Teachers, families, and students face many challenges today. I have chosen absenteeism as my topic as the challenge that we all face sometime or another. Last year, I watched a little boy strolling down the hall way around mid-morning. Backpack in tow with papers falling out. His clothes and hair are disheveled. His eyes are barely open and he certainly doesn't seem alert enough for learning.
I chose this challenge because my heart went out to this kid. I developed a trusting relationship with him and found out that he did not like missing school. He knew he was way behind his classmates and he was embarrassed about it. In another class, there was a teacher who was so frustrated with a student who was checked out early every day. My colleague said that even though it only 15-20 minutes before dismissal, it was very disruptive to the entire class and the student was falling behind.
As educators, we encounter so many challenges. If we can understand these families and their dynamics, hopefully we can gain a better understanding and will be able to work with them to solve these problems that I have mentioned. I feel that this may not be just a teacher's problem, but it is a community problem, as well. If the kids are not educated, and cannot work, it will directly effect the community. As an educator, I feel that it is my responsibility to work with the community, the school counselor, and the families to find ways to improve attendance.
Through researching this topic, I hope to find strategies to working with these families that I, too, my encounter. I want to be prepared. I can also help my colleagues if they need it. These challenges are across populations. Does anyone have any suggestions on strategies you have used? How should this subject be broached with the family? Should families who attend my school on a hardship be kicked out?
