Image created by Bassey, A. using wordclouds.com
One theme I identified from the documentary was the extreme loneliness homeless students can go through. I saw it in Roque. He said that he experiences extreme loneliness and that he doesn’t need to rely on anybody else, because he has himself (DeMare, Kelly, and Taber, 2014). This was seen with many other homeless students in the film, such as a lesbian student who was kicked out and mistreated by her family. This serious self-reliance can lead to anxiety, depression, or thoughts of self-harm or suicide. According to the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council, “more than half of people experiencing homelessness have had thoughts of suicide or have attempted suicide” (Suicide and Homelessness, 2018). A book for young children that may help broach this topic is called “When Sadness is at Your Door”. It is a book that personifies sadness and explains ways to tackle it in simple terms, like coloring, taking time for yourself, and engaging with people who care about you (Eland, 2019). This book can be helpful for homeless children who are experiencing loneliness and sadness.
Another theme I identified in the reading is that the definition for students who are homeless is those who do not have “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” (Mc-Kinney Vento Homeless Education, 2021). This includes such a wide group of students, including those who live with another family, in a shelter, in a vehicle, or on the streets. Additionally, a large majority of these students are disabled or are English Language Learners, making it even more difficult for students to learn. There is a song called “The A-Team” by Ed Sheeran. It was written about a girl in a homeless shelter struggling to make ends meet (Sheeran, 2010). It shows that there are so many different situations for homeless youth to be in, that we as teachers need to be aware and observant of.
Resources
De Mare, A., Kelly, K., & Taber, K. (Producers), & De Mare, A., & Kelly, K. (Directors). (2014). The homestretch [Streaming video]. United States: Bullfrog Films.
Eland, E. (2019). When sadness is at your door. Random House Children’s Books.
Mc-Kinney Vento Homeless Education. (2021). New York State Education Department. http://www.nysed.gov/essa/mckinney-vento-homeless-education
Sheeran, E. (2010, April 22). Ed Sheeran – the A team [official music video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWcs5H-qgQ
Suicide and homelessness. National Healthcare for the Homeless Council. (2018, May). https://nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/suicide-fact-sheet.pdf
Hi Ann! I enjoyed reading through your blog post this week. I like how you pointed out that many homeless youth are either disabled or English language learners because, in addition to already being homeless, they have to deal with issues that could further interfere with their learning. The school they attend may also not be able to adequately support them because of a lack of necessary funding or programming that would be able to properly teach them. I also liked your choice of a book for your post, which I have never heard of and seems like it will help younger children who are dealing with this issue. I was wondering if reading this book aloud in a class with one or several students who are going through homelessness would help support them or rather ostracize them amongst their peers. You could expand on this, as well as expand upon how we as teachers could help support any student we have going through homelessness, as I’m sure none of us want to see our students suffer from this.