Is Humanity Enough?

One of my principals once said, “Even though it may seem like some of them may have been raised by wolves, we still have to teach them!” This quote was ever present on my mind this week as I pondered the question of relating to at-risk students. How do you relate to someone with whom you don’t immediately share commonalities? Is it essential to have something in common to relate to someone? Is the common thread of humanity enough?

Based on the readings and many of the postings, I feel like authentic learning happens when a trusting relationship is established between the teacher and the students within the confines of a trusting environment. Some students enter a classroom and automatically trust the adult and their peers; they are open to experiences, eager to learn, and have adequate supports at home. Establishing a rapport with such students can be relatively easy.  However, more and more, students come to having experienced life in ways that make learning a lower priority than having other needs met. Maslow theorized a hierarchy of needs whereby basic necessities like food, shelter, and clothing are imperative before higher order needs can be met. Many standards mandated by school boards are simply unessential. Therefore, if a student comes to school without the basic needs being met, he or she will be incapable of truly participating in the learning process. Schools have some supports in place to fill in some of these needs, but just the uncertainty of the essentials can negatively impact the psyche of a child and become a substantial barrier to learning.

So for these students, teachers must “go the extra mile” and identify ways to build a relationship. If a child feels safe, this removes one major barrier to learning. Another way to build that trust is to identify ways in which the teacher can potentially empathize with the students. Personally, as a child of contentious divorced parents, I can relate to many students who are forced to move frequently, deal with marginal incomes, and struggle to fit in with peers who seem to have so much more than they do. As a young teacher, I thought it would be best to keep these experiences to myself; however, as I have grown, I feel openness has afforded me opportunities to reach student who otherwise would be skeptical of my relatability.  Naturally, there will be students who experience things that I did not; things that are much more challenging and perhaps even life-threatening. In those times, I feel like I can only demonstrate compassion, lend a listening ear, and be an advocate for my students who need me most.

So is humanity enough to relate to each other? I say yes. It does not matter who raised the kids because, deep down, I feel we are all responsible for them anyway.