Episode 88: From Teacher to Parent: Fictive Kin in Foster Care
The Forgotten Podcast
The Forgotten Initiative
4.9 • 532 Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2020
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As I walk this parenting journey, I grow more and more thankful for teachers who lean into my kids. The student-teacher relationship can be a sweet one. For some students, teachers may be their only trusted adult. Needless to say, the impact of a caring teacher has the potential to be huge. My guest, Amanda Van Allen, is one of those teachers that loves her students in big ways. So, when she saw not only one student’s educational needs, but a greater need as it related to family, she knew her own family could do more to care for this student. Today, we’re talking about jumping into the role of fictive kin—taking on the characteristics of a family relationship for a child in the foster care system. It’s a role that more teachers are being asked to consider, and Amanda had some incredible insights about what she learned from going from teacher to parent in a matter of days.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Meeting you right where you are on your foster care journey, this is The Forgotten Podcast. |
| 0:08.8 | That was probably the biggest eye-opener for us, is that was her mentality was you either get someone or they're going to get you. |
| 0:17.5 | And so play the game. Otherwise, you're going to not survive. |
| 0:26.2 | Hey, it's Jamie Cave. Welcome back to the Forgotten podcast. If you are part of the foster |
| 0:31.5 | care community, passionate about serving, or simply interested in learning more, today's |
| 0:36.6 | conversation with my guest Amanda Van Allen is for |
| 0:39.8 | you. As I walk this parenting journey, I grow more and more thankful for the teachers who invest in my |
| 0:46.9 | kids. The impact of a caring teacher has the potential to be huge, to be life changing. Amanda is one of those teachers that loves her students, |
| 0:57.4 | including one of my children, in big ways, so big that when she saw one of her students was |
| 1:02.9 | struggling due to concerns related to her care, she knew she had to jump in to do more. |
| 1:08.4 | She jumped into the role of parent, or more specifically, as a |
| 1:12.7 | fictive kin placement in the foster care system. She took on the characteristics of a parent |
| 1:18.8 | when this student needed her to be more than a teacher. This new role had his ups and its downs, |
| 1:24.6 | and I am so thankful. Amanda was willing to share it with us so that we could learn |
| 1:29.3 | more about what it's like to be a fictive kin. Before we head to the interview, know that you can find |
| 1:34.7 | links to connect with Amanda, helpful resources, my takeaways from today's show, and all our past |
| 1:40.4 | episodes at the forgottenpodcast.org. While you're there, I invite you to sign up to |
| 1:45.9 | receive weekly encouragement and updates. This includes things like new blog posts, podcast show notes, |
| 1:52.0 | and free resources from us. Sign up for your weekly encouragement at the forgottenpodcast.org. |
| 1:58.5 | And I would love it if you would share today's episode with your people and tag us on |
| 2:03.4 | Facebook and Instagram when you do. All right, let's go now to my conversation with Amanda. |
| 2:15.4 | Amanda, I am so happy that you are on today's show with me. I want you to know how much I value |
... |
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