” Those are words he said to me every day while he was in my class.
My thoughts are poverty can be summed up in just a few words. We need to come together as a community and help each other. We know what neighborhoods need our assistance. We know which children in our classes only get that one good meal and that is when they are in school. We never know when that might be us. The world is in such a bad state with the economy. Some families go without food just so they can pay their utilities. When we see people asking for donations of food, we need to donate to those organizations. Instead of throwing out the food that we don’t eat, offer it to a neighbor that you know might not have anything to eat. This might not be related to the reading that was suggested, but this is how I feel about poverty. Our families are getting laid off from their jobs and their unemployment benefits are running. They are doing the necessary job searches, but no one is hiring. They are either over-qualified or not qualified enough. My thing is how will they ever get the experience they need if no one hires them and trains them. I see people standing beside the interstate and along our streets holding signs that say, “Please help, Hungry, I will work for food.” When I see that I can remember what my grandmother would say to me, “God sends an angel to test us. You might think he is a bum or pulling a scam, but he might be an angel that God sent to you. Don’t look the other way and miss your blessing.” Yes it might be a scam, but you do what you know is right. I know that is a hard thing to do, because we all are feeling the results of our economy. Give and it will come back to you. No more preaching from me. Poverty is something that affects the children in our early childhood program (Head Start). How can a child reach their full potential if they are hungry?
Angela
arltaylor 