Breaking the cycle??

My dad brought up an interesting idea to me the other day. When I talk about a lot of the issues that I see in my classroom and at our school, a lot of it can be related back to the family life and the influence of parents. So the question is... If children in poverty level families attended a boarding school, would it help break the cycle of poverty??

After spending some time really thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it would most likely have a positive impact on their education. Issues like frequent absents lack of homework help, negative views on education / authority, and basic needs like having somewhere to sleep and to eat would be avoided in a boarding school situation. These students would be living in a safe environment and would be able to focus on their education rather than "surviving".

Every educator and other fields have heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The basis of the theory is that there are eight stages that humans go through to achieve "self- actualization". The bottom 4 are the most important aspects of life, the bottom being the most basic things that many people never really think about (where to sleep, being warm, what to eat, etc..) The next is feeling safe at home, school or work. Then it becomes more emotional, forming positive relationships, feeling loved, having good self esteem etc. If the bottom 3-4 levels are not met then a person has difficulties paying attention and getting things done. But for many of my children the bottom 2-3 levels are often not met, so to expect them to sit in class like good little children and learn how to add and how to write their "b" and "d" correctly is just not realistic.
So the next time you think to criticize a child (who lives in unfortunate circumstances or not) and you just can’t understand why they are behind or why they can’t do multiplication think about this: what else do they have going on in their lives? Try sleeping on the floor, having fruit snacks for breakfast, or being cold all day long and see how well you do your job.
-Miss Hansen