My students need 10 stools, with backrests, that don't wobble or snag clothes. They also need a safe place to hang their bags without fear of having their iPhones and other valuables stolen.
My ceramic classes have grown to 40 kids per class due to budget cuts. At the beginning of the year I only had about 34 stools so my students were standing and leaning against counters. I had to scrounge around the school to get an additional six stools, which were better than nothing, I think.
My students come from all over the world speaking about 40 different languages.
We have almost 4,000 kids going to this high school and for the most part they really seem to appreciate the diversity our school has to offer. Ceramics is one of the most popular classes on campus so a lot of kids are very excited to be in this class. They don't mind being packed in here like sardines but the dusty floors and wobbly, uncomfortable stools make them whine and complain, a lot.
There is also the issue with backpacks full of books and electronics. They don't want to put their packs on the floor due to the dust. My class has some shelves for about 30 kids to stow away their belongings but it's not very secure. As a matter of fact 4 different i phones were stolen from the backpacks/purses sitting on these shelves this past year. So now some kids insist on wearing their 30 pound packs on their backs while making art. I'm thinking 10 new stools with back support would help.
My Project
I think all school children should have a comfortable place to sit and work. Our school district has no money to replace old, broke down, Nixon era classroom equipment. Last week a science teacher from the other side of campus sent an e-mail out asking for the five missing lab stools that walked out of his classroom over the weekend. It wasn't me, I swear. Besides his stools are newish fancy things with blue plastic tops. They would stick out like a sore thumb in my class.
This year an English teacher decided to quit the day before school started. He opened up his classroom, took his personal belongings and let people take what ever they wanted. What they wanted were his good student desks, switching them out with their own student desks which had cracked seats, scared desk tops and bent legs. Teachers can be animals.
I don't think people understand that even though fancy electronic gadgets are nice, having enough comfortable seating is very important for student learning.
Once again my district has made us take nine furlough days this year.
We are broke. There is no money to replace student desks and in my case lab stools. I really need more than ten stools (the worse of the worse will go first) but if I can get ten that will be a great start. Then I'll ask for ten more until all are replaced.
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