How big were the classes you used to sit in when you were in high school? Mine weren't very large...maybe twenty-five students at most. Today, I teach four classes and three of those four have thirty-four students each! I simply cannot differentiate lessons for so many students at once.
My students come from broken homes, homeless shelters, the projects, and worse.
Some of them share a one bedroom apartment with Mom, Dad, Grandma, and three siblings. Their home lives are crowded and now so are their classrooms. Our public school bends over backwards to help our students as much as possible, but budget cuts have severely decimated funding for extra teachers and helping hands, hence our over-crowded classrooms.
My Project
You may be asking yourself, "What can she do with six Chromebooks in a classroom of so many?" The answer is astounding. There are countless apps that I can download for free that can be used for small group instruction with students who need that extra "push" to do well. I'll be able to use the camera on the laptop for all kinds of amazing activities and the apps for reading and writing alone would make this worthwhile. I plan on using Finance41 Personal Finance Manager and the Finance Toolbar from the Google Chrome store. Additionally, my students are in desperate need of real-world skills: especially with managing money! I'm about to teach a unit that will incorporate resume making and budgeting. My students will be planning how to manage their "income" from paycheck to paycheck in their ideal career, grocery shopping, bill paying, rent, etc., so that they can truly understand what it takes to be financially literate and savvy!
My students are reminded on a daily basis how little most of the nation cares about them.
Budget cuts, political digs, and a lack of adequate facilities and materials teach them at an early age to toughen up and not care. A donation of something as special as these devices would mean so much to them. Not only would it assist them in classroom activities, it would also help them to realize that people really do care about their education.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. McCormack and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
