My project needs five Silver 4GB Apple iPod Nanos.
$1,043 goal
This project expired on December 25, 2008.
This project expired on December 25, 2008.
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
The poorest borough in NYC is starving for literacy. We want it and just need the chance to get it. This year will be my second year in teaching, and tenth grade at that. Coming off a great year where I received the "people's choice" award for tenth grade teacher of the year, I now want to step it up for the kids. They are between 15 and 17, living in harsh conditions, but trying to keep their heads up. Their fists are clenched, and their heads are on swivels, to keep from getting blind-sided by gangs as well as authority figures. This school is "high need" for sure, but what they need even more than money is confidence. I have a lot to give...who's with me?
Technology is racing through our world, and at our school, we just cannot keep up. While other schools in the same building are having whole classes using computers, ours are sitting in the classrooms of their parents era. As an English teacher, I've experimented with music and poetry in the classroom, and the students loved it. But without the interaction with technology, these kids fight the uphill battle of whether to even come to school. I need to make it fun. I need to get them interested. I'm almost there.
There are special education students, English language learning students, and general education students, all in the same classroom. Teachers have to find a way to teach and challenge all of them, every day. There are thousands of podcasts out there, dealing with every kind of subject, and for me, there are plenty: audio books of new releases as well as classics, lessons on grammar, verbs, adjectives, poetry, you name it! What better way to get the students involved than to let technology assist in teaching, so that a teacher can be freed up to walk around and assist students? Some iPods can really change the classroom atmosphere. Not only could we hear lessons as a class, from all kinds of sources, but we could even see videos that can supplement any lesson. This is the first step in getting these students connected and preparing them for a world that will be flourishing with computers and gadgets. Five iPods would be a great start so that 5 to 10 students could benefit from individual podcasts by pairing up. Students that need additional help can get it. This is the beginning of a dream to get them for all students. Let's see what we can do right now.
You now have such a great opportunity to help these kids feel like they have someone who cares, someone who wants them to succeed. They've got me, and I am a funny looking cheerleader, and now they've got you too...if you want to jump on board and cheer with me.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
80 students impacted
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