Homeless children face barriers to education

The homeless paradox is an unseen but chaotic dilemma. Homeless citizens in our communities, states and country live in unregulated shelters, motels, streets and alleys. These circumstances disproportionately affect youth and children.

Being without a home saddles children with abuse, hunger, violence and developmental delays. The scope and effects in schools have only been estimated.

And the policies of public schools play a key role in homeless students’ academic achievement.

Currently, public schools are mandated by legislation to allow the least among us, the homeless, to be given the same access and legal rights to an education. The policies and attitudes of public schools strike at the relationships of the poor, the educational system and the government.

According to research, the United States has an epidemic in which one in 30 children are homeless. The number of homeless children and youth is at a historic high.

The greatest disadvantage with homelessness may be its effect on education, on learning.

Imagine the barriers getting to school, rising from a floor or a cot in a shelter or having slept in a motel or doubled-up with a neighbor or relative, or even living in a car. How does a kid find his way across the sidewalks and alleys, possibly living there? How does he go without breakfast then arrive to the taunts of peers?

Imagine you are always on the move. Roughly 1.5 million children experience homelessness each year. The obstacles of a stress dominated existence all but shut down the capacity to think.

"How are you doing," the teacher asks.

A homeless youth cannot answer honestly.

Family is isolated, segregated and stereotyped.

Adversities of being homeless include a lack of privacy, risks of abuse, violence and victimization.

Stigma is the daily living condition in the biased belief or attitude that families without homes are morally flawed.

Consider a lifetime behind a fast food counter. Hardworking, diligent and struggling families might manage savings to survive day to day, but a down payment, and one month rent? It would be like whistling the Baroque music of Vivaldi, the 18th century composer and priest.

The effect of homelessness on our youth lasts for years.

Homelessness occurs after family dissolution, life threatening illness, death, job loss and inequality. Research suggests public education is failing the impoverished and homeless child.

Being without a stable home, you are among a group whose numbers have been rising for three decades. You’re a member of an army sitting on your hands waiting for an opportunity. You miss meals, lack hygiene, your health care is diminished, you live in a more violent neighborhood.

The fragmentation leaves children marginalized. The grade schoolchild must be vigilant to his environment to feel secure on dangerous streets and sidewalks. In public school the youth is considered the issue not the alley, the broken windows or the gang member on the street corner.

For the sensitive, vigilant child a misdiagnosis is more likely because he is fidgety, distracted, following rules less readily and accused of not paying attention.

Homelessness means you are less engaged in school, have more absences and fall behind. It means you do not fit in with your peers. You feel bad about yourself. Despite your young age, you are less likely to have a coherent identity. Finally, you're lost.

Tim Trenkle has been an instructor in the college system in Iowa, most recently at Upper Iowa University. He lives in Dubuque.