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
What is a community? How do you build a community within a classroom? For my students, learning about the idea of community and its members is something we put into practice each and every day during Community Circle time.
For my students the idea of community is nearly incomprehensible due to their limited access to the community around them.
The community surrounding our school can be a very hostile and dangerous one, and unfortunately, most of these students are not able to spend much time outside. Their limited opportunities to experience being active members of a community make it difficult for them to understand the symbiosis within a one. For many of these students, our classroom community, and the roles we all take within it, are the closest they can come to understanding the idea of belonging to something bigger than themselves. Most of these students have very few outlets where they can speak their minds in a safe and comfortable environment. Our Community Circle time gives them an opportunity to do just that on a daily basis. Through these meetings, my students learn that their voices matter, and that people will listen.
My Project
We have discussed at length the idea of a democratic society, wherein members of a community work together to create a functional environment. Through the use of the democratic process, we have passed "agreements" that we pledge to follow not only during Community Circle meetings, but also throughout the day. These agreements include "Mutual Respect" and "Appreciation", both of which make a cohesive community. Topics within our meetings are almost always student generated, and usually begin with a question. Although some of these questions are somewhat simple in their delivery (i.e., What is your greatest wish?),the responses they elicit usually reveal information that helps us understand our community members. For example, when Erik answered the preceding question, he said that he wished he could bring his grandmother to the United States. Some of his classmates were surprised, but the compelling part of that meeting was when other students shared that they had very similar wishes.
During our Community Circle meetings, we sit at what is now a very worn and dirty carpet.
My third grade students are so big that they usually do not even fit on the carpet we have now. Having a new, comfortable carpet will allow us to spend more time building community within our classroom. We will be able to gather together with all members present, without having to relegate the spill over to chairs surrounding the carpet. Your donations will truly inspire the idea of community!
Nearly all 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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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. Swanson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
