Late afternoons and early mornings are a must if you’re a teacher. Late afternoons and early mornings are a must for me because it means making copies of worksheets, graphic organizers, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and reading materials for my students - most of whom have special needs. My relationship with the copying machines at my school during these late mornings and early afternoons has become more strained in the past year.
You might be scratching your head and wondering how a special education teacher can have a strained relationship with a copying machine. Obtaining copies on time as well as locating a functioning copying machine is an absolute rarity in my school. It is unfortunate to say that the one copying machine available to teachers refuses to function at least five times a day. If you need a copy, the lone “Teacher Copier” will decide if your worksheet is worthy of being copied at that exact moment. The “Teacher Copier” spares no one in its wrath. In fact, it discriminates against early morning risers, late afternoon planners, and special educators who have to make copies of IEP for staff, parents, and students. If there is a copy that I desperately need for a lesson or an IEP that needs to be copied for a meeting, the Teacher Copier instinctively knows to malfunction the minute I arrive to make copies.
A much larger, faster, leaner, and well-oiled copier is located in my school’s office; however, teachers are restricted from using the copier because it is only for office staff. Teachers are asked to place any copies that they may need into a copy folder and the school aides will make the copies, but this too poses a problem. If you suddenly find or create a magic activity for your students a night prior to your lesson and the Teacher Copier breaks down, there is absolutely no way that your worksheet will be copied in time for your lesson. The first rule of Copying Basics is this: Copies must be left in the copy folder for the aides to copy. They will then get copied in the order that they were received. The copying, in essence, becomes a large feat for 2 school aides who have to make copies for 28 teachers in a pre-K through 8 school with about 400 students. At certain times during the year, the school aides are extremely busy and cannot copy all of the worksheets that teachers need in a timely manner.
Where on earth does this leave teachers like me? I am afraid to say this, but the lack of functioning copiers leaves teachers like me without an in-school resource to copy their materials quickly. I have spent an inordinate amount of money on copies at stores such as Kinko’s, Office Depot, and Staples. Additionally, the lack of a functioning copying machine also poses a problem for students. This year I had several students who have slow handwriting speeds. I often modify instruction and create graphic organizers with special notes on them so that my students will not have to spend a majority of their time writing information at a slow rate. When the copier refused to function for anyone, I was left teaching a lesson that required note taking. Unfortunately, my students with low handwriting speeds were unable to take notes from the graphic organizers that I create for them for note taking.
With your assistance, a functioning copying machine would make instructional time for my students easier. The addition of a personal copier would mean that I would always have a means to make copies of worksheets as well as Individualized Education Plans for parents and staff quickly. Thank your for your support in this endeavor. Your support will mean that my students will have the resources they need to succeed, and I will no longer have a strained relationship with a copying machine.
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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. A. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.