Poverty and absent parents: Confessions of Young Kids

“I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework”

In an effort to get to know her students better, this teacher asked them one simple question: I wish my teacher knew... Their answers will shock you.

Behind all the finger-painting, recess run-arounds and reciting their 2 times tables lies a deeper, much more startling reality for school kids across the globe, as Year Three teacher Kyle Schwartz discovered.

Handing out a questionnaire for her students to fill out at Doull Elementary School in Denever, Colorado, Schwartz was horrified to uncover the social issues, including poverty and absent parents, these children were experiencing at home.

In fact, she was so shocked, she tweeted a series of screenshots of their handwritten notes with the hashtag #WhatIWishMyTeacherKnew to raise awareness for these children in need. Schwartz’s tweets went viral and she has since compiled a book with these notes to better educate teachers, and parents, about how they can help kids in trouble – even if they don’t know they need it.

See below for just a handful of their innocent, yet startling responses. It’s images like this that make us want to embrace our kids even tighter tonight.