Rugters
University in New Jersey has an Extension Division program that conducts
workshops for grandparents raising and educating children. If that fact seems surprising to
you then you should know that according to a study conducted by the US Census
Bureau, there are approximately 2.8 million children who are currently under the care and supervision of their grandparents. In a few cases there are even great-
grandparents raising children, two generations removed from their own.
There
are multiple causes for the societal breakdown and the blame cannot be easily
placed on one group. In some cases parents are deceased or are incarcerated. In
other situations, the parents may have deserted or abandoned their children for
financial or other reasons. In other
circumstances , parents are in the military and have been deployed to overseas
locations for extended periods of time.
Whatever
the reason, classroom teachers must be sensitive to the needs of students
living under these conditions. They need to take the time and patience to
explain to grandparents the essence of the curriculum and you expectations in
the classroom. They are many
grandparents out there who are not
computer literate and thus find it difficult to help children with assignments
that they cannot comprehend technologically. Teachers need to be sensitive and
compassionate when dealing with grandparents and make every effort to be as
accessible and resourceful as possible .As always you comments and suggestions are welcome.
c.2013 J. Margolis
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