“Educators,” I am putting all people who work with students in our educational system into this group. Regardless of whether or not you are a teacher in the classroom, if you work with children, then you are in a place to influence their future. From the review of literature and other resources that you have been exposed to on the blog, you have by now been able to see the challenges that foster youth in America are faced with. In today’s society where higher education is becoming less of a rarity, and more of a necessity, it is important that ALL students have equal access to this opportunity. While I could extend my research to many groups who are underrepresented in America’s higher educational system, I chose to look at foster youth as they are one group who faces an immeasurable amount of barriers which stand in their way.
Inspired by my course readings this quarter, I would like to address this letter as a call to action for all educators to “Teach Boldly!” As the book by Fehr and Fehr does, I want all educators to feel empowered to take action in their own situations, and be an advocate for your students. It is clear that foster students need someone to educate and empower them to pursue a higher education.
What Can I do?
As educators, it is our job to be aware of who are students are. This means that we need to get to know who our students are as individuals and where they come from. By having this knowledge about our students, we are better able to teach and support them in unique and specialized ways. If you have a foster student(s) in your classroom, it is your duty to reach out to them. Every foster child will come with their own set of baggage, and it is not our job to help solve all of their problems. What is our responsibility however is to make sure that they get all of the educational support in the classroom that we can provide. We should be encouraging and inspiring ALL students to work towards their goals. Unfortunately, as we have seen throughout the presentation of information on this blog, foster youth need more support than a lot of other students. By being aware of the organizations and recourses available to foster youth, we as educators will be able to better support this group of students.
I encourage all educators to do their own research and find out what groups, organizations and resources are available to aid foster youth in your own community. Also, speak up in your school about the challenges which foster youth face in the educational system. Within this blog, we have mainly addressed the difficult transition to adult hood and higher education. Unfortunately, there are many other educational issues which foster children face. By being an advocate for these students, more and more children will receive the support they need to achieve their goals.
