This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
Our 9th grade science students really rock! It is a high-need community that has approximately 25% special education students, reading levels ranging from 3rd grade to college, and more creativity than we can contain in a classroom! Our school is committed to giving all students a Regents level diploma, focusing on high expectation in and outside of the classroom. But what makes our school unique is that we have an arts/media focus that seeps into all our academic courses.
However, our science furniture does NOT rock! I'm trying to teach science labs with beakers falling through the cracks between desks, sediment tubes rolling off our slanted surfaces, and students sitting too far away to evaluate each other's work. I want my students to learn to work cooperatively. Knowing how to maneuver within a group will give them the skills to be successful in college and the "real" world (though I would argue that everyone is always in the "real" world).
I've measured my room and I'd like to purchase lab experiment desks (tables). These desks are the size you find in college-level lab rooms. You know, you are always having to sit with your "lab partner"--never alone. With more adequate desks, we can do labs all the time! When we dissect organisms or heat liquids or build models we won't have to compete with our disruptive furniture. Two desks together will sit a group of four, while separate desks will always have pairs working together. In science, there is no need to do work alone as we are always discussing, evaluating, collecting, asking, and engaging with each other.
Colleges expect students to be able to handle genuine inquiry type projects. This means designing experiments, conducting research, discussing and evaluating their own conclusions, and publishing final lab reports. My 9th grade students deserve to start this process NOW! As a student, if I enter a classroom that looks ready to teach me, that respects my ambitions by providing me with adequate supplies, I will step up the challenge of education. This is a right that should be afforded to all children. This project is essential to improving learning in an inquiry based science classroom. Thanks for your consideration.
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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. W. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.