I remember a time when we were on food stamps, when I refused to even go to the grocery store with my mom in fear of someone seeing us swipe that Vision card...but being thankful for that bag of Doritos in the cabinet. I remember listening to my mom talk in hushed tones from the other room as she arranged to make the house payment late, again. I remember using our medical card at the health department. I remember my mom working her butt off as a single parent of four. I remember thinking we were poor.
Then I remember realizing that we weren't. I remember later, after she had remarried, John telling us about eating mustard sandwiches, which made that night's goulash seem almost tasty. I remember hot gluing my students' shoes in the winter, more than once. I remember my student who lived with his four siblings and mom in the Jayhawk Motel, and another who lived in the backseat of a Geo Metro. I remember hoarding school breakfast in my classroom to send home with kids that I knew wouldn't eat until the next school day (Friday afternoons were always the worst). I remember students who came to school dirty, in the same clothes as yesterday, exhausted because mom or dad had to work an extra shift and they stayed home alone. I remember daily looking into the faces of little people who had survived trials far harder than I had ever faced... and then trying to teach them how to read and add. I also remember, painfully remember, the words of colleagues who have never even had the small taste of poverty that I had as a child. I remember their misunderstanding of generational poverty, their judgment of a life they have been fortunate enough to not experience. I remember their words about "those kids." I remember being angry. I remember being sad. I remember not speaking up as loudly as I should have. (Click picture below to read original blog post that inspired this post...) Ketchup sandwiches and other things stupid poor people eat:
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AuthorHope guides me in all endeavors. In both my professional and personal life I see opportunities to share and spread hope with others so that they too may develop pathways to see great possibilities in their lives. I believe in the power of engaged educators to build significant relationships with young people to encourage, inspire, and build great lives. This blog is a collection of my thoughts on education, hope, connecting, and engaging. Archives
July 2018
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