This blog post will touch on the tough topic of food insecurity through children's books Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate and Last Stop of Market Street by Matt De La Pena.
Children facing hunger may struggle in school — and beyond. They are more likely to:
repeat a grade in elementary school, experience developmental impairments in areas like language and motor skills, and have more social and behavioral problems.
***http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts.html
"Diverse literature can reflect the unique life experiences of underrepresented or marginalized children at the same time it encourages readers/listeners to recognize and celebrate our share humanity. It offers opportunities both to expand literary understandings and to encourage critical examination of issues that plague our democracy, such as inequities tied to race, gender, income and disability."
***quote from A Ride with Nana and Cj: Engagement, Appreciation, and Social Action by Rudine Sims Bishop
Last Stop On Market Street by Matt De La Pena is about a little boy named CJ and his Nana taking the bus to soup kitchen. Throughout the book CJ keeps seeing things that he wished he had like an iPod or things he wished he didn't have to do like ride the bus. His Nana reminds him of that there is beauty in the simple things. He is reminded of this when the musician on the bus starts playing his guitar and he is "lifted out of the bus and witnesses the beauty around him." To me this book reminds me of what "we" define as poverty.
While I was in Nepal, working with Wine to Water, our trip leader asked ,one night at dinner, what our definition of poverty was. Some people said without resources, without necessities, without fill in the blank. To the Nepali people they didn't see themselves as poor. Even though the did not have electricity or running water they were content. To us, Americans, they would be considered poor. But to me poverty is relative. They didn't think they were poor because they didn't have anything to compare their lives to. In my humble opinion being poor is a state of mind. In this story the boy and his Nana are poor to society's standards but Nana finds the beauty in life. She doesn't have the materialistic lens that most Americans see life through.
I think it is important as teachers to teach our students to value the moments and people in our lives rather than the things. It is hard in this society we live in but it is an important life lesson to teach them. It is also important to have these kinds of books in the classroom so students can relate to different characters. It also brings awareness to these kinds of issues. I cannot reiterate this enough, GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS ADN THEIR FAMILIES. By getting to know your students through their families you get a chance to understand them on another level. You can support them in their educational and personal needs and give resources and information to parents if you see a need for assistance.
"How come we always gotta go here after church?" CJ said. "Miguel and Colby never have to go nowhere." " I feel sorry for those boys," she told him. "They'll never get a chance to meet Bobo or the sunglass man."
"How come it's always so dirty over here?" She smiled and pointed to the sky. "Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you're a better witness for what's beautiful." CJ saw the perfect rainbow arcing over their soup kitchen. He wondered how his nana always found beautiful where he never even thought to look.
Important snippets pulled from A Ride with Nana and CJ: Engagement, Appreciation, and Social Action
Engagement with the book:
Due to the conversation held between CJ and his Nana this book lends itself to a read aloud and a shared discussion.
Some things to talk about with students would be:
connections they make to their own life expereinces
special times with their own grandparents or other adults
intra-city public transportation
differences between city buses and school buses
soup kitchens
"The point is to allow students to express their responses to the book and to build on their responses to clarify meanings and to fill in gaps in knowledge as necessary."
Appreciation of the book:
Due to the high quality of this picture book it offers many opportunities to call attention to both the author's craft and the visual art.
Things you can teach about appreciation with this book:
literary features
the author's choice of verbs
take away meanings
characterization
choice of illustrations and materials used
Thinking about social action:
Last Stop of Market Street brings up issues of poverty and hunger and the uneven availability of food and services. This is a good book to start children on that conversation. Some questions that could spark a discussion are:
Why are people hungry in our country?
Who is affected by hunger?
Who runs soup kitchens?
Where does the food come from?
How can students as individuals or as a class make a difference?
"A visit from someone who runs a soup kitchen or who volunteers at one could help to answer questions about the local situation and what local needs are... For a long-term project, students could decide to plant a garden and donate the food to a local soup kitchen."
I have always been an advocate for students making a difference. I think it is important to teach our students about issues people in our country and around the world are facing and how we can help them. Children need to know that they can contribute to making the world a better place to live in. I love this idea of learning about local soup kitchens and growing food for them.
"Last Stop on Market Street can offer a rich literary experience. It can also be a starting point for examining one's worldview and the way we respond to people whose circumstances are less fortunate than our own, as well as an incentive to try to make a difference by engaging in social action."
***Head on over to my resource page and click on the PDF: A Ride with Nana and Cj: Engagement, Appreciation, and Social Action to learn more.
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate is about a 10 year old boy named Jackson. His family struggles financially. Sometimes they go hungry. When Jackson was 7 his family had to live out of their car for a while and that is when Crenshaw arrives. Crenshaw is a person-sized cat who sometimes wears weird clothing or does weird things like skateboard. Crenshaw only appears when Jackson is feeling overwhelmed or helpless. Crenshaw cannot leave until he helps Jackson. He comes back to help Jackson through another hard time in his life when he is 10. In all honesty this book was hard to read at times due to the tragic reality that children often go to bed hungry or have to live out of a van.
"Hunger can make you feel pretty weird. Even pretty crazy." page 19
When I read this, as a teacher, it made me think about all of my future students who may not have had breakfast that morning or even dinner the night before. Some children do not get food until lunch is provided at school. Jackson talks about how it is easier to go hungry in the winter than in the summer. What he means by that is school is still in session when during the winter time, meaning he gets a warm meal at lunch but school is out in the summer and he doesn't have that warm lunch to look forward to. This broke my heart. It is so important for us as educators to know our students and their home lives to be able to provide for them. No one can concentrate when they are so hungry they haven't eaten in 24 hours. They won't be able to pay attention. There may even be behavior problems, everyone gets hangry! If your school does not provide free breakfast then I would keep extra snacks in the classroom for students like Jackson.
Here are some links to programs that can help students with food security during the summer and afterschool:
http://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs/summer-food-service-program/
http://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs/backpack-program/
http://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/advocate/child-nutrition-programs.html
***I strongly suggest you take a look at this website and see what you can do for students like Jackson at your school!
"If I never talked about it, I felt like it couldn't ever happen again." page 133
Jackson knows that when Crenshaw comes back into his life that something bad is about to happen. He may have to live in his van again. He thinks that if he doesn't talk about it that it won't happen again. A lot of people have this mindset about tragic things happening in their lives.
It is important for children to know that, as their teacher, you are there for them. This is my goal as a teacher, to create a safe and loving environment where my students feel supported and cared for. Books like Crenshaw are great ways for students to relate to characters. I think this book would be a great read aloud. I would also have a mailbox in my room so that students could write me letters, in confidence, about something that upsets them or is troubling them. This allows for them to tell someone and write down their feelings. Writing is a great outlet for students who couldn't express themselves out-loud.
When I was interning in a fourth grade classroom we read the book Wish by Barbra O'connor. aloud. For those of you who do not know about this book I would suggest checking it out. This book is focused on a girl, Charlie, who has to live with her aunt and uncle due to her mother's inability to take of care of her and her sister. Her sister goes to live with her friend but Charlie is shipped off to live with her aunt and uncle, who she doesn't really know. She is angry all the time and feels alone. While we were reading this aloud one of the students starting crying and I took her outside. She confided in me and told me about a tough situation she was going through that related to the book. We were able to get her with a social worker and help her through it. I genuinely think that because she saw someone else, Charlie in the book, going through a similar situation she could voice her feelings.
Something else I have seen that works is to allow time to free-write in the morning. To have students write in their writing journals about things they did that night or weekend, or how they are feeling. Tell them that you will be reading these free-writes unless they dog-ear the corner, telling you that particular free-write is confidential. This allows for students to get their thoughts out while practicing writing and endurance.
***This article talks about how food insecurity affects a child's education:
http://www.aypf.org/comprehensive-community-solutions-for-youth-success/food-for-thought-how-food-insecurity-affects-a-childs-education/
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