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A child can be "at risk" for any of
a number of reasons. When I started teaching right out of college, I wasn't
quite sure what administrators meant by this term. I wasn't thrilled with
the label and wondered how wise it was to tell a student or a teacher that
a child was at-risk. And at risk of what?
The answer is that the schools
considered these children at risk of future failure. What might be the
reasons for a child to be included in this group? Homelessness, migrant
status, lead poisoning, racism, disabilities, substance abuse, poverty,
children of divorced parents, teenage parents, limited English proficiency
(LEP), abuse and neglect, etc.
So basically being "at risk of future failure"
describes students who face difficulties in their lives that can interfere
with their educational success. It doesn't mean that the student WILL fail,
only that the student may face challenges that other students do not. I
realized that I had been an at-risk student. My parents were not familiar
with the American school system and could provide little help. I was
limited English proficient. We moved around quite a bit. And I never
considered myself poor, but my parents struggled financially and I received
no enrichment to my education--only what was offered at the public
schools. Then I walked home from school and was on my own (with my little
brother) until my parents got home from work in the evening.
When I look back, things that made a difference were:
- High expectations from parents. They may not have
had much, but they gave me what they could and made sure I understood that
they expected the best from me. Not every child has this at home. They
need to get this elsewhere.
- Books--an introduction to books by teachers and
librarians. Books were my best friends at times, and I learned a lot from
them.
- Teachers who took some extra time to tell me they
thought I could succeed (sadly, there were few of these). Teens are not
stupid--they know which are the teacher that care, and which are there
because they couldn't figure out what else to do with their lives. It's
important for teachers to see the potential in all students and let them
know they see it.
- Times when my parents financial situation would
temporarily change and we got the opportunity to live in middle class
neighborhoods. This helped tremendously because I was able to see that
there are possibilities for a better life. Children need to experience
things at times to be able to believe that it's possible. If parents can't
provide experiences, perhaps organizations or caring individuals can. Some
at-risk kids don't ever see or interact anyone outside their community, and
this limits their possibilities.
- TV--yes, I can hear the doubt in your mind
as you read this. TV? How can this help? Well, it did, because it got me out
of my house and neighborhood. I have to explain that there weren't so many
channels back then. No cable--so there wasn't garbage overload. And I was
drawn to programs that were actually helpful. I was able to see various
lifestyles, different possible occupations for women, listen to the English
language spoken correctly (most of the time). TV provides valuable input, so as
long as it's monitored and students don't spend 8 hours a day watching
television, it can be helpful.
- A strong internal drive to succeed--and I'm not sure
where that came from or how to build motivation. Sometimes all it takes is
providing people with confidence. Telling young people that they can succeed,
and that they deserve to.
So today, I'm still not sure I believe in the term at-risk,
but I do think it's important to provide help and opportunities to young people
who may not have necessary advantages. We all benefit as a society by making
sure young people do well and succeed and reach their potential. Below are some
ways you can help out or get informed.
Help Organizations that
are involved in supporting At-Risk girls
Get involved
In programs such as:
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organizations that help youth succeed, either by providing grants for college,
or by offering emotional or physical support to at-risk girls.
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