Poverty: Relationships

Luckily I have been told from the beginning – when I was a first year teacher at a small alternative high school in Portland – that making school work for the truly struggling students is all about relationships.  Ruby Payne confirms this important message.   It’s impossible to have this connection with all students.  Most notably I have connect with those that need that relationship to succeed this year over music.  Being able to answer the question, “What is your favorite punk rock band” and “What is your favorite hip hop group” with appropriate answers has paid off big time.

So I establish this report with a student that usually won’t participate in class.  But I only see him 50 minutes a day.  He fails all his other classes and disappears to some alternative program.  When relationships are so important yet so difficult the odds seem horrible.  I liked this recommendation from Payne:

Schools need to establish schedules and instructional arrangements that allow students to stay with the same teachers for two or more years – if mutually agreed upon.

I have often thought about what I could accomplish if I could have a 2 period block of high risk freshmen students for both math and science.  Unfortunately I don’t see this working with the scheduling logistics of the high school.  Do you have any ideas about how we could implement Payne’s advice at the high school?  How about at your school?