While spending the month of January in Postville, I heard an interesting concept that seemed like a wonderful thing: teachers and guidance counselors taking students to the dentist.
First I think it it probably necessary to give some information about Postville to help understand why this is so important.
Postville is a small town in Northeast Iowa. It is made up of quite a diverse group of people. Numbers illustrate that there are approximately 60 different nationalities in this small town. Why so many different groups one might ask?
Postville is the home of a kosher meat processing plant, bringing in a large number of Russians and Hispanics. The Hispanic population that moved into the location is largely made up of illegal immigrants. This large group is soon to be about 65% of the school age population. These students are fighting to learn English and establish a place for themselves within the community. The majority of these Hispanics that live in Postville are below the poverty line. They are packed into houses with 8, 9, or 10 other people.
Because of these difficulties many of the school aged children are not getting the proper help when it comes to hygiene. Because of the poverty and their non-existent citizen status, they are unable to get the proper help that they need.
The Postville Elementary school is now taking an active role when it comes to the dental health of the students. The school nurse is now giving fluoride to students and those students with extreme dental problems, are being taken to the dentist.
This seems like a wonderful active role. The students are unable to receive these important extras, that we take for granted, because of their poverty. The school is taking action against this and helping those that are unable to help themselves. It is important to keep in mind that these students, although not legally in the United States, it is the teacher's and the school's responsibility to protect the students while they are within school.
I really feel that this is an important part in education and a wonderful way to help battle a number of issues. By Postville taking an active role in this small area, it illustrates a larger picture. They are helping the problem of poverty within their school district. I think this is something that a number of other schools she initiate.
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2 comments:
Hi Kim,
This idea of schools providing different forms of hygiene that poor students would not usually have access to seems great to me- the only thing I would be afraid of would be the possibility of parents taking advantage of teachers and this becoming a "slippery slope" of what, in a sense, comes with an education, however I think this idea has great potential.
Laura
I agree with Laura that it is a great idea and it shows that teachers go above and beyond what they are supposed to do but this might be taken advantage of and place more parent responsibilities on the teachers.
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