Could you imagine trying to learn in a hot, dusty, classroom while sitting in a broken chair that is too small for your growing body? A welcoming environment is necessary for a productive and joyful classroom, yet, our current resources restrict this from being our reality.
The scholars at our Intermediate School on the Leeward Coast of Oahu face enormous and difficult odds.
In this community, only 5% of adults hold college degrees, and 91% of my seventh graders entered my classroom below grade level. Red dust coats the classrooms, and the same tables and chairs my students are sitting in were around when their grandparents entered the classrooms in 1967. Our school consistently ranks at the bottom of the state lists for Hawai'i, and often when I tell outsiders where I work, they exclaim "You're so brave!".
Yet, in the year and a half that I've worked at this school I've seen the value my students bring, that often go unnoticed. My 170 seventh and eighth grade students are kind, hard-working, and dedicated to their community. Our classroom mantra, "Read Critically, Write Consciously, Speak Clearly, Tell Your Truth" resonates with this generation of socially-conscious young people. They yearn to be part of the change, and are eager to make major growth.
My Project
It is very hard for me as a teacher to iterate to my students that they have value and potential when there are few indicators in their environment, both in school and outside, that reinforce this idea. Though a seemingly trivial part of the classroom, having tables that actually match, that do not have 47 years of graffiti and residue caked on, will help show my students that their learning is valuable. Often, my students exclaim that "No one cares about the west side"- already they have internalized the seeming neglect of our community. I would love to be able to tell them that someone has seen our need, and has stepped in to help. Especially as we enter a new unit where we explore global injustices, and our agency to enact change, I believe they will be inspired that strangers cared enough about their education to donate to our classroom.
This project will vastly improve the learning environment of our classroom.
Scholars will be able to collaborate on projects in a space that is welcoming and pristine. There will be enough chairs and tables for the larger 34+ student-classes. Scholars will no longer need to be self-conscious of their developing bodies that often are uncomfortable and do not fit in the small, broken, chairs we've inherited. I have full faith that this project will give my scholars joy in the classroom.
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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 Ms. Owens and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.