You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

Ms. Pustell from Oakland CA is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

Humanity, Empathy, Internalized Racism & The Bluest Eye

My students need 65 copies of "The Bluest Eye", as the school only has 40 available, for a very powerful and important unit on humanity, empathy, and internalized racism.

  • $901 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

The beauty of literature is how it has the power to show us the world around us and reveal to us profound truths. "The Bluest Eye" is a beautiful, powerful, and popular text at my school, but we cannot afford enough copies for my students, who would be so moved by this book.

My students are brilliant!

I teach a very diverse group of 10th graders in one of the most under-funded, high-need districts in California. They represent a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and they crave materials that will engage their intelligence and curiosity, but also materials with which they can identify. They are critical thinkers and are keenly aware of the injustices that they face daily and the numerous ways their schools are failing them and their community. We draw from the entire city, so we have students who have experienced the worst of racism and poverty as well as students who live comfortable, affluent lives. They are learning to understand each other and find their commonalities.

My Project

"The Bluest Eye" is a deeply moving novel that will get my students thinking about the idea of internalized racism and the subtle messages of our culture. Many students often feel that they aren't represented in what we read; Toni Morrison's work is inspiring and important for all races, while bringing a unique African-American voice to the curriculum. We will be able to utilize some documentaries and non-fiction texts that I have on hand, students will make their own creative identity projects to help them find their voices, and we will work with the text in the kind of in-depth analysis that students need to excel with the new Common Core standards and in their future college careers. There are many rich resources for "The Bluest Eye" and it was one of the most popular units in the 10th grade curriculum last year, but we do not have enough books for all my students to read this valuable text.

This project will give many students a voice, and it will help give words to experiences that they see or feel every day living in an underprivileged urban community.

It will help build bridges between races and classes in the classroom. Furthermore, it will inspire them with the passion that is beautiful, moving literature.

Ms. Pustell
Grades 9-12

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Pustell is requesting.

See our finances

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
Bluest Eye • AKJ Books $10.22 65 $664.30

Materials cost

$664.30

Vendor shipping charges

FREE

Sales tax

$60.78

3rd party payment processing fee

$9.96

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$765.04

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$135.01

Total project goal

$900.05

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$900.05

13 Donors

-$535.75

Donations toward project cost

-$462.89

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$72.86

match offer

-$355.47

Match offer toward project cost

-$302.15

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$53.32

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$8.83

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

Support a teacher
near you!

Explore a map with requests from teachers across the country.

View map of requests

Project Activity

{"pmaHash":"","schoolCity":"Oakland","showProjectRecommendations":true,"teachersOnPage":[1727249],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"CA","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":4,"name":"High School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"proposalId":951264,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/humanity-empathy-internalized-racism-/951264/","verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":110,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Pustell","isEquityFocus":true,"authorIds":{"1727249":{"owner":"Ms. Pustell","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[951264],"proposalHash":"1219578791","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/136/teacher-placeholder-5_136.png","teacherHasProfilePhoto":false,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":276994,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["MTcyOTY1Ng==","MTcyOTc3MA==","MTcyOTY3Ng==","MTcyOTY4Mw==","MTcyOTY0Nw==","MTcyOTcwNA==","MTcyOTY3NQ==","MTcyOTc2MA==","MTcyOTY4MA==","MTY0MjQ0Mg==","MTcyOTgyNA==","MTcyOTY1OA==","MTcyOTc2Ng==","MTcyOTg1Mg=="],"teacherId":1727249,"schoolCounty":"Alameda","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"CA","name":"California"}}