Common Ground: Learning About History And Stopping Bullies
My students need 35 "Who Wouldn't Want to Know" books and 5 copies of "Bullying in Schools" for a reading discussion club.
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. H.'s classroom raised $392
This project is fully funded
My Students
Justice William Orville Douglas said, "Why cannot we work at cooperative schemes and search for the common ground binding all mankind together?" My fourth grade students need to find common ground so they can take a united stand against bullies.
My school is located near two bases and many of my students are the dependents of deployed military personnel.
My school has a tradition of being a neighborhood school but it is now a school in transition. Our stable neighborhood is changing. About 18.4% of the families receive Supplemental Social Security Income or public assistance. Over half of my students qualify for free and reduced price breakfast and lunch.
Our student population is racially and ethnically diverse. One out of every nine students is in a bilingual/bi-cultural program. We have students who have recently arrived from Somalia, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan, as well as Natives from Alaskan rural areas.
Although they represent the very best in America, many of my students suffer from low self-esteem. We have a problem with bulling on the playground and teasing and name calling in the classroom. By the time my students reach 4th grade, they know that words and fists hurt. We need to make a change.
My Project
To build compassion and empathy among our multiethnic and multilingual students, I need anti-bullying books and books that foster understanding of human interaction in different historical time periods. I need books that will help us learn to grow closer to each other. We need discussion starters.
My students need 35 Who Wouldn't Want to Know books and 5 copies of Bullying in Schools for a reading discussion club. The books in this project were selected to address the twin problems of bullying and lack of understanding of human conflict. These books will be used to stimulate thinking about constructive resolutions to problems. They will also build compassion and empathy. I currently have only 2 books that are usable and appropriate for 4th grade. Simply stated, I need more for my reading/discussion club. We plan to learn how other people dealt with conflict and adversity.
In 2009, the U.S.
Bureau of Justice Statistics said that children have a 1-in-4 chance of being violently bullied before high school. That needs to stop and we can make it stop. I plan to use these books to develop empathy and understanding. There is a positive correlation between empathy development and lowered prejudicial attitudes, behaviors and bullying. This is important project that needs to be funded.
More than half of 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
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