SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

December 15, 2013 by Karen Jensen, MLS

Sunday Reflections: Dasani, Poverty, and Education (by Robin)

December 15, 2013 by Karen Jensen, MLS   1 comments

This week, the New York Times brought us an unparalleled view into the life of the homeless youth of America with it’s story “Invisible Child” by Andrea Elliott. The entire five part series is a bit overwhelming in its devastatingly honest look at the life of one child who represents so many of our children today. While I highly recommend reading it in full, please take your time – it is a lot to digest.

What I really want to focus on, though, is this reaction to the story from the New York Post (“The New York Times’ ‘homeless’ hooey”.) Please go read it. The author seems to believe that the city has been too generous with Dasani’s family – that in providing  a ‘roof over their heads,’ subsistence level financial support, and basic medical care, the city has removed all incentive for Dasani’s parents to take responsibility for their 8 children. The author’s assertion that the sum of money spent on benefits for this family over the last 14 years, while seemingly large, has provided them anything approaching ‘comfortable lives’ is patently ludicrous. I would assert that, contrary to the editorialist’s beliefs, the city has not spent enough. The programs that serve the poor of our country are overwhelmingly underfunded, to the detriment of everyone. Fully funded, well administered services are effective in helping those they serve to reverse the course of their lives. They provide a safety net to keep the disadvantaged from falling even further, give them the resources and skills they need to become fully contributing members of society. What we have today are marginally funded services, administered by professionals stretched beyond their limits due to budget cuts.

I can only assume that this brief response was meant to stir people up and provide ‘click bait’ for the Post, but it does highlight a rather pernicious belief common to our country. That is, specifically, that we are not collectively responsible for the welfare of our nation’s children. Indeed, in an article by Bill Moyers, published on the Salonwebsite, we read that “with the exception of Romania, no developed country has a higher percent of kids in poverty than we do.” Why is this? Why can we not, as a country, agree that investing in our citizens in order that they might become fully contributing members of our society benefits us all? I am at a loss.


I do know that one place we can start is with our public schools. I strongly encourage you to watch this video and consider the points it makes.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf9UVg-TdH0]

Filed under: Poverty, Public Education, Sunday Reflections

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Karen Jensen, MLS

Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2017

Sunday Reflections: There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

by Karen Jensen, MLS

March 2016

Sunday Reflections: Making it Unaffordable to Walk in Someone Else's Shoes, what the death of the mass market paperback means to struggling teens

by Karen Jensen, MLS

January 2015

Sunday Reflections: Impoverished Youth: Over half of public school children now live in low income homes

by Karen Jensen, MLS

July 2014

Sunday Reflections: Not All Educations are Created Equal

by Karen Jensen, MLS

October 2013

Sunday Reflections: Imagining Others Complexly (by Robin)

by Karen Jensen, MLS

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Sydney Taylor Blog Tour: THE TOWER OF LIFE by Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Abecedarian Movement and Dance: A Q&A with Corinna Luyken About ABC and You and Me!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Haley Newsome on Unfamiliar | Interview

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Writing Trans Joy in Spite of Everything, a guest post by Edward Underhill

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

8 YA BookTubers To Watch Right Now

21 Books About Children and their Names

Board Book Evolution: No Longer 'Just for Babies'

Pronouncing Kids’ Names Correctly Matters. Here’s How to Get it Right.

Duke MDs’ Prescription for Schools? Masks, with Enforcement, and Psychological Support for Teachers, Students.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. andrew says

    January 10, 2014 at 1:55 am

    Mainly because the majority of scholarships or grants need appliers to publish a minumum of one composition, it is rather crucial how the composition anyone write speaks towards scholarship grant judges. Not merely must you meet his or her particular conditions, nevertheless, you must also ensure you can find zero punctuational or maybe grammatical glitches.free essay checker

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023