“I wish my teacher knew” assignment reveals children’s hardships at a Colorado elementary school
Third grade teacher Kyle Schwartz wanted to know about the world her students live in, where 93% of the students qualify for meal assistance. She created a simple assignment, asking her students to complete the phrase “I wish my teacher knew”. As CNN‘s Barry Petersen reports, the assignment and its answers have gone viral. The innocent confessions of the children where heartfelt due to the realness of the situations they are forced to silently deal with on a daily basis.
I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework.”
Schwartz posted some of the students’ work on Twitter under the hashtag #IWishMyTeacherKnew, and she urged other teachers to do the same thing. According to this story by ABC News, Schwartz, who teachers at Doull Elementary School, said:
Ninety-two percent of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch. As a new teacher, I struggled to understand the reality of my students’ lives and how to best support them. I just felt like there was something I didn’t know about my students.”
Schwartz says she also hopes her lesson can help her connect students and their families with the proper resources they need to live a comfortable life.
-Infinite Wiz (@InfiniteWiz)
