I teach a class called Jobs for Arizona's Graduates at a low income, credit recovery high school in Tempe, Arizona. Every day my goal is to provide these 11th and 12th grades experiences that will help them in the real world. We work to have them ready for possible careers and/or post secondary education.
Most of my students come from very low income families in which education isn't always valued.
Many of my students work to help support their families and some of them have children of their own.
Students come to our school as credit recovery, to get back on track for graduation; if they had a child and need support, or need a smaller classroom size.
Most of my students have not had the experiences that most students their age have had the luxury of having.
The majority of them have not been out of the state of Arizona or more than 50 miles from home, never been on an airplane, and never seen the ocean or snow. My goal is to show these students that the world is at their fingertips and there are adventures in our own city.
I believe that once they start to experience the world around them they will continue to grow, appreciating their education and where it can take them, as well as see career opportunities outside of those they see everyday.
My Project
This project is for a field trip for forty students in my program. I want to take these students to the local lake for a two hour kayaking lesson. I believe that doing activities like this promote team building skills that can't be taught in a classroom. These are skills that these 11th and 12th grade students will use for the rest of their lives as they prepare to enter the workforce.
In my class I teach employability skills, the importance of community service, fundraising skills, and team building skills. This field trip is a great way for my students to learn team building skills.
Kayaking is far outside my students' comfort level, but they are excited about the possibility.
Once you have learned the art of stepping outside your comfort zone, you have learned the lesson of taking chances.
I strongly believe that giving students the opportunity to step into nature and be outside of the classroom offers the greatest learning opportunities
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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 Mrs. Manning and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.