Blog #5: Poverty/Homelessness

One theme from the film and readings that I found is the ongoing loneliness students feel in poverty and homelessness. In the film, many of those kids grew up with nothing but themselves and the clothes on their backs. They do not have someone to turn to when in need of advice, or comfort. When the students go to shelters at night they are coming all alone with the hope of a place to stay. The ongoing loneliness either leads the students to either build themselves back up or like Kasey, overdose. These students will always feel a sense of loneliness because of the lack of family they have. The lack of support from a mom, dad, or grandparents takes a toll on these kids. The article "Western Teachers, Staff Participate in Poverty Simulation" a simulation was done at Westran School District that raised awareness about how many of their students are on their own in life. Teachers were more aware of how their students manage their schoolwork, job, paying bills, family, and friends all while doing it on their own. The New York Times article, "114,000 students in N.Y.C Are Homeless. These Two Let Us Into Their Lives", displays a sense of loneliness when the student Darnell lashes out at other students and falls behind in school. This separates him from his peers and adds another problem to his day, therefore he feels isolated and lonely when his teachers have to pull him aside from his peers in either recess or academically. The theme of loneliness is represented in both the film and articles. 

On the contrary, the other theme I see is a sense of unity. Unity is shown throughout the film by the welcoming of open arms from people letting homeless students into their homes or facilities. There is a sense of unity between all the students that choose to go to the emergency youth shelter. They represent a family-like relationship with one another. One night when they found out the shelter was being closed, they all came together in sorrow. They bonded and created a foundation of a family unit. The New York Times, article "114,000 students in N.Y.C Are Homeless. These Two Let Us Into Their Lives", gave an inside look at two families and how they manage their lives living homeless or tight on money. The family of Sandivel shows a family unit because they all work together in unity to make things work. All of the children pitch in and do their job of picking up their siblings, commuting home, and completing homework. In order for these kids to get things done, they form a sense of unity with either friends or the family they have to get through it. In the article, "Western Teachers, Staff Participate in Poverty Simulation" teachers form a sense of unity with each other as they become aware of the living situations many of their students face. Bringing awareness to the struggles their students go through (no place to stay at night, complete schoolwork, balance a job, and potentially pay bills) allows for unity amongst teachers and students. They are now on the same level of understanding of what may happen outside of school. Watching the film and reading the articles definitely reveal that there is a sense of unity amongst these students of poverty. 

One book that relates to this topic of poverty and homelessness is the children's story "Maddi's Fridge" by Lois Brant. This story describes the friendship between Maddi and Sofia. One day after school both girls went back to Maddi's house. Maddi was embarrassed because she had nothing in her fridge to give to Sofia. Sofia didn't understand why her fridge was empty and only had milk in it. Maddi explained that her mom doesn't have enough money to buy them food. So Sofia takes it upon herself to bring food to school every day for Maddi to eat. Maddi asks that Sofia promises to not tell her mom about her living situation. So Maddi must sneak the food out. Eventually, Sofia couldn't take the pressure of sneaking food out of the house, and knowing her family could do something about it, she told her mom. Sofia and her family went out and bought groceries for Maddi and her family. They then brought the groceries over and Maddi's family was thankful for it. I chose this story because it relates to our topic of poverty and homelessness because Maddi's family was in poverty. The story described a situation that many children go through in their own homes, not having enough food. There are also people in the world like Sofia, that will do something about it and help someone in need of food. This book relates to the topic because it also represents the social part of poverty. Maddi was embarrassed to even allow Sofia in her house. Overall this book does a great job describing to children what a glimpse of someone's life in poverty could look like. 

Another book that relates to this topic is the children's story "Those Shoes" by Maribeth Boelts. This book talks about a boy named Jeremy and his want for new shoes. His grandma expresses to him that he should only be purchasing things he needs, not what he wants. Jeremy sees all the boys in school with these cool new sneakers and really wants them. When the sneakers he wears every day, break, he and his grandma take a trip to the shoe store. When the grandma looks at the price of the shoes she gasps and says it's too much. So they go to the thrift store where they find the cool new shoes! Yet the shoes are too small, but Jeremy buys them for $2 anyway because they are cool. Jeremy then notices a boy at school with beat-up shoes with tape on them. So Jeremy gives him his new pair of shoes. This story represents the topic of poverty because Jeremy and his grandma did not have the luxury to go out and buy a new pair of shoes whenever they wanted. His grandma brought up a point about only buying things when you need them, not when you want them. Since Jeremy's grandma did not have enough money, Jeremy must live in those means. I chose this story because it relates to the topic of poverty. It represents how people that are living in poverty live within their means, just like Jeremy. This story described one struggle people that live in poverty face. Although this example was a lighter subject, people in poverty suffer from the cost of groceries being too much rather than sneakers. This is a good introductory story for children to understand poverty. 

References:

Picture: [Poor boy]. Shutterstock. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/poor-boy-thinking-better-life-328374884 

De Mare, A., Kelly, K., & Taber, K. (Producers), & De Mare, A., & Kelly, K. (Directors). (2014). The homestretch [Streaming video]. United States: Bullfrog Films.

Cliburn. E. (2019). Westran teachers, staff participate in poverty simulation. Moberly Monitor Index. 

Shapiro, E (2019, November). 114,000 students in N.Y.C. are homeless. These two let us into their lives. New York Times. Link

Brandt. L. (2014). Maddi's Fridge. Flashlight Press. 

Boelts. M. (2009). Those Shoes. Jones. Z