Every Teacher Has Had A Student Like Karlton To Remind Them Why We're Thankful

I SURVIVE BY STEALING SNACKS FROM MY TEACHER’S CABINET!,” ARE WORDS I WILL NEVER FORGET.

Most school administrators would have suspended Karlton immediately for stealing snacks from his teacher and peers. I thought it would be better to help change his life while teaching him a valuable lesson.

As an Assistant Principal, I would ensure that the students who were identified as homeless or whose families were in transition ate breakfast and lunch. Karlton was one of those students. He had four younger brothers and two older siblings who had recently graduated from our school.  One of the things I found that works with kids is being able to connect to their home life.

Through mentoring Karlton, I learned how hard it is for a child to battle hunger and homelessness. Dealing with this all night and then coming to school and being expected to . At times while correcting children we forget they aren’t in control of where they live or how they will eat. I’ve seen how this has impacted the attitude, attendance and academic success of Black boys in schools.

It’s not just that teachers can’t identify with the struggles of Black boys facing homelessness, they aren’t effectively trained on how to support or identify children impacted by it.

It took almost two hours for Karlton to tell me that he was stealing snacks out of his teacher’s cabinet and from his peers lunch boxes.

I learned from Karlton that often times children who are homeless work twice as hard as others to succeed academically. They work three times as hard to just simply survive. The trauma on children not knowing if they’re going to sleep, eat or be in a safe environment greatly impacts their ability to function.

Karlton was 11 years old last year when he was brought to my office that day. The teacher was furious and rightfully so; however, I remember looking at Karlton and seeing how this kid was simply doing what he could to survive. This is one reason why I advocate for more Black male teachers in schools who are grounded in social justice.

Normally Karlton would ask to come to my office to avoid being sent out of class. On this one occasion he was actually brought to my office by the teacher.  I asked him what had happen resulting in him being put out of class.

It’s not like parents wake up and say, “I’m going to lose my house, job and ability to take care of my children today!”

I reinforce the lessons parents teach at home about responsibility by providing opportunities for leadership roles. I was intentional about empowering the Black boys to be leaders because this was critical to their social – emotional development.

Unlike more fortunate children, homeless children are negatively impacted in schools due to not having stable academic support at home.  Karlton reminded me of why I’m thankful. Most importantly he reminded me why I’m thankful to be an educator.

Little did I know, in mentoring Karlton that he would remind me of a lesson I learned as a kid, which to always remember the reason why I’m thankful.