My students need an up-to-date and accurate set of maps so they can begin learning about the geographical world in our world history course.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Vazquez's classroom raised $987
This project is fully funded
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.
My Students
"Why do we need to know where Arizona is?" That's what one of my 10th graders asked me on the first day of school. Most have never left the LA area, let alone the country. It is this disconnect with the world that has left my students with vastly underdeveloped geography skills and knowledge.
100% of my students are minorities who deal with gangs, drugs, and violence on a daily basis.
School is not a punishment, but an escape from the problems of our troubled city. Despite the troubles our students face on a daily basis on their way to school in the morning or on their way home after school, their bright faces and hopeful smiles keep our school motivated and thriving. Never will you meet students with so little material but so much perseverance and hope. Thanks to these young minds, our school has become a safe haven for some and a beacon of hope for many more who now believe they may go to college. Walking down the hall you will see the ex-gang banger or the former tagger... did I mention they have 3.0 GPA now? Our students drive our teachers and keep us coming back for more. I can imagine teaching no where else and with no other group of students.
My Project
Imagine my surprise when my 10th grade class could not point out the Pacific Ocean on a world map! Imagine my disbelief when my "A" student couldn't find Arizona on the US map. This is an exaggeration. This is the reality at our school. With constant cut-backs and more specific standards, the teaching of geography and it's importance has been lost somewhere in the mix. As a World History teacher, I have incorporated an extensive geography unit into our class that will allow students to study important geographical locations. Have we failed our students so much that we have not even given them the proper skills to read a simple map? I refuse to believe this. This set of maps is the first step in allowing my students experience and appreciate geography. Black and white internet printouts and a faded world globe from 1970 can only do so much. With these maps, my students will get a real glimpse of the world outside their community and perhaps be motivated to see that world.
There are certain things that every student should be able to do by the time they graduate high school.
I sincerely count being able to identify continents and oceans as one of those things. How can we expect students to understand World History if they barely know what the world looks like even on a map? These maps will expose my students to much needed material as well as give my students an understanding of the constant geopolitics that constantly arise in World History. Thank You.
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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 Mr. Vazquez and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
