This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
There are no funds for class copies of books this year. Help my class delve into issues of identity, self-esteem, and race by donating a class set of Sharon Flake's complex, personal, and inspirational novel The Skin I'm In.
My students are from a small town.
In small towns, people tend to talk. A lot. Especially in high school, it can become easy to lose perspective on why people say and do the things they do. I think this book would be a great way to show them that at the end of the day there is only on person you have to please and live with: yourself.
My Project
My kids deal with many of the issues that this book raises including skin tone, bullying, and abuse (both physical and verbal). The biases we have and the reasons for the choices we make are often hard to identify. This book puts those ideas into easily understood terms that will help start a conversation among my students that will last all year.
Although my students have come a long way already -- past negative experiences with literacy still hinder some of my students' ability to move forward.
Many have yet to find lasting joy in reading. This year I've dedicated myself to creating teaching units that analyze high-interest material that teens can relate to. There's nothing that lights a fire in my students more than when they draw a connection between what they are reading and their own lives.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. O'Neill and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.