“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”
― Phil Jackson
I teach at an urban school in North Carolina full of diversity of all kinds.
We have 24 languages spoken in our school. Some students in our school come from impoverished homes while others come from upper middle class families. The amazing thing about our school is once you walk through the doors, it doesn't matter where you came from; what matters is where you are. My school is a true community. The students respect each other and the staff have high expectations for every single child. Not only do my students soak up new learning, they are fantastic teachers. I learn from them every single day! My students crave real world learning. When I teach them in a way that they experience emotional connections to the topic of study, they latch on and crave more. They are amazing little blessings that I am so lucky to have the privilege to teach!
My Project
Collaboration is the back bone of my classroom. I believe that learning must be truly experienced and I strive to provide real world experiential learning opportunities for my students. From day one, the concept of working together so that each individual may achieve personal success becomes the fabric of every school day. This year, I decided to remove the student and teacher desks from the classroom, replacing them with group tables to further encourage team learning. However, I do not want my students to feel confined to only working with those seated at their table. The book bins and clipboards will allow for more fluidity among learning teams in our classroom. These resources will make learning and teamwork portable for my students by providing a way to carry learning materials and resources to various locations around the classroom, around the school, and even within our community.
One of my biggest goals as an educator is to allow children to see themselves and others for who they REALLY are.
We are all very different, and we have all been given special gifts. By allowing my students to uncover and celebrate the special gifts within themselves and those around them, I enable them to realize that working effectively with others is the most direct route to successfully achieving their goals.
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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. Alexander and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
