Being a preschool teacher in a
poverty stricken community in NJ, I have a large percentage of children with
stressors in their lives. These
stressors take a toll on our children in body, mind, and spirit. Chaos is a stressor that is defined as being
confusion and disorder where behavior and events aren’t controlled by
anything. The following is a narrative of what a typical
scene may look like in one of my children’s lives:
“It’s a bitter cold January
morning. A nine year old little girl
walks her four year old brother to school.
The streets are littered with hypodermic needles and small plastic baggies.
In the distance, the morning calm is interrupted by the sounds of sirens. The little boy, while distracted by a stray
cat nosing through a discarded paper bag, realizes his sister is almost a whole
block ahead of him. He runs to catch up,
but stumbles from the rubber sole falling off the front of his well-worn
sneaker. When he finally catches up to
her, she snatches him up by his arm and says in a scowl “you almost got
left”. They approach an old, gray church
located on the corner of a predominant drug set. They step over a homeless man sleeping on a
piece of cardboard and ring the doorbell, hoping someone answers the door
quickly. Sister walks the little boy to
his classroom and half hugs him before running out the door. The little boy proceeds through a purple
trimmed doorway to the “I Am Here” board and moves his picture from “home” to
“here”. He turns as he hears footsteps
behind him and sees his teacher, Ms. Karen.
“Good morning Za’amir, how was your night?” she says in a welcoming
tone. She helps him stow his belongings
in his cubby and they walk to the sink to wash his hands. He explains that he did not have a very good
night. He did not like what mommy made
for dinner and that he went to sleep hungry, and also his new baby brother cried
a lot. Additionally, he is upset because
he could not find his 100 book challenge book and his sister Nyonna wouldn’t
wait while he looked for it that morning.
Ms. Karen hugs him tightly and says “Za’amir, breakfast will be here
soon and those tummy grumbles will hush shortly.” He goes to the writing area, gets his journal
and crayons, and joins the rest of his classmates at the table for “thoughts of
the day”. A short while later, the bell
sounds over the loudspeaker. The
children put their items away and line up to go to the cafeteria. Za’amir’s eyes light up as a smile comes
across his face. The school day has
begun just like it did yesterday, just like it did the day the man came to
check their ears, just like it did four months ago on the first day of
preschool. As he walks by Ms. Karen
standing in the doorway, he can’t help but to grab her leg and give her the
biggest hug. She looks down while
rubbing his knotty hair and says “I love you Za’amir”, and then he quickly
jumps back into line before losing his place.”
This hypothetical scene is very
much like a typical morning in my classroom.
Many of my students come to a safe place out of the chaos and turmoil of
life as they know it. Poverty and drugs
are very much a way of life in Camden, NJ.
I strive to make my classroom environment one that is inviting, positive,
and child centered. I pride myself in
consistency and routine, while maintaining the need for flexibility. My expectations, while set high, are well
defined and I remind and reinforce my students in regular intervals. I feel that this helps to promote a
harmonious classroom learning climate with minimal behavior issues and
distractions. I try and instill these
ideals in my families that are serviced within my school. I provide parents with resources and points
of contact that are within the community that may aide in areas that are in
need within their lives.
Chaos is
prevalent in the United States, however the UK, Canada, and other relatively
industrialized and forward thinking countries are coming in close behind. This rise in chaos is due to a rise in
poverty levels, erosion of community and family structures, teenage pregnancy,
single parent homes, drug abuse, and divorce.
Society is yet to confront this growing chaos in the lives of children
and families today, and it is probably going to get much worse before it gets
any better.
