Dream Come True

My Students

Replicating Shark Tank - My students want the American Dream, but have no idea where to start, and are just beginning to realize what is really important to them. We believe that hard work pays off and that earning something is often better than being given something.

Many of my leaners are still working on foundational skills like learning to read, and how to understand numbers in real world situations.

Learning does not come easily to them but they continue to plug away, and in our room hard work is praised and rewarded with things other than grades. Most of my students come from high poverty homes, and several are categorized as homeless. They have taught me something this year about material goods - particularly that trinkets and prizes as possessions are meaningless, and even a burden, when you have to move into and out of a warming shelter each morning and evening. Our classroom management is centered around a classroom token economy. Students have a daily point sheet, wherein they earn rewards for being safe, respectful and responsible each half hour. The more points they accrue, the bigger rewards they can buy in our store each Wednesday. "Prizes" have been donated - but by far the most popular items are experiences, not things.

My Project

For next year, I have asked my “customers” to become the store vendors – to suggest new Dream Experiences or useful items to stock our store. Their ideas were amazing! They included gift certificates for a week of sitting on a Kore wobble stool during group, taking an iPad to their mainstream class to use as a learning tool for a day, a “fancy lunch” with 3 friends and the teacher as waitress, a scrapbooking afternoon with our instructional assistants, and custom “Spirit Gear” items created using a vinyl cutter. In the fall we will have a "Shark Tank" project, based on the popular TV show. Student teams will write business proposals and pitch their ideas to teacher "investors" and peer “customers.” This will provide an authentic forum for persuasive writing practice. All participating students will then be awarded the supplies needed to start and run their businesses.

I love when my students surprise me by being more motivated to work toward earning an authentic and special experience than they are by physical trinkets.

They are often more savvy than me when it comes to what is important! It's my responsibility to help realize their dreams by teaching reading and math, plus 21st century skills like entrepreneurship, creativity, and collaboration. Please help make this dream come true in my classroom! My students need rich experiences - not stuff!