"The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated but to make complicated things simple." – S. Gudder.
This quote strikes a chord with me because, as a teacher, it is my job to help simplify the complicated things in life for my students. I am a math teacher to a group of alternative school students who face adversity and struggle through their daily lives. It is my job to help them learn to simplify their lives and help return them to the path of success.
I work at an alternative high school, which means that I get students who are struggling with emotional issues of some kind, be it due to a bad home life, trouble with their peers, anger management issues, etc.
My students generally come from low-income families, and they are a diverse mix of students (approximately 33% White, 33% Black, 33% Hispanic and 1% Other).
My students need graphing calculators and batteries. Students are assigned to my school for a minimum of 30-45 days, with some staying as long as a semester or the entire year. Because of that, I end up having about 100 students pass through my class in a school year.
It is the mission of our school to help these students learn the skills necessary to be successful in life. It is my belief that every student wants to, and can, learn when treated with the caring and respect that they deserve. I aim to provide that type of stable, respectful, and caring environment that these students need in order to learn.
My Project
Research shows that graphing calculators are an integral part of teaching students good math skills. According to The Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International:
"Developmental math instruction must address particular needs of students, a majority of whom had failed in a more traditional curriculum because they lack motivation and interest in math or even have math anxiety. " (Armington, 2002).
"Graphing calculators can be catalysts for drastically changing the developmental math curriculum.
Existing research suggests that integration of graphing calculators can improve student conceptual understanding attitudes toward math, and, subsequently, retention in college level studies in math and related fields."
I teach a mixture of 9th-12th grade students in classes ranging from Algebra I to Calculus. These students need to be able to learn to graph equations, to be able to visualize data, and to have the same resources available to them at the alternative school that they have at their home school so that they can keep up with their classmates. Also, these same type of calculators are used throughout high school and into college, so by teaching students to use these calculators in high school, I will be helping to set a strong foundation for their future mathematics education.
At present, I do not have any graphing calculators available for my students to use.
Students currently have to rely on the basic calculator that is available to them on Windows. While that type of calculator is helpful in a limited capacity, it does not have the graphing capabilities that high school students need in order to be successful in higher-level mathematics courses.
Your donation will make a huge difference in the lives of my students. It not only will help all of my students learn the skills necessary to be successful in their current and future math classes, but it will also really help those who struggle with math anxiety.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my project!
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