 Every day children walk into their classrooms and are placed at an automatic disadvantage due to their home life. There 

The lack of consideration of divorce and socioeconomic effects on children by parents and teachers has created blame on children at the academic stand point for circumstances out of their control. 

When people talk about the low academic achievement level of children fingers are often pointed at the teachers and the child, but not often enough are people looking at what the child goes home to. There are many different circumstances in which a child can be found in at home around the U.S.; socioeconomic status and divorce being two of them. These two family situations are not proven to be in the most influential on children's academics, but they are two very common family realities to many Americans. In fact, fifteen percent of all Americans were at the poverty level in 2014 and twenty-two percent of the child population was at the poverty level as well (Feeding America). When looking at divorce rates, forty to fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce (Divorce Statistics). It is within these numbers that should raise concern amongst Americans, while instead it has become the new normal. Because of this new normalcy, children in these situations are overlooked. People involved no longer check to see that the child is okay; it is assumed.

The effects of divorce and poverty from a child's home life are not always seen from the outside, which makes it difficult for the child's teachers and parents to see that something is going on. Children are not just growing physically as they get older but they are growing socially, emotionally, spiritually, and morally as well. Each of these in which are molded by the surroundings that the child is placed upon. Children often look at their parents for guidance, and in circumstances such as these the parents may not be as active with the child as the child needs, or they could act in a way in which they did not act before life came into effect. Sudden changes in the child's life could ultimately cause the child to act and think differently than the child did before, but as previously stated this is not always an outward change in the child's appearance. The child's cry for help can often be hidden in their school assignments, the way they socialize with their peers, and their interest in basically everything. These are things that could be found before their home life begins to affect the way the child performs in school, or at least before it makes a lasting mark on the child's future education. It is also good to understand where the root of these problems may come from and how each can affect the child. 

Poverty is a factor that effects millions worldwide and it happens just as much right in our own neighborhoods. Families everywhere, whether intentional or not, are living off of food stamps and their families and friends trying to make it by. Many people feel bad for people in this situation, especially the children, but do nothing about it. One major problem with this is that children of low income families typically do not grow out of this financial instability as they grow older because they seem to struggle in school or are not provided with what they need for school to do well. This is not because the children do not have the potential to succeed academically, but they just are not given the opportunity to. Things like hunger and sleep deprivation have become the things that consume the children's minds rather than only having to worry about the lesson that the teacher has planned for that day. Not only does society not recognize this as a problem as a whole, but they do not even realize what kids are really going through this. There are also groups of people that believe the children have no potential, so there is no point in really spending time and money on them. 

Many studies have proven the connection between childhood poverty and academic success. One study by Eric Jenson explained how he separated the children at a school by free and reduced lunch from the children who were not given discounted meals and looked at the classroom engagement that way. With his year-long study he discovered that there is a difference between the kids that need financial help in day to day life and the kids who do not necessarily need help, at least from the school meal aspect of it. There were seven specific differences that Jenson pointed out between the two groups, some of which being cognition, growth-mindset, and effort. The children with the financial help seemed to lag more and more as he went through the students (Jenson 2013). 

One other discrepancy between different home factors and academic success was the presence of divorce. It is a common thought through society that a divorce is between the marriage and should not and does not affect the children. After all it is not their marriage. What people do not realize is that divorces are often harder on the kids than the parents. Custody battles, parents leaving, and the arguing are all factors of a divorce that kids are directly involved in. With the separation of households many times parents have to work more in order to compensate for the lack of their spouse's income. Working more often leads to less time with kids. In these cases, kids often feel abandoned or they just feel as if they are not receiving the attention they need at home so they cause trouble at school in hopes that getting in trouble will force their parent to pay attention to them, good or bad. Also, parents no longer have time to help with homework at night or they no longer ask how the child is doing in school and so the child loses interest. More times than not the child just wants and needs to feel loved and cared for, and with family arguments and more time away they do not get that.

Christine Kim, an expert in public policy, actually did a study on the impact of how a child's home life can affect their education. Her argument was focused mainly around the difference between kids in homes with two parental figures, versus homes with single parents. In her research she found that the kids in homes with two parents often scored higher in school married parents that really makes the difference, but it is the stability and time spent with the children that makes the difference. 
