Andrea Cobbley

April 15, 2020

Essay2: Hunger in Education

The relationship between students living in poverty and their

underachievement challenges school across the country. “Children who live in

poverty are more likely to struggle academically and not achieve at the same levels

as their middle- and high-income peers.” (Spies, Morgan, & Matsuura, 2014) As a

teacher it will be important for me to identify when a child is hungry. If a child is

hungry they are less likely to succeed in school because they might feel tired and

unmotivated.

I did my tutoring at Sunrise Elementary and they have a couple different

programs to make sure that students aren’t hungry. They have a free lunch waiver

that students can get on and they also have a breakfast program so students can

come in early and make sure they have what they need to have a productive day. A

lot of students don’t even eat breakfast so I think this is a great program because it

starts the day right and can give them the energy they need to get through the day

and get all of their work done. They are also one of the schools that gives out

lunches for students that are home because of the coronavirus which is also really

amazing.

When I become a teacher it will be very important for me to be aware of

hunger and that it can be the root cause for a lack of motivation to learn or

behavioral concerns. “The initial consequences of hunger are subtle: fatigue,

irritability, dizziness, frequent headaches, and difficulty concentrating but have a

tremendous impact on a child’s ability to learn and perform in the classroom.”

(Spies, Morgan, & Matsuura, 2014) Hunger can cause headaches and stomachaches,

which usually can get the student sent to the office or nurse. This can result in them

losing what the teacher is saying and missing out on valuable classroom time. If I

suspect that a child is living in a food-secure home I think it is important for me to

report it to the principal and see where we go from there. If the student needs help I

will definitely need to make sure I am there to help them and support them.

One local food program that I could refer students to is the supplemental

nutrition assistance program. This program helps ensure that women, infants, and

children get the food and nutrition that they need. Another food program that I

could refer to is the national school lunch program. This program helps low-income

families with receiving free school lunch. The school that I tutored at has this

program along with the school breakfast program. These programs are so important

because without them I think we would have a lot more students not getting the

food they need.

“Although educators cannot end hunger, they can play a key role in helping

support children living in food-insecure environments, in turn creating better

conditions for academic achievement.” (Spies, Morgan, & Matsuura, 2014) As I have

been going through school learning how to become a teacher I didn’t even think

about hunger and how important it is. It’s one of those things where you just assume

everyone get the food and nutrition they need, but that is definitely not true. I will

always make sure I am aware of this issue and I will always watch for it in my future

classroom and help if I need to.