Education Topic: Family Factors/Home Environment

Understanding the home environment of a student is something I feel incredibly strong about because I was that student. Growing up, my home life was rarely ever stable. Because of divorces, I jumped around from school to school - in total, about six different elementary schools. As a result, I developed the tendency to be quiet and reserved because it was difficult to keep trying to make friends. I struggled a lot in class participation because I was not comfortable speaking out or working in groups. This carried on into middle school, and it was only when I was a sophomore in high school that I truly felt confident in my classrooms. I think part of this was because I took a year long AP class that put me with the same teacher. She didn't ever pry with my home life, but I think the stability of having a year-long class offered me the comfort I needed in order to speak up. She was one of the first teachers I had that really changed how I viewed the classroom environment.

A young girl does her homework

Another incredibly important factor in home life is the economic status of the student. My senior year, I lost both my car and health insurance, my mom was losing the house, and we were struggling to pay for things like groceries. I remember at one point we had lost our WiFi, which made it nearly impossible to do schoolwork at home. I had a huge online project coming up for a class, but our teacher would not let us work on it in class. I spoke to him on the side, mentioned that I had no means of working on it at home, and he did not offer an alternative or support. Because of this, I ended up having to skip his class three different times so I could go to the library and work on my project. I had never skipped a class before, but it was the only way I could do this assignment. My teacher didn't offer any sympathy or support, and I felt lost. I remember feeling incredibly embarrassed about it too because I had never skipped class before, and it was so lame that the only time I was doing it was to do homework in the library. 

Finally, I want to touch on a really personal note - student mental health. This falls into home life in various ways, but I want to emphasize the incredible importance of checking in on your students and offering as much support as you can. When I lost my health insurance, I was no longer able to afford my antidepressants and had to quit them cold-turkey. It is fair to say that I went off the rails after this. I went from a steady A/B student to making Cs and Ds on assignments. Only one teacher pulled me to the side to ask what was wrong, and when I explained to him everything that was happening in my life, he told me not to put all of my eggs in one basket. This absolutely shattered me. I felt belittled and isolated - I essentially felt like he was telling me this was all my fault. I only spiraled harder after this. Obviously, as teachers, we cannot fix every student. But, it is important that we show empathy and offer true support. If I had a teacher who truly showed they cared about me when this was happening, I feel that my last year of high school would have gone so much differently than this. As teachers, we are meant to create safe spaces for learning and personal growth; getting to know your students is the first step of this, continuing your support is the most integral part. Do not let your students drown the same way some of my teachers let me.