While searching for an article this week on the New York Times website I came across an article that really interested me because this last anniversary of 9/11 I realized my students weren’t even born yet. We have been at war for a number of years now and for some of our students have had it apart of their entire life. The article I read discussed the emotional problems that are being seen in students due to parents or family members being deployed to war. Before I continue think of your own life, do you know someone who has been deployed or maybe is right now? Without thinking more than ten seconds I can think of four people that I know who have fought in Iraq. Two of the four have a wife and young children. Now that you have those people on your mind, how did you/do you feel when they are leaving or gone? How is life when they return, did it return to normal? I’m sure you don’t have the most pleasant thoughts in your mind right now but can you imagine being a child or teenager with these thoughts? That is a very adult situation to deal with.
A recent study interviewed 1,500 children ranging from the ages of 11 and 17. Of those interviewed, 95% of the deployments were 11 months long. The researcher shared that students are missing school functions, feeling alone with no one they feel understanding their problem and having large responsibility at home which can affect their academics. I can’t imagine what these students are going through. I have also heard of some families having difficulties adjusting to life after deployment which will most likely affect a child as well. For many cases they get life back to normal and the soldier is called back up to duty and the icky cycle starts again. I have personally not had any students who have had military parents/family members so I have not had to help these students but that can change any day. Have you had any students from military families? Our school has a great support system and our counselor is always willing to meet with students individually or with small groups but I wonder if that would be enough. I would love to hear what schools have done or your experiences.
In the article it stated that students who live on a military base do better during deployment and they assume this is due to the support on a military base. They provide more services for military families. I would also assume that students on military bases are also more used to the military life because they live in it. I have friends who have lived and worked on a military base in Alaska and they said the schools are a little different. All students are familiar with military life and have more experience with deployment situations. Has anyone working on a military base? Do the schools there do anything extra to help these students?
Why restructure? Does it really do anything?
15 years ago
That is crazy to think that there are kids in school who weren't born when 9/11 happened (it just seems like yesterday to me still). What is really interesting is that the kids who were born in the early nineties, for the most part, have no clue about any specifics on 9/11 and only know that terrorists blew a couple of buildings up. Anyways, what an outstanding article. I listened to a similar story on NPR a couple of weeks ago and they had a family counseling expert on to discuss the problems that children and spouses face when mom or dad are gone for months at a time. He said that unless the remaining parent is strong and will keep to the same household rules that were in place when the other parent was there, patterns of negative behaviors can begin and can quickly spiral out of control. Without the support of another parent in the house the remaining parent usually has a difficult time upholding discipline and often become more lax in rules, causing the same home behavior to permeate school walls. Interesting take on things. Good topic.
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Trista,
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of Navy people here in my area. We're at a Naval Air Station and people are deployed for more like 6 months, but I know that, too, can take a toll on kids and families. The other branches of the military seem to deploy for much longer and include much more taxing work from what I've gathered from my Navy friends.
It's really sad we have so many military families having to cope with these issues. They also have to deal with more divorce and infidelity than the average person. Kids are having to carry heavy burdens all around because of it. I hope more people give support to our military and realize the deep sacrifices they make personally for the protection of democracy and our freedoms and protection all over the world. It's a huge deal and few are called and capable of such sacrifice.
Thanks for the blog. Good one.
Randy B.