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 in at Doull Elementary School in Denever, Colorado, Schwartz was horrified to uncover the secret lives of her class, including poverty and absent parents.
In fact, she was so shocked by what she found, she tweeted a series of screenshots of the kids’ handwritten notes with the hashtag #WhatIWishMyTeacherKnew to raise awareness for these children in need. Schwartz’s tweets quickly 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.
