As a 2nd grade teacher at a Title 1 school, I am afforded the opportunity to witness many students coming to school hungry. Over half of our school consists of low income families and living in under privileged communities. As an educator, I have come to the conclusion that if our students continue to come to school and leave hungry everyday, there is a possibility that a student's academic success will be hindered.
I remember last year, I had a student that always asked if I had any breakfast leftovers or could they take a candy bar home during dismissal time. After a while I asked, "Why do you always have to have a snack during dismissal?" My student's reply, "We don't have anything at home to eat." At that moment, I knew it was time to research a plan of intervention to ensure all students are fed and academic successful.
As a problem solver I want to implement ways how a student will have enough to eat when they come into their learning environment. First, I would contact the school counselor and relay the issue and will wait for them to get back with me on how they can assist. I would then suggest to incorporate a health talk every morning in my own classroom. Through health talk, I will share the importance of eating three meals a day along with snacks. Students will watch videos and complete worksheets and activities that depict the topic of how important it is to eat.
While I wait for the counselor and their team to give me further instructions, I would contact the cafeteria manager to see if they have any extra granola bars or any other healthy snacks they could spare for a stash in my classroom. In addition, I would close monitor that specific child that is always hungry and try my best to assist them until I receive further instructions from administration.
According to hungerinourschools.org, (2015) a teacher suggested that he created a morning assignment for an entire week for students to journal the meals they had eaten the night before and before they arrived to school. Through this journal activity, this specific teacher was able to view what students are eating on a consistent basis.
References
Hungerinourschools.org (2015). Retrieved from http://hungerinourschools.org/