Blog #5

CHILDREN - IMPACTED BY THE RECESSION

First, let’s look at the state of our economy. According to Banish (2009), “Plenty of negative factors weigh on the U.S. economy such as high unemployment, elevated foreclosures, and an overleveraged consumer.”

One of the biggest issues facing our country is the recession. People are losing jobs and homes because companies are cutting back or are going out of business. Some families are losing one income in a two income home and some are losing the only income the family had.

The United States Department of Labor released its September 2009 Employment Situation Summary and it stated that “since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.6 million to 15.1 million, and the unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8 percent.” Vieira (2009) states that this rate hits a 26-year high . . . the largest such decline since the 1930s depression.

Of course due to the economy and unemployment, more families are unable to pay their mortgages and banks are foreclosing on their homes. According to Banish (2009), “Foreclosures continue to play a meaningful role in home sales. Home foreclosures as tracked by RealtyTrac remain persistently high. Sales from foreclosures accounted for about 30% of the home sales in August. Defaults still remain elevated and these defaults appear to be translating more rapidly into foreclosure sales than was the case last year. The makeup of these foreclosures is transitioning away from problem states of CA, AZ, and FL and toward a more broad set of states related to job losses.”

What does this mean to our countries children? They are losing the stability of their home life. They are unsure what is going to happen to their family and to their homes. Some of them will move with their families to find a new job. Some will move to a different home or will end up homeless. According to the report by National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) (2008), in the first few months of the school year, 330 school districts report that they have already enrolled the same number, or more, homeless students than they enrolled during the entire previous year. In addition, children who are homeless do worse in reading and math, they are also more likely to be held back and eventually drop out (Lovell,May 2008).

What does this mean to education? As job markets in some of the hardest hit areas close down and the people move away to find new employment, schools are closing due to lack of enrollment. Teachers are being laid off. Kids are going to different schools; they don’t know where they are going to live or even if they will have a home. For an in depth look at this problem, watch this video “Recession Impacts Schools and Students” by CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5096456n .

What does this mean to teachers? Teachers need to be aware of the impact the recession is having on the lives of the students in their classrooms. They need to be prepared to meet the psychological needs of these students and help them feel safe and secure in the class. The students need to have stable routines and teachers. Teachers should have resources and information available to give to the families. Remember, Maslow,s Heirarchy of Needs and that students basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, need to be met before they can move to higher needs such as education and learning.

Resources worth checking out to help you teach these students:

• The report “Students on the Move: Reaching and Teaching Highly Mobile Children and Youth” (Popp, Stronge, Hindman, 2003), provides comprehensive information for school teachers and administration to meet the needs of students and their families. Appendix B includes a checklist of potential interventions and strategies to support mobile students. The strategies listed in the charts are sorted by potential service delivery level: Federal and State, Local School District/School, Administration, School, and Classroom.

• The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth(NAEHCY) is the voice and social conscience for the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. NAEHCY accomplishes this through advocacy, partnerships, and education. http://www.homeless.samhsa.gov/Default.aspx

• National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE. The Center provides research, resources, and information enabling communities to address the educational needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. Tennessee State Resources page: http://www.serve.org/nche/states/tn.php .

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm?state=tn&topic=homeless

• Tennessee Department of Education Tennessee Homeless Education Program Information: http://tennessee.gov/education/fedprog/fphomeless.shtml .

• Sesame Workshop. This hour long video can be used as a resource in the classroom to help students see that they are not the only ones with these problems and that there are ways to overcome problems as a family. http://www.sesameworkshop.org/toughtimes . What a wonderful resource to get students talking and help them understand what is going on.

Resources

Banish, Bryan. (September 2009). U.S. Housing: Momentum Slows but Recovery Continues. Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from http://seekingalpha.com/article/164788-u-s-housing-momentum-slows-but-recovery-continues .

Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor. (October 2, 2009). Economic News Release: Employment Situation Summary, September 2009. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm .

Duffield, Barbara. Lovell, Phillip (December 2008). The Economic Crisis Hits Home: The Unfolding Increase In Child and Youth Homelessness. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from c .

Lovell, Phillip. (May 2008). The Impact of the Mortgage Crisis on Children and their Education. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/mortgage_crisis.pdf.

Vieira, Paul (October 1, 2009). U.S. job losses wake-up call for optimists. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from http://www.canada.com/business/losses+wake+call+optimists/2060365/story.html . Financial Post.

Tracy, Ben. (June 18, 2009). Recession Impacts Schools and Students: Foreclosures Reduce Student Population, Closing Schools. Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/18/business/childofrecession/main5096419.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesArea