Adoption and Fostering: The impacts on a child’s education.

Elizabeth and I went to meet up with one of her past students, Matt, in order to get him on video admitting he was in pure awe for the way in which Elizabeth works, and how her advice has shaped his career, which Elizabeth loved to listen to! We took a walk around a few coffee shops, and drank way too many coffees in the process. We finally arrived at Hot Java, Long Beach, which was quiet enough and also had enough light for filming. Hot Java, if I may add, for all the coffee lovers out there, the coffee was truly fantastic.  I do fancy myself something of a coffee connoisseur.

It was the first time I had met Matt, but I instantly liked him (not something I could say for all of Elizabeth friends). Matt was very easy to talk, and very interesting too; Matt has been working as a counselor, a job he is extremely passionate about. Matt began telling us that he is working towards his Ph.d, then all of a sudden, his face lit up and he told us how he is in the process of adopting a little baby girl and boy soon.  The process and experience of adoption is something which I have always been interested in. I love to hear stories from parents who have adopted, there is something so fascinating and so touching about it.

Over our 20^th cup of coffee Matt was sharing his thoughts the how many children are denied the right to an education, or they experience such a traumatic and disrupted childhood, that a quality education can be overlooked. In fact 67 million children of primary school age worldwide do not go to school (UNESO). Matt was giving us insight into the common barriers to a successful education for foster children: More than half of all children in foster care suffer from serious health problems, developmental delays and other disabilities that can compromise their educational growth.  Lack of continuity of educational services, and lack of parental participation in their school lives are all challenges that foster children face through their school years. It is reported that every 26 seconds in the US a high school student drops out of school and over 900 million people worldwide are unable to read or write. Matt had a look of desperation on his face as these statistics were spluttered from his mouth. By the time he departed, he left us with an air of excitement and honor. He was honored by the fact he was able to take on these children as his own, to give them the opportunities and education which they by law, have a right to.

Global Illiteracy drives extreme poverty, undermines democracy and fuels terrorism. The source of this global problem is intertwined within the structure and attitude of modern society. Something that will take time to fix but for now, lets be grateful that there are people like Matt in the world, who genuinely wants the best for humanity and society as a whole. 

Amber Williams
www.bearlainternationalstudies.com