Attention-grabbers

Attention-grabbers

We’ve all been there — sitting in a meeting while a speaker drones on. The rumble of stomachs blocks brain function. Ears close, wrists flick up phones, and feet tap. Thoughts wander to the table, pull up a chair, and pick up a fork. Mouths water and noses twitch. The tick of the clock acts like Pavlov’s bell. Heaven help the speaker who goes over into the lunch hour. Out of the way! Lunch, here I come. 

Hunger grabs our attention. Many children come to school dragging attention-grabbers — hunger, fear, depression, trauma, insecurity, abuse, or neglect. Children who come to school hungry, fearful, or traumatized cannot focus on learning. How can math and reading penetrate little minds when stomachs growl or danger hovers?

Schools, expected to break through these barriers to learning, often lack adequate support. Taxpayers grumble when taxes are raised. Politicians decrease education funding. Administrators demand higher test scores. Teachers work harder. Children struggle to learn but attention-grabbers are hard to ignore.

Every adult who has felt hunger or been through a crisis knows how hard it is to take in information, make good decisions, or behave rationally when stressed. Yet we expect children to work past their needs. Many people oppose school meal programs. Many oppose food-security programs. Funding for school nurses and guidance counselors is cut. Teachers are expected to do more with less. Parents are expected to provide school supplies, and, when they cannot, children go without or teachers step in to supply them from their own resources.  

A society that wants productive citizens makes meeting the needs of children a top priority. Parents and schools need support so that they can support the needs of children. We have all heard that it takes a village to raise a child — it also takes adequate food, clothing, emotional and psychological support, and funding for schools, healthcare, and safe neighborhoods. 

When we are hungry it is hard to focus on the hunger of others. But when it is children who are hungry or frightened or depressed, we must care for them first. Find out how schools are using tax funds. Get involved. Find out what children need and help — by electing legislators who support schools, food programs, and neighborhood centers, by volunteering at schools and youth centers, and by supporting legislation for affordable health care. When children cannot learn because of attention-grabbers it is our job to clear the way. 

Many consider these solutions radical, but is it radical to want children to grow up strong, happy, and safe? John Adams wrote that  “The preservation of liberty depends upon the intellectual and moral character of the people.” Children, our nation’s future, will preserve our liberty and build moral character only when their needs are met. Let us focus our attention on fulfilling the needs of all children so that they can focus their attention on learning and growing.