a publication of the episcopal diocese of rochester, ny

A while ago, Bob’s son was staying with his motherand his asthma flared up badly. He ended up in anemergency room. Neither Bob nor his son’s motherhad health insurance, and their son’s medical carewas not covered by any government-funded plan.Suddenly Bob was responsible for a few thousanddollars in medical bills. And he couldn’t hope to payfor them. So he didn’t.Now the state is involved and Bob’s wages are garnishedto collect on the debt he owes. On a goodweek, Bob earns about $220 before taxes. Thosewages are garnished so deeply he cannot afford tolive on the pennies of his paycheck that are leftover,nor can he afford to provide basic care, let alonea stable home life for his young daughter. So hechanges jobs. He works for two to three months untilthe debt collectors find him again, and his after-garnishmenttake-home pay leaves him with too little tolive on again. And then he changes jobs again.Bob spoke up at the meeting and told his story becausehe very much wants to provide a stable homelife for his young daughter in particular, and he isdeeply frustrated that he cannot. He is not working toensure that her future is better than his, because heis not able to look that far ahead. He is too caught upin how very uncertain life is for him and his childrenright now. If he could afford to stay at one job longenough, Bob could build on his skill set, and increasehis earning power. An untimely hospitalization, however,has robbed him of that opportunity and he doesnot know how to go forward, for himself or for hischildren.I listened a week or so ago, to a father out for breakfastwith his two young children one Sunday morning.The oldest was about 4 years old, and she wasasking her father how to spell “mommy.” He encouragedher to use the sound of the word to figure outwhat letter starts it, what letters are in the middle,and what letter is at the end, and she did. When shesaid “Mommy sounds like Molly,” he helped her determinewhat letter changes are necessary to makethe L sound. All while waiting for cheese omelettes.Chances are if you are a parent, you have encouragedyour children’s curiosity about letter soundsand word spellings in a similar fashion.*Name has been changed for this account.Poverty is a pernicious disease. It cripples more thanjust the economics of a family. Like fine sand in a windstorm, it gets into every crack and crevice of a family’slife, affecting even their ability to believe that educationcan improve their lives. The children in impoverishedneighborhoods for the most part do not receivethe educational support at home that children of lesseconomically oppressed parents provide.School #9 is a pre-Kindergarten through 6th gradeschool. With a Hispanic population of 60 percent, it isthe largest bilingual elementary school in the RochesterCity School District. 38 percent of the remainder of thestudents are African-American, 2 percent are white.97 percent live below the poverty line. According to2008/2009 NYS Department of Education statistics,the percentage of 3rd grade students meeting learningstandards or higher in ELA is 41 percent; in 4th grade,37 percent.The Adopt-a-Classroom program is primarily a literacyintervention program for the students at School #9. Wecannot hope to eradicate the poverty that impedes thestudents’ learning, but we hope to teach as many aswe are able that they have value, and that educationcan improve their lives. It is a Sisyphean task, and yetit is deeply rewarding. Thank you for your continuedsupport of the St. Paul’s Adopt-a-Classroom program atSchool #9. To learn how you can do more, please contactme: 585-354-1703 or pattiblaine@gmail.com.Patti Blaine, City School Outreach CoordinatorSt. Paul’s Episcopal Church19