The hidden handicap
The Hidden Handicap From California to New York City, the problem lies no matter where you are. As much as we try to say its not that bad, underprivileged children live and attend schools all over the United States. Sure all kids are the same. They all like to run in fields and pretend they can fly, they all like to lay in the grass and look up into the sky to see images of horses and dogs float by in the fluffy heavens. However I am sure that they do not all enjoy coming to school with yesterdays clothes on or knowing that their Mother has never said ¡§I love you¡¨. Reasons Why In the greatest nation known, ¡§nearly 70 percent of inner-city and rural fourth graders cannot read even at a basic level¡¨ (¡§Learning to Teach For America¡¨). According to The Children¡¦s Defense Fund, homelessness is also increasing, so it is a given that there is a rise in underprivileged children (¡§Homeless Children: Addressing the Challenge in Rural Schools¡¨). So why has this become such a problem? There are many overwhelming statistics that go to support just exactly why. Over the last several years there has been a significant rise in teenage pregnancy. This is no where near the only cause of the problem but when an unprepared teenager becomes a mother, many of the needs that are required to raise a child are lost in the midst of such chaos. Another reason lies in the fact that 1.3 billion people survive on or less than a dollar a day (¡§Guide to Education¡¨). As a result children who are raised in a household with this income are faced with the fact that they can not get and do the things that other children may be able to do. The Children¡¦s Defense Fund also listed 25 key facts about American Children. In this may help you see exactly why poverty has become such an issue. „h 1 in 2 will live in a single parent family at some point in childhood „h 1 in 3 is born to unmarried parents. „h 1 in 4 lives with only one parent „h 1 in 24 lives with neither parent „h 1 in 5 has a foreign-born mother „h 1 in 6 is poor now „h 1 in 8 lives in a family receiving food stamps „h 1 in 60 sees their parents divorce in any year „h 1 in 5 is born to a mother who did not graduate from high school „h 1 in 8 is born to a teenage mother „h 1 in 1,056 will be killed by guns before age 20 (25 Key facts About American Children).