The Invisible Kids

I like a lot of my blog posts to be sarcastic and silly, thought provoking and up lifting. I’m not sure this will do all of those things but it might check a few boxes. As most everyone who resides in Gardiner knows, I’d like to drive my car into work in the fall and I am willing to do just about anything to make it happen. My reasons are endless and a lot of them are petty and needy, except for my largest one and my biggest one. That is to say what about the invisible kids? When we first started remote learning, we were told to communicate with families, like campaign volunteers, just really banging on all the doors, screaming anyone in there? Are we alright? Then, when the dust settled, we were told to relax a bit, send out group reminders and offer input where needed. I think I have exercised my remote microphone much like a little mosquito that doesn’t want to quit buzzing. But none of that really addresses the invisible kids.

What invisible kids you might ask? Aren’t they the kids schlepping their kittens around on google meet, or standing up riding their bikes down Pope Street? No. These are the kids, who don’t come to school with snack. Or a coat. Or self esteem. These are the kids who sit closest to you at the rug, but hide under the table when it’s time to work, because they have been through so much trauma, they don’t even know how to get started.

One of my first years of teaching , I had a beautiful student, super young for kindergarten, but super willing even though things came hard. She had these wide eyes and beautiful blonde hair, her mouth always half open, ready to ask a question and unafraid to do so. When she started withdrawing from me, I became worried. When she didn’t come to school a few days in a row , I got more worried. When she came to school and said her Mom’s boyfriend threw her Mom against the fridge and leaned into her and said you are worthless, just like your Mom, this is when my heart broke. This kid is home alone with That.

One year, I had someone stealing from my supply buckets every day and when I accused her of stealing, she told me it was because she didn’t have those art supplies at home. What do you think happens when she doesn’t have the food that she needs at home?

Another time, I had a student who used to wake his Mom up every day before school because she was too strung out to set the alarm, or to hear it. He showed me how he pressed his palms down on the mattress, jolting her into the universe, so that he could get on the bus and get served breakfast. This kid is doing his remote learning there.

I had a kiddo a few years ago and I was doing a vocabulary lesson. I asked what protective means and he said protective is when you are home alone with your little sister and she is about to walk into the street with a car coming. You hold onto her hand, because you are the only one to do it. He told me thats what protective means. Who decides on his protection?

Every year I have parents who don’t sign up for parent teacher conferences. It could be because they are busy or have to work, but 99 percent of the time, it is because they don’t want the school looking into their business. Now remove the school from the equation. What even is the business? What are the transactions? My worries are that they are more drug, crime, and sexually related than anything academic. My worries are that an alcoholic mother drinks more and not less with fewer people looking and fewer people helping.

The bulk of the families I know, that I am friends with on social media and that I vent to on the daily, all want to return to the normal that is school, but while challenging, it is not the same challenge. While demanding, it is not the same demands. Kids need to get back to school, because school is vital and important etc. but also we need to get these invisible kids back into the light again and I don’t care if it’s only for a few hours a day, or every other day when we do it, we just need to figure out a process, even if it starts with a flashlight.