The US Department of Commerce shows that 4,496,000 people, both men and women, were married in 2009. Now, while these people married, 2,319,000 married couples divorced (US Census Bureau 132). This makes our divorce rate in the United States 51.5%. Among couples in the process of divorcing, Beverly Willet, lawyer and writer for the New York Times, states that one million children will be affected every year. Huge numbers like this demonstrate that it is necessary for those who are with these children most of the time to know the effects that can and do occur on their development. Considering the amount of time students spend in school, teachers are with these children as much if not more than their parents. These teachers need to be trained to know how to deal with the divorce aspect in relation to the actions that happen in their classrooms. Most problems affecting children from broken families involve school in one way or another, for example the high school dropout rate is three times higher than for students from single families according to Zimilies & Lee 1991 (qtd. in "The Effects on Academics of Children from Divorced Families"). So, in advance, all teachers should be required to take extra courses in college, such as additional psychology courses and developmental courses to have better credentials to work with children from broken homes in order to give each child the tools and skills they need to succeed better in all areas of life. There was once a time when divorce was unheard of History.com the first legal record of a divorce in the United States dates back to January 5, 1643 between Anne and Denis Clarke Anne had to ask the c...... middle of paper ......ela A. and Gail G. Smith. "Easing the Pain of Divorce Through Children's Literature." Journal of Early Childhood Education 26.2 (1999): 89-94. ERIC. Network. April 25, 2013. Spengler. “Helping Children Adjust to Divorce: A Guide for Teachers” MR “The Effects on Academics of Children Who Come from Divorced Families.” Yahoo.com. Yahoo! and Web. April 22, 2013. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-effects-academics-children-come-from-41189.html?cat=25St. Chiara, Jessica. “The Effects of Divorce on Children and Education.” DivorceWizards.com. DivorceWizards.com, ndWeb. April 22, 2013. http://www.divorcewizards.com/The-effects-of-Divorce-on-Children-and-Education.htmlU.S. Census Bureau. “People who married and divorced in the last 12 months by State: 2009.” Graphic. U.S. Department of Commerce, February 25, 2013. Web. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0132.pdf