They Cage the Animals at Night

They Cage the Animals at Night

By Jennings Michael

Burch

Presented by

Mallory Pigg

April 22, 2013

He is 8 years old and he is the 5th of 6 children

In the one year he was in

foster care he was put in

three different schools.

sensitive, kind, thoughtful, caring, polite, and courageous.

He was like a father to Jennings and his brother.

Sickly, suffered neck and back injuries. A loving, kind mother.

- While in foster care, Jennings got really behind in school so he had to retake the 2nd Grade

Jennings was physically and

emotionally abused. He felt

that he was being treated like

a caged animal.

"Being removed from their home and placed in foster care is a difficult and stressful experience for any child."

“ Many of these children have suffered some form of serious abuse or neglect".

"About 30% of children in foster care have severe emotional, behavioral, or developmental problems. Physical health problems are also common.”

What we could do is have students who are doing well in the class, give their time and reach out to students who are failing. They can find out what is keeping them from learning and help them find solutions to their problem(s).

Sometimes students are more comfortable talking to other students rather than their teachers.

The End

He left when Jennings was a little boy.

The Main Characters

- The main character is Jennings Burch

- Sal, the bus driver

- Rita Burch, Jennings' mother

The Conflict

Jennings' father was an alcoholic and left the family when Jennings was little. His mother had to care for the six sons. She was always sick so she had to send her children to foster homes. Living in foster homes was a traumatic experience for Jennings. He was beaten, abused, and starved at two of the five orphanages and foster homes. In the end, Sal took care of Jennings and his family.

Cultural Competency

". . . if we can’t understand, communicate with and effectively interact with all of our students, we are not going to be able to teach all of them effectively” - Dr. Heath Morrison, CMS Superintendent

During Jenning's time in foster care, he missed a large amount of school and he also was transferred to many different schools. He had to retake the 2nd grade. The teachers and adults in his young life didn’t understand his situation and were cruel to him. His family issues made it harder to learn.

Mrs. Maura Mackinnon

Honors English 1

Block 1

Statistics and Data

- North Carolina Child Protective Services found that there are 2,062 children in need of foster care in Mecklenburg county alone

- Out of this number, 738 have suffered some type of abuse

- In the state of North Carolina, the department found 24,597 children in need of services. (“NC DSS 2006 Statistics”)

How can you help?

Works Cited

Burch, Jennings Michael. "They Cage the Animals at Night" New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1984.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Publication No. 64; May 2005 Foster Care.

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/foster_care

North Carolina CHILD WELFARE CENTRAL REGISTRY STATISTICS http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dss/stats/cr.htm

Morrison, Heath. "Cultural Competency and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools" 11 Feb 2013

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/News/Pages/AmessagefromSuperintendentMorrisonaboutculturalcompetency.aspx

The Issue

-The issue in the book is that Jennings had to go to foster homes because his mother was sick all the time.

- Students in foster care struggle in school for a variety of reasons. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry stated . . .