My students need colored pencils, markers, scissors and glitter to decorate their poster boards and trifolds along with a printer with ink for the event.
Earl Nightingale said: "Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations." As a school in a low-income area the mirror our students examine their world through presents them with many challenges and few resources - so they will become the mirror.
If you drive through our community you will find poverty and despair, but also intense pride and perseverance.
The spirit of our neighborhood creates students who are passionate and driven, looking to inspire their community with their eagerness and enthusiasm. They are young people who are bubbling over with a desire to make the world a better place than they found it. Each student has a unique personality that they bring to form a fun, colorful school environment. Because our school is located in a low-income area that can lead them into dangerous situations, school is a safe haven where students are able to be themselves and work toward success. Teachers in our building create a warm and safe nest around them - paying for project supplies, a snack for a rumbling belly, a genuine smile, a compassionate word. In our building, Service Learning has become a positive outlet for our students providing them with a vehicle for creative expression and authentic philanthropy.
My Project
According to William Glasser, we learn 95% of what we teach others. By making our students the disseminators of information, they are truly learning what they teach and by teaching their community how to save the environment, they themselves will become good stewards of the land. When we receive the art supplies such as colored pencils, markers, scissors, glitter, poster boards and trifold boards, students will be able to create polished, professional and vibrant displays. Also, students are asking for a color printer to print beautiful images for their displays. Because our community struggles with day to day living, our students' knowledge of sustainability and the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - will help to rejuvenate a community and provide quick, easy and doable alternatives. After all, they want to change the world one house at a time!
Baba Dioum said "In the end we will conserve only what we love.
We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." By providing our students with an opportunity to flip the script and be the teacher, we are putting the world in their hands. Literally! The urban students of today will share in making the decisions of tomorrow. These donations to our project will provide a forever footprint on the hearts and minds of future biologists, doctors and zoologists.
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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. Halchin-Smith and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.