I work at a special education school, servicing emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and other special education classified students. Our students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Over 95% of the student body is eligible for free lunch and over 90% receive public assistance. These factors come together and place our children at a huge disadvantage, but we are committed to providing them with a rigorous academic and therapeutic program. The school’s ethnicity is as follows: 60% Hispanic, 30% African American, 8% Caucasian, and 2% Asian.
I am teaching my health students about "the birds and the bees," and the realities of becoming a parent at a very young age. This project request is for two "Ready-or-Not Tots," which simulate a baby’s varying needs. The goal is to take the glamor out of teen pregnancy and demonstrate the realities of the real world to my students.
Here are some of the benefits of the Ready-or-Not Tot program:
• Offers three different tending programs typical of most babies, to simulate normal baby-tending needs along with fussy periods in each program.
• Provides programmed tending events that are unpredictable to the student, but easy for the teacher to monitor.
• Cries, coos, and burps in response to appropriate care.
• Programs are 48 hours in length and run continuously.
• Demands student’s attention for periods of 5 minutes to 30 minutes for each tending occurrence.
• Includes a “panic” key for quieting difficulties without discontinuing the entire simulation.
• Newborn-size doll represents a baby of a teen mom – 5 lbs. 8 oz., 20" long.
Most of my students plan to attend college, and I want to show them how becoming a teenage parent can completely change their plans. Thank you so much for considering my students.
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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 Ms. K. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.