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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, November 12, 1991
YEARBOOK LAST CHANCE! PORTRAITS
For those of you that missed the first portrait session, the Jayhawker has brought back the portrait photographer UNTIL Nov.22 ONLY!
This will be your last chance to get your photo in KU's official yearbook. Don't miss out!
Come to the Strong Hall Rontunda at any time during the following hours. You do not need an appointment
Dates: Nov.11-15 and 18-22
Times: Mon., Wed., Thurs.,
& Fri.: 9:00 - noon; 1:00-5:00
Tues.: 1:00-5:00; 6:00-9:00
Sittingfee: Seniors: $4 (8 poses)
Sittingree: Seniors: $4(8 poses) Underclasses: $2(4 poses) The sitting fee is waived if you purchase or have purchased your copy of the 1992 Jayhawker for $25.
DO NOT PUT IT OFF UNTIL THE LAST DAY UNLESS YOU WANT TO WAIT IN LINE!
1992
JAYHAWKER
IT'S YOUR
YEARBOOK
DON'T BE
LEFT OUT!
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
LIBERTY HALL 642 MASSACHUSETTS LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Homeless
in their way and who made her feel unwanted.
Continued from Page 1
Parents also tend to place pressures on children like Mary, affecting their outlook on life and in turn affecting their school in school. Schavez Martinez said.
One night while Mary was sitting in the shelter with Schavez-Martinez, Mary's father came in, angry at Mary not for going to bed at 9 p.m.
He told her that if she did not obey him, he would lose his job, they would live on the streets and Mary eventually would be put in a foster home.
"She looked at me and she said,
'Jeannie, I can't sleep at night,'"
Schavez-Martinez said.
"And whochou? You?are 7yearold, and your daddy's gone, you're in this big, old house where alone God knows what noise is coming on, and she has a brother that is going,
The emotional trauma suffered by Mary and other children with no permanent place to live can have a damaging affect on their education.
Schaevz-Martinez said the suffering that homeless children endured led them to angry and frustrated lives.
"You are stressed and you have no self-esteem," Schavez-Martinez said.
Taylor said homeless children tended to be the children who got into more trouble at school, possibly as a result of distractions and anger they kept inside.
Although these children sometimes take out their frustrations at school, Taylor and Schavez-Martinez agree to attend school to view them as a home.
Rorick said the little boy in her elementary class viewed school as the most constant aspect in his life, even though he changed schools frequently.
"School was very important to him because it offered security," she said. "The same people are always there and the children know they are not going to leave."
About 90 percent of the time, the boy she taught came to school early and left as late as possible, she said.
"He would have stayed at school if he had the opportunity," Rorick said. "He had no other place to go except the shelter."
Taylor said part of helping homeless children improve their outlook was to let them know that someone cares and that there was a place for them to go.
"I don't think you intentionally say to them that they don't have a stable environment, so they should come to school where there is one," Taylor said.
"But what we try to do is establish a learning and caring environment where they know they are appreciated."
But that is all the educational system can do to help.
Once the children are gone, teachers can only hope that if the children continue their education, they will be in a school district where someone will continue to help them develop a positive attitude in a world that seems so
Homeless children in Lawrence
Below is a breakdown of the number of homeless children in Lawrence by grade level. The total number of homeless children is 91.
Kindergarten-6th grade 78
7th-9th grade 6
10th-12th grade 7
Source: Lawrence USA 497 data
Source: Lawrence USS 497 data
Melissa Unterberg / KANSAN
harsh.
Social Skills
Like many homeless children, Mary learned at a young age what it was like to spend most of her time alone.
Unable to sleep through the night,
Mary would stay up, wandering the
dark, two-story shelter before walking
schools to school the next morning
ripple.
In fact, Schavez-Martinez said, Mary did not have any friends at school.
During the time Schavez-Martinez knew Mary, she said the young girl never left school with any friends and lived with many friends back to the shelter with her.
And at the end of the day, Mary would walk back to the shelter alone.
The only social contacts Mary had were with Shavez-Martinez and the other men living in the safe house.
Rorick said homeless children tended to have a more difficult time making friends.
Lack of interaction with children their own age tends to have a profound effect on the lives of homeless children, Schaver-Martinez said.
"One week before my student left, another little boy finally asked him to come stay at his house," she said. "He was so excited because he finally had a friend, and then he had to move. It was heartbreaking."
Schaeve-Martinez said the problem of homeless children in the educational system could not be solved easily.
"It's a combination of things," she said. "It isn't just getting an education. They have to be able to have a house, and they have to be able to have food and medical care. They have to all of the things they need."
Schavez-Martinez's time with Mary ended the day after Mary told her that she could not sleep at night.
The news from the man at the door made her turn away in tears.
The next night, Schavez-Martinez walked up to the safehouse shelter to visit the little girl she had grown to care about so deeply.
Schavez Martinez will never know if Mary will complete her education and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.
Like other homeless children, Mary was gone.
!