Every once in a while you hear about an exceptional homeless or temporarily sheltered child who manages to get into a prestigious college or has the benefit of a scholarship. We are lead to believe that it just takes willingness, rather than the right environment.
UNFORTUNATELY, these exceptions are NEWS, when the NEWS ought to be just how difficult it is for a homeless child to participate and compete in the classroom where his or her peers are children who go home every evening to a real bed, a heated or air conditioned room, regular nutritious meals, and so on. Their teachers may or may not know they are homeless, may or may not be able to compensate, may or may not care. Teaching too can be "just a job."
Homeless children also tend to go to many schools and to drop out early.
Today in some cities it is teacher's themselves who are on wait lists for LOW INCOME HOUSING!
Homeless children may have parents who love them, but they may not have money for books and school supplies, or money for clothing and shoes that doesn't come out of a rag bag, and they suffer for not having comfortable chairs and tables, light, and the quietude necessary to study. THE ONLY SOLUTION IS HOUSING.
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